Trotskyist Family Tree (draft 3) (PDF)

Legend

Socialist Labour Party
1903 - 1980
James Connolly
De Leonist, Scottish Based
The Socialist

Organisation Name
date founded - date dissolved
key people
Publication dates of publication
Red outline = organisation still active

Communist Party of Great Britain
1920 - 1991
Harry Pollit, Sylvia Pankhurst
Marxist-Leninist
Daily Worker 1930 - 1966
Morning Star 1966 - date

Communist Unity Group
1919 - 1920
Tom Bell, J. T. Murphy
Scottish based, formation of a CP

Revolutionary Socialist Party
1932 - 1938
Scottish based
The British Revolutionary Socialist

Glow = important organisation

Communist League
1932 - 1938 (dissolved into LP as
Marxist League
Harry Wicks
LP oriented, London based
Red Flag

Blue fill = 4th International

= MERGE
= MERGE THEN

= SPLIT/EXPLUSION

SPLIT/EXPULSION

= NAME CHANGE

Militant Group
1935- 1938
Denzil Dean Harber, Grant, Gerry Healy,
Jock Haston, Ralph Lee
LP oriented

Revolutionary Socialist League
1938 - 1944
C. L. R James, Harry Wicks, Harber
LP orientation (Militant Labour League)
Workers’ Fight
The Militant

Revolutionary Workers' League
1939 - 1941
(Majority join WIL in 1940 and remainder
joins RSL in 1941)

Socialist Workers Group
1941 - 1942 (dissolve into
ILP and TO)
ILP Orientation
Socialist Fight

Trotskyist Opposition
1942 - 1944
Lawrence

Know Your Trots

by JY and AH

Marxist Group
1934 - 1938
C. L. R. James, Denzil Dean Harber,
Ted Grant
ILP Orientated, later LP Orientated
The Fight

2015

Workers' International League
(1937 - 1944)
Grant, Gerry Healy, Haston
LP Orientation
Searchlight 1937-38, Youth for Socialism
1939-41, Socialist Appeal 1941-44

Left Fraction
1942 - 1944, 1945 - 1967 (majority join Socialist Fellowship in 1950)
Harry Selby (MP)
LP Orientation
Voice of Labour, Militant Miner

Revolutionary Communist Party
1944 - 1949
Lee, Grant, Healy, Lawrence, Harber, Haston, Tony Cliff

Socialist Fellowship
1947 - 1950
Healy, Lawrence, Grant
LP orientated
Socialist Outlook

Family tree of Trotskyist groups in the UK and their offshoots
The Club 1950
Healy, Grant, Harber, Lawrence
LP orientated
Socialist Outlook 1948 - 1954
(banned by LP 1954)

Militant Tendency Tradition
(Grant)

Socialist Labour League Tradition (Healy)
Socialist Labour League
1959-1973
Healy
LP Orientation until 1970
Newsline

Revolutionary Socialist League
1956-1964
Grant
LP orientation
Socialist Fight

International Group
Tradition

Solidarity
1960-1992
Chris Pallis
Left Communism
Solidarity

Socialist Labour Group
1971-date (I981 majority leave and
join ISG)
Lambertist
Marxist Bulletin

Communist Workers Organisation
1970-date
Left Communism
Revolutionary Perspectives (journal),
Aurora

Workers Revolutionary Party
1973-1985
Healy, Thornett, Cliff Slaughter,
Michael Branda
Newsline

World Revolution
1975-date
Left Communism

Workers Socialist League
1974-1984
Alan Thornett, Terry Eagleton. Matgamna
LP Orientated
Socialist Press, Trotskyism Today (journal)

Communist Bulletin
Group
1981-1993
Left Communism
Workers Voice
Trotskyist
Faction
1979

Socialist Current
1957-1988
Frank Rowe
Socialist Current
Militant Tendency
1964 - 1991
Grant, Peter Taaffe
LP Orientation
Militant
Militant International Review

International Group
1961-1968
Ken Coates, Pat Jordan
LP orientation, Nottingham based
The Week

International Marxist Group
Jordan, Coates, Tariq Ali
1968-1982
LP orientated
International (1968), Black Dwarf (1968-1970), Red
Mole (1970-1973), Red Weekly (1973-1977),
Socialist Challenge (1977-1982)

Socialist Review Tradition (Cliff)
Revolutionary
Workers Party
1962-date
Posadist

Workers Fight
Tradition (Matgamna)
Workers Fight
1967-1968 (fuse with IS as
Trotskyist Tendency)
Sean Matgamna
Workers Fight, Permanent
Revolution (journal)

Workers Internationalist
League (earlier
Internationalist Tendency
1983-1984
Pete Flack
Workers international News

International Leninist Workers
Party (Earlier Workers Party)
1979-date
Marxist-Leninist, SLP orientated
Economics and Philosophic
Science Review

Workers Revolutionary Party
1985-date
Healy, Sheila Torrance
Newsline

Workers International
League
1985-1997 (majority of
members formed Workers
Action (2004-2006)
Workers News

Communist League
1990-2005 (dissolved into A
World to Win)
Healyite (published his
biography
Socialist Future Review

Marxist Party
1987-2004
Healy
Vanessa and Colin
Redgrave
The Marxist

Workers Revolutionary Party (official
continuation of WRP)
1985-1996
Slaughter, Branda
Workers Press

International-Communist League
(continuation of WF)
1971-1981
Matgamna
LP Orientated, Socialist Campaign for a
Labour Victory
Workers Action 1971-1979, International
Communist (journal), Socialist Organiser

Socialist League
1982-1985
LP orientated
Socialist Action

International Socialist Group
(previously International Group)
1985-1987, 1987-2009
Earlier LP

Communist League
1988-date
John Ross
SWP (USA)
The Militant (Pathfinder Press)

Marxist Philosophy Forum (earlier
Communist Forum)
1986-1987
Branda
Movement for
Socialism
1996-date
Slaughter

Workers international to
Rebuild the Fourth
international
1996-2002
Workers International
News

Scottish Militant Labour
1991-1998
Tommy Sheridan
Scottish Socialist Voice

The Discussion Grouo
1971-1976
Roy Terse, David Yaffe
Bulletin

Revolutionary Communist Group (earlier
Revolutionary Opposition)
1973-date
Yaffe
Revolutionary Communist (1975-1979)
Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! (1979date)

Socialist Workers Party
1977-date
Cliff, Alex Calinicos, Lindsey German,
John Rees, Martin Smith, Chris
Brambery, Hallas
Socialist Worker (1968-date)
International Socialism (journal)
Socialist Review (journal)

Workers Power (earlier Left Faction)
1974-1975, 1976-date
Dave Stocking
Workers Power

Revolutionary Democratic Group
1980-date
SLP orientated earlier
Republican Worker

Revolutionary Communist Party (earlier
RC Tendency)
1978-1981, 1981-1997 (disbanded,
members formed Spiked)
Frank Furedi
Living Marxism (1988-2000, bankrupted
by ITV legal action)

Red Action
1982-2001 (expelled late 1970s;
dissolved largely into IWCA)
Left Communism
Red Action

Socialist Appeal
1991-date
Alan Woods, Grant
LP orientated, SSP
orientated in Scotland
Socialist Appeal

Scottish Socialist
Party
1998-date
Sheridan
RIC
Scottish Socialist
Voice

Socialist Party
(England and
Wales)
1997-date
Taaffe
TUSC

Socialist Democracy
Group
1998-2002
SSP orientated

Socialist Solidarity
Network
2000-2009

Socialist Resistance
2009-date
Left Unity
Socialist Resistance

International Socialists
1962-1977
Cliff, Roger Protz, Duncan Hallas
LP orientated until late 1960s
Labour Worker, later Socialist Worker (1968date) International Socialism (journal) Socialist
Review (journal)

Socialist Organiser Alliance
1984-1990 (banned by LP)
Matgamna
LP orientated, Socialist Campaign for a Labour
Victory
Socialist Organiser (1979-1990 banned by LP)

Militant Labour
1991-1997
Taaffe
Militant

Socialist Action (official
continuation of SL)
1985-date
John Ross
LP orientated
Socialist Action (1985-?)

International Socialist League
1987-date
Bill Hunter, Liverpool based
TUSC
Socialist Voice

Socialist Equality Party
(earlier International
Communist Party)
1986-date

Peace and Progress Party
2004-date
Redgraves

Socialist Group
1984-1987
Alan Thornett
Socialist Viewpoint

Workers League
1974-1978 (dissolved with
members forming Socialist Voice,
Big Flame and joining IMG
Protz
Workers News

Marxist Worker
1975-1979
Wigan and Bolton
Marxist Worker

Leninist
Faction 19771978

Spartacist League
1978-date
NZ, Aus Cdr move to
UK
Spartacist Britain
1978-1984, Workers
Hammer 1984-date

Socialist Review Group
1950 - 1962
Cliff
Socialist Review, Industrial Worker (1961) later Labour
Worker, International Socialism (journal)

Socialist Union
(Internationalist)
1970-?

Solidarity
2006-date
Sheridan
RIC, SNP orientated

Socialist Party (Scotland)
2002-date
Solidarity orientated, earlier
SSP orientated

Independent Working
Class Association
2000-date

United Socialist Party
2004-2010 (dissolved into
TUSC)
former Liverpool Dockers
Liverpool based

Alliance for Workers' Liberty
1992 - Date
Matgamna
later LP orientated, Third Camp
Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory
Solidarity (1995-date)

Permanent Revolution
2006-date
Permanent Revolution

Anti-Capitalist Initiative
2012-date

Counterfire
2009-date
German, Rees

International Socialist
Network
2013-2015, split due to
rape scandal
Left Unity

Revolutionary Socialism
in the 21st Centaury
2013-date, split due to
rape scandal

International Socialist Group
(Scotland)
2011-date
Brambery
Radical Independence Campaign
Communiqué