Revolutionary Socialist Party (UK)

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox political party The Revolutionary Socialist Party, initially known as the International Socialist Labour Party, was a political party in Britain. Its origins were in the British Section of the International Socialist Labour Party, a De Leonist group, formed in 1912 following disputes within the Socialist Labour Party of Great Britain (SLP).<ref name="Shipway">Mark Shipway Obituary: William Campbell Tait (1910/11–1994), Revolutionary History vol5/no4</ref> It met under the name British Section of the International Socialist Labour Party between 1912 and 1937, standing municipal election candidates between 1919 and 1934 and general election candidates in 1918 and 1929, and Revolutionary Socialist Party between 1936 and 1941.<ref name="Tait">List of contents of Tait & Watson Archive, University of Stirling</ref>

The party was mainly based in Edinburgh, where it had its office and most of the party members lived. Members were also present in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Yorkshire.<ref name="hist">Martin Upham VIII: UNITY (1936–1938) Template:Webarchive in The History of British Trotskyism to 1949 September 1980, hosted at Revolutionary History</ref><ref name="Tait"/> The party published The Proletariat and later The British Revolutionary Socialist.<ref name="hist"/><ref>The British Revolutionary Socialist, 1934-1936, Modern Records Centre, Warwick University: "Official organ of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (British Section of the International Socialist Labour Party). Incorporating The Proletariat."</ref><ref name="Tait"/> Principal members included William Campbell Tait (the National Organiser from 1927)<ref>The British Revolutionary Socialist, no.11, Aug 1934</ref><ref name="Tait"/> and Frank Maitland.<ref name="hist"/>

RSP took part in conferences of the London Bureau as an observer. The party approached the Independent Labour Party about a merger in 1937, but the ILP rejected it on the grounds that the RSP was under trotskyist influence. The RSP then began orienting itself towards the Fourth International<ref name="hist"/> and met with James P. Cannon of the Movement for the Fourth International.<ref name="Shipway"/>

The RSP was invited to and took part in the 'National Conference of Bolshevik-Leninists', held on 30 July – 31 July 1938. Through this conference, the RSP merged into the Revolutionary Socialist League.<ref name="hist"/> In September 1938 Tait travelled to Paris to participate in the founding conference of the Fourth International.<ref name="Shipway"/> Before long, however, the group parted with the International. In March 1939 it began to publish a paper called the Workers Weekly.<ref name="Shipway"/> Most of its members joined the Independent Labour Party during World War II.<ref name="Shipway"/><ref name="Tait"/>