Communist Party of Britain

The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) is a communist party in Great Britain which emerged from a dispute between Eurocommunists and Marxist-Leninists in the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1988. It follows Marxist-Leninist theory and supports what it regards as existing socialist states, and has fraternal relationships with the ruling parties in Cuba, China, Laos, and Vietnam. It is affiliated nationally to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign and the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign. It is a member of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties, together with 117 other political parties. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the party was one of two original British signatories to the Pyongyang Declaration. History The Communist Party of Britain was (re-)established in April 1988 by a disaffected section of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). This section sought to preserve the Communist Party, saving it from its forthcoming dissolution under a revisionist, Eurocommunist leadership. Origins In the period leading up to 1988, the Communist Party of Great Britain was in turmoil as the leadership fought the Marxist-Leninist tendencies inside the party. The rupture was made publicly visible in August/September 1982 after the CPGB's theoretical journal Marxism Today published a feature article by Tony Lane which was critical of the labour movement. The CPGB-affiliated Morning Star newspaper responded with a front page article by the party's Industrial Organiser Mick Costello criticising the Marxism Today article. The CPGB's Executive Committee was flooded with communication from party branches over the affair. The party did not withdraw support for Marxism Today, but the editorial board did introduce a disclaimer that 'the views expressed by authors are personal and not necessarily those of the editor or editorial board', marking the journal's deviation from the party line.