Young Communist League (Britain)
|
|
The Young Communist League (YCL) is the youth wing of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB). It is organisationally autonomous and decides its own activities and priorities, but is subject to the CPB's programme, Britain's Road to Socialism. Before 1988, the YCL was the youth organisation of the Communist Party of Great Britain, which liquidated it. This was one of the causes of the split that led to the creation of the CPB which resurrected the YCL.
By following Britain's Road to Socialism, the goals of the YCL are almost identical to the CPB's, but with particular emphasis on various topics. For example, the slogan of the CPB is Peace and Socialism, whilst the slogan of the YCL is Peace, Jobs and Socialism. The YCL is particularly concerned with the inequalities between the minimum wage categories.
In their own words:
- The YCL is a revolutionary youth organisation committed to achieving a socialist society based on public ownership and democratic control. Based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism the YCL aims to develop and encourage the political consciousness of young people and to increase their involvement in the class struggle at a local, national and international level.
- The YCL works to build and strengthen the unity of the progressive youth movement and calls upon young people to work together to defend their rights, at work and in education, and to struggle for peace, jobs and socialism.
The YCL publishes a bimonthly journal, Challenge. This consists of contributions from YCL members and sympathisers, and succeeds the old Young Communist as the chief organ of the organisation, reverting to its original name.
The YCL is a member of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY).
The British YCL should not be confused with its counterpart in the United States, which is also called the Young Communist League.
External links
- Web site of Young Communist League (http://www.ycl.org.uk)
- Web site of Communist Party of Britain (http://www.communist-party.org.uk)
- Web site of World Federation of Democratic Youth (http://www.wfdy.org/)