One of the key questions in organising theory and practice is the role of leadership and how we identify and develop leaders. We are therefore initiating a series of discussion sessions on the concept of leadership.

The series will explore 'leadership' from a range of perspectives, engaging with the ideas of Jane McAlevy, Marshall Ganz, Ella Baker and many others, as well as 'reports from the front line' with speakers directly organising in social movements and trade union disputes here in the UK.

To launch the series, we have our good friend, John Kelly to discuss his remarkable new book 'Contemporary Trotskyism: Parties, Sects and Social Movements in Britain' (effectively from the 1970s to the present day). One of the hallmarks of Trotskyist groups is their claim to be the leadership or vanguard of the working class, and while Trotskyism is very far from mainstream organising theory, this book raises important questions, not least how did often very small groups launch such influential social movements as those, against the Vietnam war, the Anti-Nazi League, the Anti Poll Tax Federation, and the Stop the War coalition?

The book argues that to understand and explain the development, resilience and influence of Trotskyist groups, we need to analyse them as bodies that comprise elements of three types of organization: the political party, the sect and the social movement. It is the properties of these three facets of organisation and the interplay between them that gives rise to the most characteristic features of the Trotskyist movement: frenetic activity, rampant divisions, inter-organisational hostility, authoritarian and charismatic leadership, high membership turnover and ideological rigidity.

The central London venue is still to be confirmed, refreshments will be provided, copies of John's book will be available on the evening with a 20% authors discount. But this will not be just a lecture from a prominent and knowledgable speaker. The sessions will be interactive and aim to explore the lessons we can learn from this study that will equip us to better create meaningful change.

If you want to join the discussion then please sign up using this link.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1nRtWyYblkdNnbcXdzzed5UNh_LV14etfdMC1dwZxWWZbFw/viewform

You can watch a short video of John speaking about his research here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUWNGYk7oeE&feature=youtu.be

More details on the Ella Baker School of Transformative Organising here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/224663071405880/