Weekly Worker - History

History

The paper was first published in 1993, having developed out of The Leninist, the eponymous underground publication of the hard-left group opposed to the Euro-communist leadership of the old Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). The group was defined by their adherence to orthodox Soviet Marxism and their strong opposition to Euro-communism within the CPGB. This found primary expression in their stance towards the Soviet Union, where they denounced Gorbachev's reforms and the developments within the Warsaw Pact. The party's position was as rigorous to lead the group to publish denouncements of the Solidarność trade union for agitation against the workers regime. Such positioning was charactured by the nickname 'Tankies.'

The Leninist had a convoluted path to publication. After a factional confrontation with the then Euro-communist leaning leadership, a group called the New Communist Party (NCP) split from the CPGB in 1977. An event later regretted as premature and having been a move away from the real site of class struggle, the CPGB. A part of the NCP engaged close alliance with the Communist Party of Turkey (CPT), which left a lasting influence on the groups philosophy. A result of this contact with an active and intellectually lively communist organisation was disillusionment with the inadequacies of the NCP. Another split followed, leading to six joining the CPT and becoming active members. After a period of years this small grouplet, headed by John Chamberlain, decided that they should refocus on Britain's political situation. The group now numbering four members, began a two-year period of Marxist study with the aiming to "reforge the CPGB". These two years of study finally culminated in the publication of the first edition of the Leninist.

After the collapse of the old CPGB, the group around The Leninist declared their intention to reforge the party on what they declared to be "firm Leninist principles". They organised an "emergency conference", at which they claimed the CPGB name, but not its assets. The group are technically named the CPGB-PCC but commonly known as just the CPGB. They are distinct from the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), which has the electoral rights to the name 'Communist Party' and the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist). After having made this transition the group began the first publication of the Weekly Worker shortly after in 1993 and began its attempts to 'reforge the CPGB'.

The 1990s marked a period of introspection for the group. The nature of the Soviet Union was reappraised as being Stalinist, however the group reaffirmed their Leninist heritage (as opposed to the Trotskyist heritage of many other left groups). Having decided on the central importance of re-evaluating theory, this debate was primarily conducted through the Weekly Worker.