British Politics Thread

Former Militant councillor Derek Hatton is attempting to rejoin the Labour Party. But what was Militant, asks Finlo Rohrer.

The battle between the Labour Party and its Militant faction was one of the biggest political controversies in British politics in the 1980s. The Militant grouping had grown out of the Revolutionary Socialist League and was widely categorised as Trotskyist. From the mid-1970s its critics claimed it pursued an "entryist" policy of attempting to gain key positions within the Labour Party in an effort to promote its policies - including widespread nationalisation and a large programme of public works.

Its most notable success was in Liverpool where the local Labour Party - dominated by Militant members - took control of the city council in 1983. Despite being only deputy leader, former firefighter Derek Hatton was seen as effectively in charge.

"The best way to think of Militant is to think of Marxist-inspired socialists within the Labour Party," says Dr Peter North, author of Militant Liverpool: A City on the Edge. Liverpool was particularly receptive to Militant's ideas because it had found itself "on the wrong side of all the changes in global trade", says North. A move to "containerisation" - increased use of shipping containers - was taking traffic away from the port. That and a partly associated decline in heavy industry were exacerbating unemployment and deprivation in the city.

Militant started vehement opposition to the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher, attempting to resist a reduction in the city's grant from central government by setting an illegal budget that allowed for more spending than there was income.

"They were in breach of Labour Party policies," says Peter Kilfoyle, a noted opponent of Militant who was a regional organiser for the Labour Party in the 1980s. "They sought to go illegally against the government of the day when Labour Party policy was not to. They were a party within a party. Their sole intention was to eat away at the Labour Party from the inside - taking away members and funding. They did it successfully."

Supporters of Militant point to the wave of building it initiated in Liverpool, replacing slum housing and improving sports and other leisure facilities. But the council did not have enough money to pay for its programme, and action by the district auditor was averted only by taking out loans. A move to apparently issue redundancy notices to every single council employee - ostensibly as a negotiating tactic - was widely criticised.

Labour leader Neil Kinnock used a conference speech to attack Militant for "the grotesque chaos of a Labour council hiring taxis to scuttle round a city handing out redundancy notices to its own workers".

In June 1986 Hatton was expelled from the Labour Party after a disciplinary hearing. A number of other politicians and activists were also thrown out.

"The decision was made to get rid of them," says Kilfoyle. "They were in breach of the rules of the Labour Party."

But North argues that Militant were harshly treated. "My view is that political parties that have a variety of attitudes within them are more democratic and healthy."

What stunned me was the use of the word "indigenous". While technically correct to use that word to describe the current residents of Tower Hamlets as opposed to the prospective buyers of the new luxury properties, the context and the history of the word "indigenous" suggests a different story.

The Isle of Wight's decision not to apply for Blue Flag status for its beaches has been described as "ludicrous" by tourism businesses. Sandown, Ventnor, Yaverland and Colwell are not on the latest list of beaches able to fly the flag having reached the international standard for cleanliness. The council said it had not applied as it knew it would not meet the criteria.

The Isle of Wight Visitors Association insisted the status was important in marketing the island. Earlier this year the council announced "changes to the maintenance and management regimes" as part of its budget review meant the beaches would no longer meet the Blue Flag criteria. These included facilities such as marker buoys and emergency phones which the council previously provided. It said parish and town councils could deliver such services and apply for Blue Flag status in future.

Martin Simpson of Isle of Wight Visitors Association, representing tourism businesses on the island, said the decision was "short-sighted and scandalous". "Beaches are what the Isle of Wight is known for - it's one of our US Ps and something we should be marketing, not cutting back on."

Go back four years and there wouldn’t have been much interest in Tower Hamlets. Now it’s trendy and vibrant, and you can walk to the Bank of England from here in 12 minutes. Tower Hamlets is one of London’s most deprived boroughs, but the area is smartening up and prices are rocketing. The local indigenous people are still there – we still have a jellied eel stand – but they’re surrounded by shiny glass and steel.

People like the edgy feel of east London, the “real London” feel: rich people living cheek by jowl with poor people. Parts of west London feel so safe and mundane.

Most overseas investors are looking for a good yield for renting, or buying apartments for their children. We have wealthy Chinese or Asian families who will put one of their kids in an apartment this size.

There is of course a greater discussion about what it means to be left wing in this country at the present time: if you consider Labour to be Tories wearing red ties then by definition the Guardian choosing Labour makes them right wing.

David Cameron has ruled out withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights despite objections from Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, and Theresa May, the Home Secretary. In the first major cabinet split since the election, Mr Gove and Mrs May believe that pulling out of the convention entirely may be the "only solution" to re-establishing the supremacy of British courts over Strasbourg judges.

The Conservatives last year threatened to pull out of the convention to help free Britain from the edicts of Strasbourg judges, which have seen serious criminals use the human rights laws to avoid deportation.

However, Mr Cameron has now dropped the plans in preference for a "halfway house" which will see Britain remain a signatory to the convention but scrap the human rights act, which incorporates the convention into British law.

The difference of opinion between Mr Cameron and two of his most senior cabinet ministers highlights the extent of the tensions within the Conservative Party over the issue. It comes after the Mr Cameron delayed plans to scrap the Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights for at least a year in the Queen's speech, following criticism from senior Tories.

The Government will instead announce a consultation, which is unlikely to begin until September. There are concerns that a rebellion by Tory backbenchers could lead to a government defeat in the Commons.

The US defence secretary says he fears the UK could become "disengaged" if it makes further cuts to defence spending. Ashton Carter told the BBC Britain had "always punched above its weight" and "it would be a great loss to the world if it now took action that would indicate disengagement".

The UK government has not committed to meeting Nato's target of spending 2% of GDP on defence beyond 2016. It says budgets will be determined in the next spending review. Few countries have met the Nato target so at a summit last September, the commitment was watered down, with the less ambitious goal that those countries that were not meeting the target should "halt any decline in defence expenditure" .

However, Mr Carter said all Nato countries "should stick to the pledge they all made" of meeting, or working towards, the 2% target. "Britain has always had an independent ability to express itself and basically punch above its weight," he said. "I'd hate to see that go away because I think it's a great loss to the world when a country of that much history and standing...takes actions which seem to indicate disengagement. We need an engaged United Kingdom."