Left Centrism: Britain's Once Big Three

Unfortunately, Trotsky's Fourth International did not survive his assassination, WWII and the emerging Cold War and post-war economic boom. It split and degenerated into many forms of left centrism. The most prominent trends in Britain became the Socialist Workers Party, the Workers Revolutionary Party and The Militant led by Tony Cliff, Gerry Haley and Ted Grant respectively. All three have been through a fatal or near fatal process of splits and fragmentation since just before the end of the Cold War. Below are links to a history of each of the three organisations. I do not agree with all the politics on display (particularly Bob Pitt's Preface, Ratner's hostile attitude to Trotskyism and Jim Higgins's underly critical take on the SWP's politics per se) but there is plenty here to give more than just a flavour of the nature and history of British left-centrism during the Cold War. Despite the grimness of a lot of the material there is plenty of great humour on display too:

The Rise and Fall of Gerry Healy – Bob Pitt

More Years for the Locust – Jim Higgins

Ted Grant and Trotskyism: The Unbroken Thread? - Harry Ratner