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Hard left is a political term used for political tendencies to the left of the mainstream left wing and right of the far left.

In the United Kingdom, the term hard left is often used pejoratively, particularly when discussing political tendencies within the Labour Party and is used to describe various sections of the British Left, both inside and outside the Labour Party. The term is sometimes used in contrast to the soft left. The term often has negative connotations and has been used by Labour's political opponents, notably during the Conservative Party's election campaigns of the early 1990s, and in the conservative media; however, left-wing, centre-left and non-partisan publications occasionally use the term to describe elements to the left of the Labour movement.

The term hard left was sometimes used in the 1980s to describe Trotskyist groups such as the Militant tendency, Socialist Organiser and Socialist Action. Historically within the party, differentiation was made between the soft left and the hard left, with the former embracing more moderately social democratic views while the hard left subscribed to a strongly socialist, even Marxist, ideology. Politicians commonly described as being on the hard left of the Labour Party include Derek Hatton, Ken Livingstone, Dennis Skinner, Eric Heffer, as well as organisations such as Socialist Campaign Group and the Labour Representation Committee, in contrast to a soft left represented by organisations such as Compass and the magazine Tribune. Momentum, a group founded to support Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party, has been described as hard left.

See also

• Clause IV
• Labor Left
• Loony left
• The longest suicide note in history
• Ultra-leftism

References

1. ^ —
   • John Wilson (1996). Understanding Journalism: A Guide to Issues. Psychology Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-415-11599-5. Condemnation by label is a favourite tactic of political antagonism ... Descriptions like 'hard left', 'far left' ... all have extra connotations, political under-meanings to damage the people they describe
   • Grant, Moyra (1984). The British media (illustrated ed.). Comedia. p. 29. Retrieved 1 November 2015. Key words and phrases like 'hard left', 'extremist' and 'Soviet style' are explicitly derogatory and dismissive labels which mask a serious lack of information and analysis about the theory and practice of socialism and communism.
2. Paul Anderson; Nyta Mann (January 1997). Safety First: The Making of New Labour. Granta Books. ISBN 978-1-86207-070-7.
3. Gerard Alexander (1 January 2002). The Sources of Democratic Consolidation. Cornell University Press. p. 75. ISBN 0-8014-3947-7.
4. James Curran (29 July 2005). Culture Wars: The Media and the British Left. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 196, 209.
5. Use by BBC: −
   • "Kinnock attacks hard left", BBC World Service. 18 September 1998.
   − Use by the Guardian: −
   • Wintour, Patrick (24 October 2015). "Unite challenges expulsion of alleged Trotskyists from Labour party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015. However, there is concern in the parliamentary party that several hard-left groups such as Left Unity, the Socialist Workers party (SWP), the Socialist party and the AWL are trying to attach themselves to Momentum to gain entry into the party. Party moderates are fearful that Labour's largest affiliated union is too relaxed about opening the party's doors to the hard left. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
   − Use by the Independent:
   • Merill, Jamie. "Labour sets 100 staff to root out ineligible supporters as hard-left groups deny infiltrating election to support Jeremy Corbyn" The Independent. 8 August 2015.
   – Use by the World Socialist Web Site:
   • Economakis, Evel (22 July 2015). "A letter from Athens: Taking stock of Syriza's capitulation". World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 1 November 2015. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' nickname among the hard left is now "Tsiprakoglou," an oblique reference to Georgios Tsolakoglou, the military officer who became the first prime minister of the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis occupation.
   – Use by The Glasgow Herald:
   • "Turning hard left". The Glasgow Herald. 26 February 1988. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
   • Clark, William (6 December 1985). "Hard left in bid for key SNP group". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
6. Eric Shaw (1 January 1988). Discipline and Discord in the Labour Party: The Politics of Managerial Control in the Labour Party, 1951-87. Manchester University Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-7190-2483-2.
7. Crines, Andrew Scott (2011). Michael Foot and the Labour leadership. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. p. 161. ISBN 9781443832397.
8. "What's left of the Labour left?". Total Politics. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
9. Hill, Dave (2002). Marxism Against Postmodernism in Educational Theory. Lexington Books. p. 188. ISBN 0739103466.
10. Andrew Roth (20 March 2001). "Dennis Skinner". The Guardian. Andrew Roth's parliament profiles.
11. Thorpe, Andrew (2008). A History of the British Labour Party (3rd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. p. 228. ISBN 1137248157.
12. Akehurst, Luke (14 March 2011). "Compass and Progress: A tale of two groupings". LabourList. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
13. "Hard-left Momentum group split by online bullying claims". The Times.
14. "Hard-left activists target Jewish MP in 'terrifying' campaign of abuse". thejc.com.

Further reading

• Charlie Kimber. Waiting for Lefty. Socialist Review 1997

• Left-wing politics
• Politics of Australia
• Politics of the United Kingdom
• Left-wing politics in the United Kingdom
• Labour Party (UK) factions