It was in December 1982, in the aftermath of the titanic struggle between Tony Benn and Denis Healey for Labour’s deputy leadership, that the party’s left split. Those who had supported Benn formed the “hard left” Socialist Campaign Group, while those who had backed Healey, such as Neil Kinnock, remained in the “soft left” Tribune Group.
Over the decades that followed, the radical left was cast into the wilderness. Unlike Benn, who lost by just 0.8 per cent to Healey, his immediate heirs never came close to winning the leadership or deputy leadership. But for the political tenacity of John McDonnell, who chaired the Campaign Group during the New Labour era, it would likely have disbanded.
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