The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) is a British socialist pressure group operating within the Labour Party and the wider labour movement. The modern LRC was founded in July 2004 by left-wing members of the Labour Party, trade unionists, and others, with the aim of restoring the party to its founding purpose of defending working-class interests, fighting for social democracy, and advancing the public ownership of the means of production and distribution. It takes its name from the original Labour Representation Committee of 1900, which was the direct predecessor of the Labour Party itself.
The group is widely regarded as representing the most left-wing tendency within the Labour Party. It was launched in 2004 by John McDonnell MP and was supported by the affiliation of six trade unions. The LRC encourages Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and Branch Labour Parties (BLPs) to affiliate, along with local, regional, and national unions, as well as individual party members and supporters. In Parliament, the group is represented by the Socialist Campaign Group.
The LRC was formed at a founding conference on Saturday 3 July 2004, taking its name from the original Labour Representation Committee, formed in February 1900.
The LRC encourages Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) and Branch Labour Parties (BLPs) to affiliate, along with local, regional and national unions, and individual party members and supporters. It has around 150 affiliates and 1000 individual members. In parliament, the group is represented by the Socialist Campaign Group. The LRC also has a youth group, the Socialist Youth Network.
The chairman is John McDonnell, who the LRC supported as a candidate for leader of the Labour Party. Its Organiser is Lizzie Woods. Joint-National Secretaries are Andrew Fisher and Peter Firmin. Its Vice-Chairs are Jenny Lennox and Susan Press. The Treasurer is Graham Bash, Editor of Labour Briefing. They are the current officers of the organisation.
According to LRC affiliate Socialist Appeal, in November 2014: "The Labour Representation Committee has lost a third of its members and is now down to 600 â in a party of 190,000. It is teetering on the verge of collapse." Despite this claim, LRC members were involved in launching the activist Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory in early 2015.
LRC Youth is a section of the LRC for those aged 27 and under. It was founded as the Socialist Youth Network in March 2007 and relaunched in 2012 under its current name.
The National Committee is elected annually by delegates to the LRC's annual general meeting. Its members are elected for 12 months to conduct general business between annual general meetings. It is responsible for electing, and holding to account, an executive committee, which is responsible for any general business between meetings of the National Committee. The National Committee is also responsible for the preparation of publications, and for appointing delegates to represent the LRC.
The current National Committee is elected at the LRC's annual general meeting in November, and its membership is as follows:
The Representation Committee has a number of officially affiliated MPs, those being:
The LRC maintains support from a number of trade unions, the most prominent of these being:
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