Hard left

For the usual meaning of hard left, see far-left politics.

For the Australian political tendency of the same name, see National Left (Australia).

Hard left is a political term often used pejoratively particularly when discussing political tendencies within the UK 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.

See also

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

Further reading

• Charlie Kimber. Waiting for Lefty. Socialist Review 1997