Progressive alliance (UK)

A progressive alliance in the UK is the idea of a cross-party political alliance supporting "progressive politics", generally in opposition to right wing parties, chiefly the Conservative Party.

For other uses, see Progressive Alliance (disambiguation).

History

20th century

The term progressive alliance has been used to describe the Gladstone–MacDonald pact, the 1903 agreement between the Liberal Party and the Labour Representation Committee (forerunner to the Labour Party) to stand aside for each other in constituencies.[1]

In the 1930s, the movement for a Popular Front called for a broad anti-fascist alliance involving Labour, the Liberals, the Communists and anti-fascist Conservatives. This policy was strongly supported by the Communist Party, whilst supporters of the Popular Front such as Stafford Cripps achieved a significant degree of influence within the Labour Party at this time, particularly after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936: however the Labour Party Conference voted against a Popular Front policy on several occasions.[2]

Clement Attlee's post-war "progressive alliance" that was the Labour Party[3] saw the introduction of the National Health Service, comprehensive education and the welfare state.

During the 1980s, calls for an alliance of parties opposed to the policies of Margaret Thatcher grew during a period where the Thatcher government inflicted a number of defeats on the labour movement. One of the key figures arguing for such an alliance was the historian Eric Hobsbawm, whose article "The Forward March of Labour Halted" suggested that the working class was not powerful enough to secure the implementation of socialist policies and that cross-class alliances were essential for progressive politics. These sentiments were particularly widespread in the Eurocommunist wing of the Communist Party, and the party's theoretical journal Marxism Today, although they were also widely influential within the soft left of the Labour Party.[2]

Green Party politician and academic Rupert Read has described the tactics of Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the 1997 general election, when they focused on attacking the Conservatives rather than each other, as a precedent for a progressive alliance.[4][5]

21st century

The idea of a progressive alliance was mooted[6] in the run-up to the 2015 General Election. For example, the phrase was used by Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish National Party leader, Natalie Bennett, Green Party of England & Wales leader, and Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru leader.[7]

The idea was also proposed[8][9][10] in the run-up to the 2017 General Election and after the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, in which the vote to leave the EU ("Brexit") was won by a majority of over 1 million votes. The concept of building cross-party alliances, with the asserted aim of working together to ensure the best possible future for the people and country,[11] was debated at a public meeting entitled "Post-Brexit Alliance Building"[12][13][14] held on 5 July 2016, hosted by Compass. The idea has become linked to opposition to a "hard" Brexit.[15]

The idea has been taken up by a number of independent organisations.[16][17] The concept has not been adopted as official policy by any political party, but the Green Party of England and Wales have pushed[18] for a coordinated top-down and bottom-up approach to the idea. Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, argued for multiple local alliances for the best party to oppose the Conservatives and with a focus on bringing in electoral reform.[19] Several grassroots organisations,[20] Facebook groups[21][22] and Twitter accounts[23] have sprung up with similar names and aims, with tactical voting being encouraged.[24] Compass has been reported as coordinating a campaign group called Progressive Alliance.[25]

There are no mutually agreed policy aims between the various organisations, but these would likely include electoral reform to change the voting system (e.g. proportional representation). The name itself is somewhat unclear as there is no agreed definition of progressivism in British politics. There are dissenting views[26][27] on the benefits of such an alliance, and debate[28] as to whether it could make a difference to the electoral outcome.[29][30]

Local campaigns towards standing a single progressive candidate exist in a number of regions,[31] with the Green and Liberal Democrat parties agreeing to stand down candidates in neighbouring constituencies in quid pro quo deals.[32][33] For example, in South West Surrey in 2017 the National Health Action Party's Louise Irvine was selected by public meeting run by the local Compass group to run as a progressive alliance candidate.[34][35]

In her campaign for the 2020 Liberal Democrat leadership election, Wera Hobhouse advocated a progressive alliance with the Greens and Labour, arguing that the Lib Dems "need to abandon equidistance between the Conservative and Labour Parties".[36]

Potential members of the alliance
Party Standing In
Labour Party Great Britain only
Liberal Democrats Great Britain only
Green Party of England and Wales England and Wales only
Scottish National Party Scotland only
Sinn Féin[note 1] Northern Ireland only
Plaid Cymru Wales only
Social Democratic and Labour Party Northern Ireland only
Scottish Green Party Scotland only
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland only
Green Party in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland only


gollark: It also seems unlikely that we would suddenly jump from the current situation where a bit of stuff is automated and quite a lot isn't to everyone being immediately unemployed, so you can notice and do stuff about it in the interval. Restructure the economy for post-material-scarcity or whatever. No idea how that would *work* but oh well.
gollark: If you can make robots/AI/whatever do any work you want easily, I'm sure you could make a few to produce food and whatever without problems.
gollark: Also, congratulations on successfully (so far) navigating the horrors of the UK university system.
gollark: Our culture has such a bizarre obsession with hard work.
gollark: I don't see how replacing humans in jobs is a *bad* thing.

See also

Notes
  1. Follows policy of Abstentionism in UK Parliament

References
  1. Bernstein GL (1983), "Liberalism and the Progressive Alliance in the Constituencies, 1900–1914: Three Case Studies", The Historical Journal, 26(3):617-40. doi:10.1017/S0018246X00021087
  2. Hardy, Luke (9 December 2016). "The history of the Progressive Alliance". Workers Liberty. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  3. Wilson, Phil (2017-02-20). "A genuine progressive alliance". Fabian Society. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  4. Read, Rupert (2 September 2016). "Starting To Think About How A Progressive Alliance Could Actually Work". HuffPost. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  5. Grice, Andrew (2 May 2005). "Labour dismisses Kennedy as 'a nice guy, not a serious leader'". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  6. Toye, Richard (2013-02-18). "Seizing the progressive moment: 1906, 1945, 2015?". IPPR. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  7. Fraser, Douglas (2015-04-16). "Explainer: What is a progressive in politics?". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  8. Barnes, Peter (28 April 2017). "General election 2017: Deals, pacts and alliances". BBC News. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  9. Bulman, May (30 April 2017). "Labour facing revolt as activists refuse to back candidates in bid to fight Theresa May's plans for hard Brexit". The Independent. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  10. Asthana, Anushka; Elgot, Jessica (30 April 2017). "Labour figures call for candidates to step aside for Greens in two seats". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  11. Nandy, Lisa; Lucas, Caroline; Bowers, Chris, eds. (25 August 2016). The Alternative: Towards a New Progressive Politics. p. 368. ISBN 9781785900495.
  12. Bourke, India (7 July 2016). "A budding progressive alliance wants to take back the Brexit heartlands". New Statesman. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  13. Monbiot, George (5 July 2016). "Labour can still survive, but only if it abandons hope of governing alone". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  14. "Post-Brexit Alliance Building". YouTube. Compass. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  15. "One in three people preparing to vote tactically to stop Tories' hard Brexit, poll reveals". The Independent. 2017-05-06. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  16. "Progressive Alliance". Compass. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  17. "Progressive Alliance". Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  18. "Green Party calls for progressive electoral alliance talks". Green Party. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
  19. Peston on Sunday, ITV, 21 May 2017
  20. "More United". Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  21. "The Progressive Alliance". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  22. "People for a Progressive Alliance". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  23. "The Progressive Alliance". www.twitter.com. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  24. "How To Vote To Stop The Tories". Unite Against the Tories. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
  25. "Labour-led progressive alliance could win general election, latest poll shows". Independent. 31 May 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  26. "Jeremy Corbyn rejects 'progressive alliance' with SNP". BBC News. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  27. Rayner, Gordon; Hope, Christopher (19 April 2017). "Theresa May warns of 'coalition of chaos' if Nicola Sturgeon forms progressive alliance with Labour and Lib Dems". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  28. "A Progressive Alliance: The Alternative?". Birkbeck, University of London. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  29. Williams, Martin (24 April 2017). "FactCheck Q&A: could tactical voting lead to a progressive majority?". Channel 4. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  30. Quinn, Tom (27 April 2017). "Why a progressive alliance just doesn't work in British politics". Reaction. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  31. "Mapping the Progressive Alliance".
  32. "LibDems opt not to Oppose Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion to Support Opposition to Hard Brexit". Brighton and Hove Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  33. "Greens pull out of general election contest in Brighton Kemptown". Brighton and Hove News. 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  34. "NHA's Dr Louise Irvine is progressive alliance candidate for SW Surrey". NHSpace. 6 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  35. "Progressive alliance candidate to stand in South West Surrey". Surrey and Hants News. Retrieved 2017-05-07.
  36. Hobhouse, Wera (5 June 2020). "Wera Hobhouse: The Lib Dems must lead the charge for a new Progressive Alliance". Left Foot Forward. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
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