Left Party (Estmere)
Left Party Lincpartẹ Parti de la gauche | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairperson | Ted Barnes |
| Deputy Chairpersons | Cecilia Smethwick Davi Sunkara |
| General Secretary | Andrew Cooper |
| Founded | May 1, 2006 |
| Merger of | ESWI SWP |
| Headquarters | Barton House, 33 Minnow Avenue, Morwall |
| Newspaper | The Red Pages |
| Think tank | Ed Barton Institute |
| Student wing | Left Students |
| Youth wing | Young Leftists |
| 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 | 78 / 1,471
|
| First Ministers | 0 / 13
|
| Euclean Parliament | 5 / 114
|
| Website | |
| left-party | |
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 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 three state governments; Morwall, Dunwich and Scitterland.
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.
History
Background
Electoral alliance
Foundation
Opposition
Crossbenches
Ideology
Factions
Organisation
The Left Party is led by the National Organising Committee (NOC), and the Chairperson of this committee is usually described as party leader. There are also two deputy chairpeople, who are often described as deputy leaders. The other major role is that of General Secretary. While the Chairperson is seen as responsible for the political wellbeing of the party, the General Secretary is seen as responsible for ensuring that the party is well organised. Ted Barnes has served as Chairperson of the NOC since 2019, while Cecilia Smethwick and Davi Sunkara have served as his deputies. Andrew Cooper has served as General Secretary since 2015.
The national headquarters is located at Barton House, 33 Minnow Avenue in the city of Morwall. This is where the NOC meets and where the majority of the party bureaucracy operates.
The party is federal, with autonomous branches in 11 of Estmere's 13 states. The state branches elect their own leadership which mirrors the national organisation, with state branches led by State Organising Committees (SOCs). State branches have a certain level of autonomy over local finances and campaigning, and send representatives to the NOC. Each state branch also has a number of internal branches, usually at county level. In major cities, these branches are often organised by neighbourhood or ward. The party maintains that the Estmerish presence in the two overseas states of Kingsport and St Roberts and Fleming is illegal, and does not operate in those states. Instead, it supports two sister parties, the Kabuese Section of the Workers' International and the St Robertian Workers' Party, in elections in those states.
The party has a number of affiliate organisations and party wings. The party's student wing is Left Students - which is organised as a federal union of Left Party Societies at universities - while the party's youth wing, comprising all members aged 16 to 30, is the Young Leftists. The Federation of Independent Trade Unions (FITU), one of the four major trade union centres in Estmere, is affiliated with the party and operates as its official labour wing. A number of party activists, officials and leaders have come from FITU. The Ed Barton Institute, a left-wing think tank dedicated to social policy, is affiliated to the party and acts as its primary affiliated think tank. The party inherited a newspaper, officially called the International Socialist Review but more commonly known as The Red Pages, which has been in continuous operation since 1939.
| Chairperson | Term start | Term end | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ted Barnes |
17 January 2019 | Incumbent | |