The Marxist Party was a tiny

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 ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was formed as a split from Sheila Torrance's Workers Revolutionary Party in 1987 by

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 ...

and supporters including

Vanessa Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie W ...

and

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor. Early life Redgrave was born in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. He was educated at Westminster School and ...

. At first, it was also known as the Workers Revolutionary Party, but it renamed itself later in the year. The party also maintained its own version of the

International Committee of the Fourth International The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) is a public faction of the Fourth International founded in 1953. Today, two Trotskyist List of Trotskyist internationals, internationals claim to be the continuations of the ICFI; o ...

, although this was moribund by the late 1990s. After the death of Healy in 1989, the party declined, and in 1990 expelled a group which became the

Communist League The Communist League ( German: ''Bund der Kommunisten)'' was an international political party established on 1 June 1847 in London, England. The organisation was formed through the merger of the League of the Just, headed by Karl Schapper, and th ...

. The group, which called for support for the Liberal Democrats in the 2001 UK general election, published ''The Marxist'' magazine. They also famously owned

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

death mask A death mask is a likeness (typically in wax or plaster cast) of a person's face after their death, usually made by taking a cast or impression from the corpse. Death masks may be mementos of the dead or be used for creation of portraits. The m ...

. In April 2004, the Marxist Party announced its dissolution. The Redgraves then announced the formation of a new group named the Peace and Progress Party, supporting liberal principles of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

References

External links

Archived Marxist Party website as of 2002
{{Authority control International Committee of the Fourth International Marxist parties in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 1987 Political parties disestablished in 2004 Defunct Trotskyist parties in the United Kingdom Workers Revolutionary Party (UK) 1987 establishments in the United Kingdom