webinar register page

Learning from Labour's History

A number of NEW SESSIONS HAVE BEEN ADDED! A series of webinars looking at the history of the Labour party and considering a number of key historical issues which remain relevant today: the relationship between Labour and the organised working-class movement, how serious a challenge did the party present to capitalism and imperialism, and the nature of the Labour left and its understanding of socialism.

Background material is available here: https://labourleft.org/uncategorized/webinar-series-learning-from-labours-history/

July 9
Colston, Churchill and the rest of them - why we're tearing down statues.
Kevin is joined by Roger Ball of the Bristol Radical History Group

July 16
Churchill, imperialism and the Second World War

Winston Churchill is portrayed as a great patriotic defender of freedom and democracy during the Second World. This talk looks at that reputation and considers the reality of the war that is usually defined as a popular struggle against fascism.

July 23
Is there a local road to socialism?

Since the late nineteenth century many in the Labour movement have argued that local government is an important arena for socialist politics. This talk looks at this idea in two aspects: is there a form of municipal socialism that can build a grassroots socialism from the bottom up , such as the widely debated Preston model, and secondly, can Labour councils act as a platform to mobilize working class struggle. Do the struggles in 1920s Poplar or 1980s Liverpool, for example, have any lessons for us today?

July 30
Lessons of the Corbyn moment

This talk offers a view about the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘Corbyn movement’ and what we can learn from the experience of the last five years. It is important that we draw up a balance sheet of that period as we attempt to defend party democracy, fight back against the witch hunt and advance socialist politics in the Labour movement.

Each session will include a reading list, brief outline notes and some prima