Bill Hunter (1920 – 9 July 2015) was a Trotskyist activist in Britain and a leader of the International Socialist League.

Life

Hunter began his revolutionary career as a member of the Independent Labour Party in World War II, when he was a part of the circle around the Free Expression discussion magazine in that group. With the decline of the ILP, Hunter became a Trotskyist and joined the Revolutionary Communist Party in which he played a leading role in its final period.[1]

With the collapse of the RCP, Hunter joined the Gerry Healy-led group known as The Club, although he had not belonged to Healy's faction in the RCP. He remained a leading member of Healy's groups until the collapse of the organisation.[2]

When Healy's Workers Revolutionary Party split in 1985, Hunter joined Cliff Slaughter's anti-Healy faction, around what was soon renamed the Workers Press newspaper.[3] In this group, he became attracted to the faction of international Trotskyism led by Nahuel Moreno. In 1988, he and Martin Ralph led a small split to form the International Socialist League as a section of Moreno's organisation.[4]

Bill Hunter wrote several books, including Forgotten Hero: The Life and Times of Edward Rushton about the blind Liverpool-born anti-slavery campaigner, and the two part autobiography Lifelong Apprenticeship: The Life and Times of a Revolutionary. He died on 9 July 2015.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Ted Grant, History of British Trotskyism, p.198
  2. ↑ Ted Grant, History of British Trotskyism, pp.198, 202
  3. ↑ Ted Grant, History of British Trotskyism, p.202
  4. ↑
    • Peter Barberis, John McHugh and Mike Tyldesley, Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations, Frances Pinter, 2000
  5. ↑ Bill Hunter died International Workers' League-Fourth International, 11 July 2015
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