The Militant Group was an early British

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

group, formed in 1935 by

Denzil Dean Harber Denzil Dean Harber (25 January 1909 – 31 August 1966) was an early United Kingdom, British Trotskyist leader and later in his life a prominent British ornithologist. Biography Denzil Dean Harber was born in Streatham on 25 January 1909. Hi ...

, former leader of the Marxist Group in the ILP, as a separate

entrist Entryism (also called entrism, enterism, infiltration, a French Turn, boring from within, or boring-from-within) is a political strategy in which an organization or state encourages its members or supporters to join another, usually larger, organiz ...

group inside the Labour Party. Initially known as the Bolshevik-Leninist Group, the entrist group was producing a bulletin ''Youth Militant'' in 1935 and a journal ''Militant'' by 1937; the group became known as the Militant Group and later the Militant Labour League the same year. The group was strengthened by an influx of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n Trotskyists, including

Ted Grant Edward Grant (born Isaac Blank; 9 July 1913 – 20 July 2006) was a South African Trotskyist who spent most of his adult life in Britain. He was a founding member of the group Militant tendency, Militant and later Socialist Appeal (UK, 1992), ...

and Ralph Lee (Raphael Levy). However, allegations concerning Lee (relating to false rumours of misuse of strike funds in South Africa) prompted around ten members, including Grant, Lee,

Jock Haston James "Jock" Ritchie Haston (1913–1986) was a Trotskyist politician and General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Great Britain. Early years Haston was born in Edinburgh and went to sea in the merchant navy where he became a m ...

, Betty Hamilton and

Gerry Healy Thomas Gerard Healy (3 December 1913 – 14 December 1989) was an Irish-born British political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International and the leader of the Socialist Labour League and later the Work ...

to split in 1937 and form the Workers International League. In 1938, the Militant Group merged with the Revolutionary Socialist League, and the Revolutionary Socialist Party to form a new Revolutionary Socialist League, the official section of the

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...

in Britain.

References

Political parties established in 1935 Defunct Trotskyist organisations in the United Kingdom Political parties disestablished in 1938 1935 establishments in the United Kingdom 1938 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-party-stub