Socialist Alliance (England) - Contraction and Dissolution

Contraction and Dissolution

In late 2001, the Network of Socialist Alliances was transformed into a one-member-one-vote political party called the Socialist Alliance (a title already registered for electoral purposes). This new structure allowed the largest and most disciplined group within the Socialist Alliance to exercise a dominant and controlling role - if that organised group was a Democratic Centralist political party (i.e. able to instruct its members how to vote) then this was essentially a block vote. The new rules adopted by the Socialist Alliance in late 2001 (pushed through by the organised block-voting of SWP members) meant that activists and members of local Social Alliances affiliated to the national body had, in effect, to expel any members who declined to join the Socialist Alliance Party. In cases where a local Socialist Alliance declined to join the national body under these conditions the SWP instructed their local comrades to withdraw en-masse in an attempt to close the local Socialist Alliance down.

Unsurprisingly, the Socialist Alliance was riven by political disagreements, mostly concerning the behaviour of the Socialist Workers Party, which was by far the largest group participating in the Alliance, and which many felt dominated it. The Socialist Party left the Alliance in 2001 (when the SWP pushed through the change to turn the alliance into a party) while Workers Power (themselves a splinter group from the SWP back in the 1970s) left in 2003.

In 2003, the SWP, supported by the ISG, led the SA into an alliance with George Galloway and other figures involved in the Stop the War Coalition to form the Respect Coalition. A minority of the SA objected to the way this decision was carried out and argued that the SWP were using their block vote to push their line. Many of these dissidents objected to Respect on principle and all objected to the way the decision to join it was carried out, many forming the Socialist Alliance Democracy Platform.

In late 2004, some Socialist Alliance member organisations, which had remained outside Respect, joined with the Socialist Party and the Alliance for Green Socialism to establish the Socialist Green Unity Coalition.

As the SWP switched its priorities to working within Respect the Socialist Alliance became virtually moribund during 2004 and was formally wound up in February 2005.