Ted Grant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ted Grant
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Grant in 1985
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| Born |
Isaac Blank
9 July 1913 Germiston, Transvaal, South Africa
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| Died | 20 July 2006 (aged 93) |
| Nationality | South African |
| Occupation | Political theorist, writer, activist |
| Movement | Militant (United Kingdom), International Marxist Tendency |
Edward Grant (born Isaac Blank; 9 July 1913 – 20 July 2006) was a political thinker and activist. He was born in South Africa but spent most of his life in Britain. He helped start important political groups like Militant and later Socialist Appeal. Grant followed the ideas of Leon Trotsky, a Russian revolutionary.
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Ted Grant's Early Life
Ted Grant was born Isaac Blank in Germiston, South Africa. His father, Max Blank, was a Jewish immigrant from Lithuania. His mother, Adelle, was from Paris. They had five children.
His parents divorced, and his mother raised him. She rented out rooms to help make money. One of their lodgers, Ralph Lee, introduced Isaac to the ideas of Trotskyism. This is a type of Marxism that follows the ideas of Leon Trotsky. In 1934, Isaac moved from South Africa to Britain. He changed his name to Edward Grant. Before reaching the UK, he met Trotsky's son, Lev Sedov, in France. Once in Britain, he joined a political group called the Marxist Group.
Later, Grant joined another group called the Militant Group. This group worked within the Labour Party. He was later expelled from this group in 1938.
Becoming a Political Activist
After being expelled, Grant and others formed the Workers' International League. This group grew, and by 1941, Grant became the editor of its newspaper. He continued this role when the group joined with others to form the Revolutionary Communist Party.
In 1945, Ted Grant and his friends believed that the economy in Western countries would grow. This was a different idea from what some other political groups thought.
After the Revolutionary Communist Party broke up, Grant joined another group. He was soon expelled from there too. He then started a new, small group within the Labour Party. This group was later called the Revolutionary Socialist League. In 1964, this group started its own newspaper called Militant.
The Militant Group's Influence
By the 1980s, Grant's group was known as the Militant tendency. It became very strong within the Labour Party. They took control of the Labour Party Young Socialists in 1972. They also had members elected as Labour Members of Parliament (MPs).
In Liverpool, Militant gained control of the Labour Party there. They also took control of the Liverpool City Council. This led to big disagreements with the government led by Margaret Thatcher. It also caused problems with the national Labour Party leaders.
In 1983, Ted Grant was expelled from the Labour Party. Many other Militant members were also expelled later. This happened when Neil Kinnock became the leader of the Labour Party.
Later Years and New Groups
In the late 1980s, Militant was very active in the movement against the "Poll Tax." This was a new tax introduced by the Thatcher government. It was very unpopular.
At this time, some members of Militant wanted to stop working within the Labour Party. They thought it was holding them back. Grant worried that his group was focusing too much on activism and not enough on Trotsky's ideas. He believed Militant MPs should pay the Poll Tax to protect the group.
A big debate happened within Militant. Some leaders, like Peter Taaffe, wanted to leave the Labour Party. They started to run their own candidates in elections. Ted Grant disagreed with this. After a special meeting, the group decided to leave the Labour Party. Because he disagreed, Grant was expelled from Militant in 1992, along with Alan Woods.
After being expelled, Grant and Woods started a new group. They called it Socialist Appeal, named after its publication. This group continued to work within the Labour Party. Grant and Woods also started a new international group called the Revolutionary Communist International.
See also
- Tony Cliff and Gerry Healy - two other former members of the Revolutionary Communist Party.
