Red Action
Red Action was a British leftist political group formed in 1981. It became known for violently confronting groups such as the British National Party on the streets, and for being the main organisational force behind Anti-Fascist Action. In 1995, The Independent estimated that Red Action had between twenty and thirty branches with 10–15 activists in each; the paper stated that the group "enthusiastically espouses the use of violence"; it also set out links between Red Action and the Irish republican movement, and stated that its members primarily operated in large cities such as London, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow. The group was formed by activists some time after they were expelled from the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) for their alleged involvement in "squadism" (violent actions) against far right groups. The expelled activists regrouped around a paper named Red Action. After several years, the group became interested in the electoral process, and joined the Red Front electoral alliance in 1987, and the Socialist Alliance in England and Wales in 1999. Red Action members left this organisation, along with the Socialist Party, citing the domination of the SWP over the organisation, some going on to found the Independent Working Class Association.
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Red Action was a British leftist political group formed in 1981. It became known for violently[1][2] confronting groups such as the British National Party on the streets, and for being the main organisational force behind Anti-Fascist Action.[3][2] In 1995, The Independent estimated that Red Action had between twenty and thirty branches with 10–15 activists in each; the paper stated that the group "enthusiastically espouses the use of violence"; it also set out links between Red Action and the Irish republican movement, and stated that its members primarily operated in large cities such as London, Manchester, Leeds, and Glasgow.[1][2]
The group was formed by activists some time after they were expelled from the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) for their alleged involvement in "squadism" (violent actions) against far right groups.[1] The expelled activists regrouped around a paper named Red Action. After several years, the group became interested in the electoral process, and joined the Red Front electoral alliance in 1987, and the Socialist Alliance in England and Wales in 1999.[4] Red Action members left this organisation, along with the Socialist Party, citing the domination of the SWP over the organisation, some going on to found the Independent Working Class Association.[5][6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Seaton, Matt (29 January 1995). "Charge of the new Red Brigade". The Independent. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ a b c Zephaniah, Benjamin (28 February 2016). "'If we did nothing we would be killed on the streets' – Benjamin Zephaniah on fighting the far right". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ^ "Anti-Fascist Action". Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn trust. 2000. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements of the Twentieth Century, Peter Barberis, John McHugh & Mike Tyldesley, Frances Pinter, 2000
- ^ "1985-2001: A short history of Anti-Fascist Action (AFA)". Libcom.org. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Red Action 2000 - Shaping The Future". Redaction.org. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
Further reading
[edit]- Mark Hayes "Red Action – left-wing pariah: some observations regarding ideological apostasy and the discourse of proletarian resistance" in Evan Smith and Matthew Worley, eds, Against the grain: The British far left from 1956, Manchester University Press, 2014.
- Stott, Paul "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction: two responses on the British left to the rise of identity politics – the cases of Class War and Red Action" Twentieth Century Communism, Volume 9, Number 9, August 2016, pp. 96–120(25). Publisher: Lawrence and Wishart. doi:10.3898/175864316815923542