Revolutionary Socialist Party | |
|---|---|
| Leader | William Campbell Tait |
| Founded | 1912 (1912) |
| Dissolved | 1938 (1938) |
| Split from | Socialist Labour Party |
| Merged into | Revolutionary Socialist League(1938) |
| Headquarters | Edinburgh |
| Newspaper | The Proletariat |
| Ideology | De Leonism Centrist Marxism Trotskyism(from 1937) |
| Political position | Left-wing tofar-left |
| International affiliation | International Revolutionary Marxist Centre(1936-1938) Fourth International(1938-1941) |
TheRevolutionary Socialist Party, initially known as theInternational Socialist Labour Party, was apolitical party inBritain. Its origins were in theBritish Section of the International Socialist Labour Party, aDe Leonist group, formed in 1912 following disputes within theSocialist Labour Party of Great Britain (SLP).[1] It met under the name British Section of the International Socialist Labour Party between 1912 and 1937, standing municipal election candidates between 1919 and 1934 and general election candidates in 1918 and 1929, and Revolutionary Socialist Party between 1936 and 1941.[2]
The party was mainly based inEdinburgh, where it had its office and most of the party members lived. Members were also present inGlasgow,Aberdeen andYorkshire.[3][2] The party publishedThe Proletariat and laterThe British Revolutionary Socialist.[3][4][2] Principal members includedWilliam Campbell Tait (the National Organiser from 1927)[5][2] andFrank Maitland.[3]
RSP took part in conferences of theLondon Bureau as an observer. The party approached theIndependent Labour Party about a merger in 1937, but the ILP rejected it on the grounds that the RSP was undertrotskyist influence. The RSP then began orienting itself towards theFourth International[3] and met withJames P. Cannon of theMovement for the Fourth International.[1]
The RSP was invited to and took part in the 'National Conference of Bolshevik-Leninists', held on 30 July – 31 July 1938. Through this conference, the RSP merged into theRevolutionary Socialist League.[3] In September 1938 Tait travelled to Paris to participate in the founding conference of theFourth International.[1] Before long, however, the group parted with the International. In March 1939 it began to publish a paper called theWorkers Weekly.[1] Most of its members joined theIndependent Labour Party duringWorld War II.[1][2]