The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) is a British
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
pressure group
Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
within the
Labour Party and wider labour movement. It is often seen as representing the most left-wing members of the
Labour Party.
Overview
The LRC was formed at a founding conference on Saturday 3 July 2004, taking its name from the original
Labour Representation Committee, formed in February 1900.
The LRC encourages
Constituency Labour Parties
A constituency Labour Party (CLP) is an organisation of members of the British Labour Party who live in a particular parliamentary constituency.
In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In Sc ...
(CLPs) and Branch Labour Parties (BLPs) to affiliate, along with local, regional and national unions, and individual party members and supporters. It has around 150 affiliates and 1000 individual members. In parliament, the group is represented by the
Socialist Campaign Group. The LRC also has a youth group, the Socialist Youth Network.
The Chairman is
John McDonnell
John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...
, who the LRC supported as a candidate for leader of the Labour Party. Its Organiser is Lizzie Woods. Joint-National Secretaries are Andrew Fisher and Peter Firmin. Its Vice-Chairs are Jenny Lennox and Susan Press. The Treasurer is Graham Bash, Editor of ''
Labour Briefing''. They are the current officers of the organisation.
According to LRC affiliate
Socialist Appeal, in November 2014: "The Labour Representation Committee has lost a third of its members and is now down to 600 – in a party of 190,000. It is teetering on the verge of collapse." Despite this claim, LRC members were involved in launching the activist
Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory in early 2015.
LRC Youth
LRC Youth is a section of the LRC for those aged 27 and under. It was founded as the Socialist Youth Network in March 2007 and relaunched in 2012 under its current name.
National Committee
The National Committee is elected annually by delegates to the LRC's annual general meeting. Its members are elected for 12 months to conduct general business between annual general meetings. It is responsible for electing, and holding to account, an Executive Committee, which is responsible for any general business between meetings of the National Committee. The National Committee is also responsible for the preparation of publications, and for appointing delegates to represent the LRC.
The current National Committee is elected at the LRC's annual general meeting in November, and its membership is as follows:
Affiliated MPs
The Representation Committee has a number of officially affiliated
MPs, those being:
*
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
MP
*
John McDonnell
John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...
MP
Affiliated unions
The LRC maintains support from a number of trade unions, the most prominent of these being:
*
ASLEF
*
BFAWU
*
Communication Workers Union
*
Fire Brigades Union
*
NUM
*
RMT
Affiliated Constituency Labour Parties
*
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...
CLP
*
Brentford and Isleworth CLP
*
Chingford and Woodford Green CLP
*
Delyn CLP
*
Ilford South CLP
*
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
CLP
*
Islington North
Islington North is a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London established for 1885 United Kingdom general election, the 1885 general election. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of C ...
CLP
*
Leeds Central CLP
*
Leyton and Wanstead CLP
*
St Helens South CLP
Affiliated Branch Labour Parties
*Bloomsbury and Kings Cross BLP
*Brislington East BLP
*Henleaze BLP
*Hastings and Rye East BLP
*Kensal Green BLP
*Newport and West Wight BLP
*Sutton BLP
Other affiliated organisations
Source:
*
Campaign for Socialism (Scotland)
*
Momentum (organisation)
Momentum is a British left-wing political organisation which has been described as a grassroots movement supportive of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party; since January 2017, all Momentum members must be (or become) members of the party. It w ...
*
Keep Our NHS Public
* Reclaiming Education
*
People's Assembly Against Austerity
The People's Assembly Against Austerity (also known as The People's Assembly) is a political organisation based in the United Kingdom that was originally set up to end and reverse the country's government-instituted United Kingdom government auste ...
* Free Speech on Israel
*
Jewish Voice for Labour
*
Labour Against the Witchhunt
* Jewish Socialist Group
* Hands off the People of Iran
See also
*
Compass (think tank)
Compass is a British centre-left pressure group, aligned with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party which describes itself as: "'An umbrella grouping of the progressive left whose sum is greater than its parts". Like the formally Labour-affiliated ...
*
Socialist Campaign Group
*
Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory
References
External links
*
Jeremy Corbyn leadership campaign
{{Authority control
2004 establishments in the United Kingdom
Labour Party (UK) factions
Organisations associated with the Labour Party (UK)
Democratic socialism
History of the Labour Party (UK)