Party & Programme
End the cycle of splits
24 May 2012
If the left is to build a serious political organisation it will have to facilitate internal dissent, writes Mike Macnair. And that will require both majorities and minorities to act responsibly
Rebellion that never was
23 Jul 2026
Opposition forces on the CEC might actually constitute a small majority now. But they have neither the organisational cohesion nor the politics required to carry out the revolution that is needed, explains Carla Roberts
Break from failed nostrums
23 Jul 2026
Decision-making must be removed from the hands of the full-time apparatus and take place at the appropriate level. This necessarily involves a narrowing of choices. Mike Macnair concludes his series on procedural principles by discussing the advantages of democratic centralism
Polemic, not shibboleths
23 Jul 2026
Overthrowing capitalism entails a culture of radical free speech, not least in the left and our own movement. Paul Demarty responds to the ‘N-word affair’
Principles and guidelines
16 Jul 2026
Ever expanding rules, elaborate procedures and three-minute limits are a gift to bureaucrats and the full-time apparatus. Mike Macnair argues for openness, time for debate and the right to organise around alternative perspectives
Final death throes
16 Jul 2026
Rebellion on the YP leadership cannot save the Corbyn party, says Carla Roberts - and not only because it will continue to be dominated by his right-hand woman, Karie Murphy
Karie’s clampdown and a mini-me
09 Jul 2026
The botched suspension of three members of YP’s central executive committee is yet another sign of suicidal control-freakery. But, says Carla Roberts, there is a general problem on the left when it comes to free speech
Legalism and labyrinthine rules
02 Jul 2026
Neither Major Henry M Robert nor Lord (Walter) Citrine provide the approach needed by the revolutionary working class. Mike Macnair critiques the widely accepted parliamentary forms of decision-making in the third of a series of articles
Time is on our side
25 Jun 2026
Quick decision-making is perfectly understandable during civil war conditions. But to create unity, prevent irresponsible splits and to educate the party and the working class, provision must be made for extensive debate. Mike Macnair continues to explore procedural principles
Centrality of democracy
18 Jun 2026
Too many on the left consider lengthy debates, polemics, decision-making votes and minority rights a diversion from the ‘real struggle’. A fundamental error. Mike Macnair begins a series of articles
Statements from Connections Convention
11 Jun 2026
Another fine mess
11 Jun 2026
Corbyn’s Your Party has finally started to set up some tightly-controlled branches. Meanwhile most of the left and much of the membership has long gone. Carla Roberts reports
Humans and other animals
04 Jun 2026
Can carnivorous capitalism be ended through moral appeals or alternative technology, or does it require something more fundamental? Jon Hochschartner explores the relationship between the exploitation of animals and the Marxist theory of base and superstructure
Our flag stays red
04 Jun 2026
In terms of origins, the Green Party is unmistakably the progeny of far-right politics. Nowadays, though, it passes as leftwing. But that does not make it socialist, let alone revolutionary, argues Jack Conrad
The universal elixir
28 May 2026
Supposedly the left does not lack fighting spirit. No, what it lacks is a shared understanding of what it is fighting for. But don’t worry, Nicholas Keats has discovered the solution that will serve social democrats and revolutionary communists alike: decommodification
Behind members’ backs
21 May 2026
The first couple of official Your Party branches are being set up in the most hesitant, most fearful, most controlled way imaginable. Carla Roberts reports