I just know you’ve been waiting for this: the combined list of far left candidates for the 2015 general election – so far. For once you can believe the hype. This could well be their biggest election challenge ever with 215 candidates – the last time they came close was 2001 off the back of a combined Socialist Alliance/Scottish Socialist Party/Socialist Labour Party challenge. Whatever you might say about them, and I’ll be penning some thoughts about the campaigns later in the week, this is an impressive effort for a “movement” short on personnel and resource.

As per the 2010 list, far left here is defined as a group, party, or alliance that lays claims to Marxist, communist, and/or socialist labels and fits the notion of ‘left-of-Labour’ campaigning. Hence no Greens or SNP, despite some of their candidates having good left creds and campaigning records. The same goes for the mixed bag that is the National Health Action party, the Pirate Party (they’re back), and Labour Representation Committee comrades standing for, um, Labour. Continue reading →