London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Labour to ban leftwing groups including Alliance for Workers’ Liberty

Labour to ban leftwing groups including Alliance for Workers’ Liberty

Two other organisations to be proscribed are the Labour Left Alliance and the Socialist Labour Network
Labour is to proscribe three leftwing groups including the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, a movement connected to a number of current and former MPs that also has links with pro-European campaigns.

Sources on the party’s national executive committee said it was right to ban Labour members from being members of the AWL, describing it as “an entryist group that was banned until very recently” which had historically stood candidates against Labour.

The group’s association with the party has long been controversial and there have been attempts to eject its members, but the movement deregistered with the Electoral Commission two days after Jeremy Corbyn was elected party leader, in order to support his leadership.

The group has also been controversial among other fringe groups because it took a strong stance against antisemitism in the Labour party, as well as being outspoken against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Former Labour MP Gloria de Piero is among those to have been associated with the group in the past. The group has also worked with those in the anti-Brexit movement, including Another Europe is Possible.

The Labour MP Clive Lewis condemned the move to proscribe the three groups, two of which have been banned for their links to other proscribed groups that have been outspoken in their denial of anti-semitism allegations in the party.

“Proscription lists; mass expulsions; the centralisation of power. It’s naive to think the ‘crisis of democracy’ and the slide to authoritarianism afflicting western polities won’t affect our own political institutions,” Lewis tweeted.

The other two groups the party will proscribe are the Labour Left Alliance and the Socialist Labour Network. Last year, the NEC proscribed four other groups – Socialist Appeal, Labour in Exile Network, Labour Against the Witchhunt and Resist – members of which have been auto-excluded from the party.

Labour Against the Witchhunt claims that antisemitism allegations during the Corbyn years were politically motivated and supports members excluded for anti-semitism. The Labour in Exile Network, is intended to expressly welcome expelled or suspended members.

Labour party rules allow for the expulsion of anyone that stands against an official Labour candidate or has links with a “political organisation other than an official Labour group”. Much of AWL’s lineage derives from a Trotskyist paper, Socialist Organiser, that was proscribed by the Labour conference in 1990.

Momentum, the grassroots leftwing movement set up under Corbyn, condemned the latest decision to ban the groups. “As a democratic socialist party, Labour has a proud tradition of welcoming socialists of all traditions, while disciplinary procedures already exist for individual members that behave inappropriately,” it said.

“These factional proscriptions will create hundreds of time-consuming and pointless investigations into members for simply liking tweets or signing petitions. This has absolutely nothing to do with winning elections. Instead, it is yet another example of a Labour leadership obsessing over purging the left at a time when socialist ideas are more popular and urgent than ever.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
×