Draft:Tribune Group

The Tribune Group (or simply Tribune), officially the Labour Tribune MPs and the Tribune Group of MPs, is a grouping of members of Parliament (MPs) in the British Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Ideologically on the soft left of the party, it claims to represent Labour's centre-left MPs. It is the largest caucus in the PLP. Its members are called Tribunites or New Tribunites.

Tribune was first formed as a support group for the newspaper Tribune in 1964, acting as a parliamentary caucus for the Labour left until 1982. In 1982, it became the parliamentary caucus for the soft left after the break away of Tony Benn's hard left Socialist Campaign Group. Tribune was disbanded in the 1990s, before reforming in 2002 after disagreements between Labour's backbenchers and Tony Blair. The current iteration of Tribune was formed in 2016 by Clive Efford, who serves as its chairman. It is on the soft left of the Labour Party but also includes centrist members.

In recent years, the Tribune Group has co-operated with the Campaign Group.

Left-wing parliamentary caucus
The Tribune Group, also known as the Monday Group in its early years, was first formed by Labour MPs as a support group for the eponymous left-wing newspaper Tribune in 1964. It was set up following the 1964 general election with trade union support to help the newspaper offer advice to Labour governments from a left-wing viewpoint. The group was also set up to act as an informal umbrella group for the Labour left within the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) to provide it with a voice and coherent socialist platform in parliament through discussion and left-wing consensus. It was the successor of the parliamentary Victory for Socialism group which had disbanded before the 1964 general election and the earlier Bevanite Keep Left group. Tribune's foundng members came from the Victory for Socialism group and it continued Victory for Socialism's policies, namely its support for unilateral nuclear disarmament. The Tribune Group formally registered with the Whips' Office in September 1966. It was the main left-wing grouping in the Labour Party and the only parliamentary caucus for the Labour left until the early 1980s. It was also a left-wing ginger group. It served as the unofficial intra-parliamentary opposition to the Labour government in the mid and late 1960s.

The Tribune Group met every Monday afternoon over the period of Harold Wilson's 1964–1970 Labour government. It had 30 to 35 members, though only the most active could take part in its meetings. Members declared their support for the Tribune newspaper. Its leading members included Michael Foot, James Dickens, Eric Heffer, Stan Orme, Ian Mikardo and Stan Newens. Mikardo was considered the informal leader of the group and set upon forming a coherent parliamentary Labour left based on constructive criticism of Wilson's government. However, there was resistance within the group to the idea of a leader, and Mikardo himself argued that the group did not need a leader as it "should be a democracy". In the late 1960s, knowledge of the group partially revolved around Mikardo's unsuccessful attempts to "organise" the group and make it more efficient and corporate. In 1966 the group decided to introduce an elected chair. The group also had a secretary. Orme served as the group's chair in the late 1960s and Jo Richardson served as the group's secretary until 1978, a position she previously held in the Keep Left group. Tribune editor Dick Clements was also an important organiser for the group. He attended the group's meetings and was often asked to run as an MP and join them, though he resisted these calls to sustain the newspaper.

Russell Kerr was chair from 1969 to 1970. Ann Clwyd was the first woman chair from 1986 to 1997.

In 1982, Tony Benn and the hard left broke away from the Tribune Group to form the Campaign Group by refusing to renew their membership.

2002 and 2005 revivals
Several attemps were made to revive the Tribune Group after the original became defunct. In 2002 left-wing MPs Michael Connarty, Ian Davidson and Peter Kilfoyle revived the Tribune Group with Connarty as its chair and Davidson as its secretary. They revived the group to pressure Labour leader Tony Blair among backbench dissent over his decision to invade Iraq. Backbench dissent over the invasion was an important factor behind the group's revival. Another reason for its revival was Blair's "presidential style" of government. The new group aimed to increase the influence of the party's backbenchers on the Labour leadership. It was only open to backbench MPs and did not have a formal membership. Nearly 50 backbenchers were said to support the group. Its supporters were critical of Blair. It took a broad left position and planned to work closely with the Tribune magazine, which Kilfoyle was then the chair of. By 2005, the Tribune Group had gone defunct again. That year, the Tribune Group was revived by Clive Efford, the backbench MP for Eltham, in response to the Labour leadership's perceived move to the right. The new Tribune Group intended to encourage debate on Labour's future policies. Efford was elected its secretary and Michael Connarty was elected its chair. It did not have any links to the Tribune magazine. On its revival, the Tribune Group had 50 formal members. Only backbench MPs were allowed to be members. It was described as left-leaning and soft left. Members of the soft left New Wave Group of MPs were invited to attend the group's debates on education and the National Health Service. The Tribune Group was still active in 2016, by which time Efford had become its chair. It was in a weak position, however, and was considered worse off than the Socialist Campaign Group, which in 2011 had an estimated 14 members. The current Tribune Group is a continuation of the 2005 incarnation.

In November 2016, Efford relaunched the Tribune Group with the aim of developing centre-left policies throughout the Labour Party and engaging with the wider labour movement. Seventy MPs joined the group. The Tribune Group was still described as soft left after the relaunch. MPs involved in the relaunch included Dan Jarvis and shadow cabinet minister John Healey. Former Labour leader Ed Miliband also joined the group.

In April 2017, Efford relaunched the group again with a new mission statement, aiming to reconnect with traditional Labour voters while also appealing to the centre ground and the middle classes. Following the relaunch, the group supports "opportunity and aspiration" being central to the party's programme, with policies supporting the "security of its people at its heart". It intends to act as a "voice of the centre-left" in the PLP. Efford has remained chair following the relaunch and is considered the group's leader. The group still has no connection with the current incarnation of the Tribune magazine, though Efford is open to working with it.

The current incarnation of the Tribune Group is generally placed on the soft left of the Labour Party. Most members belong to the soft left, however it also includes centrist MPs in its ranks. Over 75 MPs joined the group in 2017, including former cabinet ministers Yvette Cooper, Liam Byrne, Margaret Beckett and frontbenchers Nick Brown and Jonathan Ashworth. Former Labour Party policy coordinator Jon Cruddas also joined the group. In 2018 it listed more than 70 MPs as members on its website including former Labour leader Ed Miliband. The group's policy platform is based on fufilling the "British promise", echoing Miliband's One Nation Labour project, with the group arguing that Labour's main task is to convince the British public that Labour's core values are what they want applied in government.

While the group as a whole was not critical of then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, it was considered as a group of centre-left and moderate Labour MPs who would resist a left-wing successor being selected. It also critcised the party's handling of antisemitism during Corbyn's tenure. The group broadly supported the social democratic elements of Corbyn's policy platform but also expected his team to stand up to calls from the party grassroots for parliamentary reselections. Owen Smith, the MP who unsuccessfully challenged Corbyn in the 2016 Labour leadership election, was involved in Tribune's 2017 relaunch. The group's 2017 mission statement focuses on patriotism and strong defence policy, which was interpreted as implying frustration with some of Corbyn's policy platform. During Corbyn's leadership, the group used its influence as the largest caucus in the PLP to reduce parliamentary opposition against Corbyn, particularly direct attacks against him. At this time, the shadow cabinet were adressing Tribune's weekly meetings. According to Efford, the "vast majority" of Tribune members were frontbenchers at this time. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell was also building support from the group through Lyn Brown's office, a leading member of the Tribune Group and a member of McDonnell's shadow treasury team.

The group launched a new website in 2021, listing 78 MPs as members including Labour leader Keir Starmer and former leader Ed Miliband. In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, members of the Tribune Group were more likely to nominate Starmer for leader, although there was no significant majority in the group who supported him despite his membership of it. After the leadership election, in 2020, the group was said to be fully supportive of Starmer.

The Tribune Group is the largest caucus in the PLP. It is also one of the PLP's largest ginger groups. Outside Parliament, it has stood soft left candidates in elections to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.

Membership
Members of the original and current Tribune Group are called Tribunites. Following the first revival in 2002, members have also been called new Tribunites. The group is made up of centre-left and moderate Labour MPs. Most members are on the soft left of the Labour Party, though the group also has centrist members. The following 75 MPs are listed as members on the group's website as of 2023: • Clive Efford

• Abena Oppong-Asare

• Alan Whitehead

• Alex Cunningham

• Alex Davies-Jones

• Andrew Gwynne

• Andy Slaughter

• Anna McMorrin

• Barbara Keeley

• Bill Esterson

• Catherine McKinnell

• Chi Onwurah

• Chris Elmore

• Clive Betts

• Dan Jarvis

• Daniel Zeichner

• Debbie Abrahams

• Diana Johnson

• Ed Miliband

• Emma Hardy

• Feryal Clark

• Gareth Thomas

• Ian Murray

• Jeff Smith

• Jim McMahon

• Jo Stevens

• John Healey

• Jonathan Ashworth

• Jon Cruddas

• Jonathan Reynolds

• Judith Cummins

• Justin Madders

• Karen Buck

• Karin Smith

• Karl Turner

• Kevin Brennan

• Keir Starmer

• Liam Byrne

• Lilian Greenwood

• Lisa Nandy

• Louise Haigh

• Lucy Powell

• Lyn Brown

• Margaret Beckett

• Mark Hendrick

• Marsha de Cordova

• Matthew Pennycook

• Nia Griffith

• Nick Smith

• Nick Thomas-Symonds

• Paul Blomfield

• Peter Dowd

• Preet Gill

• Rosena Allin-Khan

• Rosie Duffield

• Rushanara Ali

• Ruth Cadbury

• Sarah Jones

• Sarah Owen

• Seema Malhotra

• Shabana Mahmood

• Sharon Hodgson

• Stephanie Peacock

• Stephen Kinnock

• Stephen Timms

• Steve Reed

• Taiwo Owatemi

• Tan Dhesi

• Tony Lloyd

• Wayne David

• Yvette Cooper

• David Lammy

• Alex Sobel

• Emily Thornberry

• Anneliese Dodds