| Independent Working Class Association | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Leader | None |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Ideology | Workerism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| International affiliation | None |
| European affiliation | None |
| European Parliament Group | None |
| Website | |
| www.iwca.info | |
| Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections |
|
The Independent Working Class Association (IWCA) is a small working-class political party in Britain with the avowed aim of promoting the political and economic interests of the working class, regardless of the consequences to existing political and economic structures.[1]
It was formed in 1995[2] by several organisations, including Anti-Fascist Action, who argued that the likely election of a New Labour government would entrench the legacy of Thatcherism and further diminish the political influence of the working class.[3]
From 1998, the Independent Working Class Association formed groups in Birmingham, Oxford, Glasgow, the London boroughs of Islington and Hackney, and a few other areas, and were rewarded with the election of a local councillor in Oxford in 2002,[4] with candidates coming second in local elections in the Clerkenwell (2002) and Bunhill (2003) wards in London.[5] In 2003, the IWCA was launched as a national organisation.[6]
The IWCA was able to raise the £20,000 required for participation in the 2004 London mayoral election and nominated Lorna Reid,[7] a resident and advice worker on the Highbury council estate. Her campaign focused on opposing anti-social behaviour by funding youth facilities and cleaning up estates, establish community restorative justice schemes, local drugs detox centres and progressive local taxation.[8] Reid came ninth with 9,542 (0.5%) of the first preference votes and 39,678 (2.1%) of the second preferences.[9] In the local elections that took place on the same day, the IWCA picked up two more seats on Oxford city council.[10] In Summer 2004, the Hackney branch of the IWCA split away to form Hackney Independent.[11]
In 2006, the Oxford branch of the party won a libel action against Bill Baker, Deputy Leader of Oxford City Council, who had posted defamatory material alleging the IWCA had links to violent extremists and Irish nationalist groups to homes in the run-up to the 2005 local elections. The IWCA stated that it would use the £15,000 it collected in damages to fund their 2006 campaign.[4] At the 2006 local elections, they gained a further seat.[12] However, they lost two of their four Oxford councillors in May 2008.[1]
In 2008, the Thurrock branch of the IWCA contested the working class Stanford East and Corringham Town ward and won 98 votes, down from 144 votes in 2007, and overshadowed by the BNP with 344 votes[13]. It is difficult to determine exactly how well the IWCA will perform at an election with an opponent from the BNP due to the lack of elections to date with both BNP and IWCA candidates.
The IWCA has adopted controversial tactics of community action to tackle anti-social behaviour. It has also campaigned on other issues of local concern such as council housing stock transfers, muggings and inner-city regeneration.[14] The group has also argued that many racial issues are symptoms of the wider issue of social deprivation, and for taking a stance against what it describes as multiculturalism in the belief that it encourages segregation.[5]
According to its statement of accounts to the Electoral Commission on 31 December 2006 it had 312 members, down by 7 on the previous year. It had a total income of £17,710 and an expenditure of £9,892.[15]
References
- ^ Independent Working Class Association - national website
- ^ A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, Red Action
- ^ 1985-2001: Anti-Fascist Action (AFA), libcom.org
- ^ a b "Leaflet slur costs £15,000", thisisoxfordshire, 5 January 2006
- ^ a b A class act in Oxford", Red Pepper
- ^ IWCA National Launch
- ^ In The Footsteps of Heroes
- ^ London mayoral candidates 2004, Guardian Unlimited
- ^ GLA Mayoral Results, Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames
- ^ Labour loses Oxford City Council, BBC News, 11 June 2004
- ^ 'Hackney Independent' in Hoxton by-election, Workers Liberty
- ^ Labour suffers Oxfordshire losses, BBC News, 5 May 2006
- ^ Thurrock council election results
- ^ What should the Socialist Alliance say about crime?, Workers Liberty
- ^ Statement of Accounts for Year Ending 2006, Electoral Commission
External links
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