Labour Briefing is a monthly political magazine produced by members of the British Labour Party.
Contents
History and profile
The magazine was started in 1980 as London Labour Briefing. The founders were the members of the Chartist Minority Tendency, which was a former Trotskyist part of the Chartist Collective. It was edited by (among others) Graham Bash, Chris Knight and Keith Venness and counting Ken Livingstone, Tony Benn and other prominent Labour councillors and MPs among its supporters. Throughout the early period, Its masthead slogan was "Labour - take the power!" While the magazine's followers often acted as a political faction, its internal politics were non-sectarian and open, ranging from democratic socialist backers of the former Labour MP Tony Benn to some of the Trotskyist groups. Jeremy Corbyn, later Leader of the Labour Party, became involved with London Labour Briefing in the 1980s, and argued against expulsions of the Militant tendency in 1982, one year before he became an MP. Corbyn became a regular contributor and member of the editorial board, and served as its general secretary for some time.
The group campaigned for left-wing policies and greater democracy in the Labour Party. The paper also emphasised sexual and personal politics and anti-racism campaigns. London Labour Briefing was also prominent in supporting Irish Republicanism and the UK Miners' Strike (1984-1985). In due course, London Labour Briefing spawned local papers around Britain, such as Devon Labour Briefing.
Following the Brighton hotel bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the editorial board of London Labour Briefing said the bombings showed that "the British only sit up and take notice [of Ireland] when they are bombed into it".
Throughout the 1990s, London Labour Briefing lost supporters and influence as New Labour's hold over the Labour Party increased. London Labour Briefing also diminished as control inside the Labour Party was centralised, and the role played by activists was reduced.
London Labour Briefing was renamed Labour Briefing and was then known as Labour Left Briefing. In 2008 it reverted to Labour Briefing on merging with Voice of the Unions. It supports the Socialist Campaign Group of Members of Parliament, and aims to promote and build the network of local Campaign Groups.
Labour Representation Committee
Following a contested vote at the 2012 AGM, some supporters of Labour Briefing decided to transfer the magazine to the Labour Representation Committee. Other editorial board members, including Labour Party NEC member, Christine Shawcroft, opposed the move, and continued to publish their own independent Labour Briefing magazine (sometimes known as 'Original Briefing').
Contributors
There have been a number of notable former contributors and members of the editorial board for the Briefing, including Jeremy Corbyn, later Leader of the Labour Party. Most contributors in the 1980s were prominent members of London's "outside left".