Left Party (Estmere)
Left Party Lincpartẹ Parti de la gauche | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Ted Barnes |
| General Secretary | Devonne Ali |
| Chief Whip | Andrew Cooper |
| Founded | May 1, 2006 |
| Merger of | ESWI SWP |
| Headquarters | Barton House, 33 Minnow Avenue, Morwall |
| Newspaper | The Red Pages |
| Student wing | Left Students |
| Youth wing | Ed Barton Youth |
| Labour wing | FITU |
| Membership (2020) |  97,000 |
| Ideology | Socialism Left-wing populism Euclosceptism Council socialism |
| Political position | Left-wing to far-left |
| International affiliation | Workers' International |
| Euclean Parliament group | GRM |
| Colours | Red |
| Chamber of Commons | 21 / 600
|
| Chamber of Peers | 4 / 300
|
| State legislatures | 89 / 1,500
|
| First Ministers | 0 / 13
|
| Euclean Parliament | 5 / 114
|
| Website | |
| left | |
The Left Party (Swathish: Lincpartẹ, Flurian: Parti de la gauche), sometimes referred to simply as The Left (Swathish: Þe Linc, Flurian: La gauche), is a left-wing to far-left political party in Estmere. Since the 2021 general election, the party has supported the minority government of Zoe Halivar as a confidence and supply partner. The party has been led by Ted Barnes, a former General Secretary of FITU, since 2019.
The party has its origins in the Estmerish Section of the Workers' International, but was founded officially in 2006 as part of a merger with the Socialist Workers' Party. ESWI was founded in 1924 by Ed Barton as a splinter group from the Socialist Party, while the SWP had been formed in 2004 by Socialist Party members in opposition to the merger with The Radicals. The two parties participated in an electoral alliance prior to the merger. The merger reinvigorated the party, but it was still unable to overtake the Greens as the largest party to the left of the PSD. It has acted in opposition on the federal level from its foundation until 2021, when it joined the crossbenches to support the Halivar government. On the state level, it participates in 4 state governments; Greater Morwall, Bouley, Scitterland and the West Counties.
The party constitution describes its platform as socialist, anti-capitalist and councillist. In practice, it is seen as a left-wing populist party with strongly euclosceptic stances. The party also has a policy of anti-imperialism and decolonisation, and therefore does not run in the overseas states of Kingsport and St Roberts and Fleming. Instead it supports its two sister parties, BKMI and the St Robertian Workers' Party.