The ILP in perspective

The ILP and democratic socialism

A democratic economy

Democratic politics and the state

The democratic potential

The democratic socialist party

Democratic practice

Introduction

A brief history

Friends of the ILP

Publications
 
Independent Labour Publications

Keir Hardie House  
49 Top Moor Side  
Leeds  
U.K.  
Tel/fax +44 (0)113 243 0613 

The ILP in perspective

[continued from "The democratic potential"...]  

The democratic socialist party 

Independent Labour Publications encourages membership of the Labour Party and sees the future of democratic socialism bound up in the fortunes of the Labour Party. 

Clause IV of the Party describes Labour as a democratic socialist party, committed to:- 

  • a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many and not the few
  • an economy serving the public interest, in which the enterprise of the market and the rigour of competition are joined with the forces of partnership and cooperation to produce the wealth the nation needs
  • government action to secure the opportunity for all to work and prosper
  • the public ownership or public accountability of all undertakings essential to the common good
  • a society which judges its strength by the condition of the weak as much as by the strong
  • a society which delivers people from the tyranny of poverty, prejudice and the abuse of power.
The logical implications of seeking to secure all that is entailed in clause IV necessitates the kind of extension of democracy that all democratic socialists should work for, and Independent Labour Publications hopes to make its contribution. Indeed, we in the ILP regard ourselves as being deeply engaged in the task of helping the Labour Party to move more surely and effectively towards its goal of a democratic socialist society. 

The ILP has no sectarian ambitions. It does not aspire to the status of a political party and has no ambitions for power. It is primarily a publications house with educational ambitions. 
 
It is emphatically not in the business of 'wheeling and dealing' within the Labour Party. It is not interested in promoting coups at Labour Party branch or constituency party meetings or anywhere else for that matter. It has no desire to foist unrepresentative leaders onto the movement. It does not believe that the interests of democratic socialist politics can or should be furthered by caucuses securing fifty one percent of votes in 'packed' meetings. It does not seek to insert any individuals into positions of authority in the Labour Party. Such things are not any part of what the ILP is about. 

We want to help to develop a strong base of political educated members who wish to see the Labour Party continue to work for a democratic socialist society and who have a concern to generate realistic, moral practices and strategies to bring that society nearer. We believe that this is the best way to develop public representatives who have similar aims and concerns.  

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