page_title: Socialist Worker
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Socialist Worker / United Kingdom / History
caption_attribution_description: English: The Socialist Worker being sold by street campaigners (over MP's expenses scandal of 2009) on Briggate in Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK. Photograph taken on 9th May 2009.
context_page_description: Socialist Worker is the name of a number of far-left newspapers currently or formerly associated with the International Socialist Tendency. It is a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Workers Party in the United Kingdom, a monthly published by the International Socialist Organization in the United States, a monthly published by the International Socialists in Canada, a biweekly published by the Socialist Workers Party in Ireland, a quarterly published by the International Socialist Organisation in Zimbabwe and was a monthly published by the former International Socialist Organisation in Australia. Socialist Worker was also the name of an IST political group in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
context_section_description: Originally titled Industrial Worker, and then Labour Worker, it was founded by the Socialist Review Group (which became the International Socialists, then the SWP) in 1961 in London (Cliff 78).
  The newspaper was renamed Socialist Worker in 1968 and moved to weekly production; its first editor was Roger Protz (Higgins 90). Its language and general approach was modelled on The Daily Mirror but aimed to provide a very different set of ideas (Harman 40). Writers included Paul Foot, Duncan Hallas and Eamonn McCann plus reports of strikes and other struggles from across the country sent in by readers. The editor from 1974 to 1978, Paul Foot (Foot xii) later went to work for the Mirror, though he continued to contribute to Socialist Worker until his death in 2004. It was edited between 1982 and 2004 by Chris Harman.
  After 2004 it was edited by Chris Bambery, who was succeeded by Charlie Kimber in 2009, and Judith Orr late in 2010. When Margaret Thatcher died, the newspaper printed "Rejoice" over her headstone, gaining much international comment.
  The paper gained mainstream attention for itself when it published an article which seemed to mock the death of a 17-year-old who was mauled to death by a polar bear, on the basis that he was attending Eton. Writing in The Guardian, Owen Jones commented that instead of expressing sadness or empathy over the death of a young person, the newspaper was "evidently delighted." Jones said the end of the article "was even more gratuitous," because it said "Now we have another reason to save the polar bears." Jones suggested that "the official organ of the Socialist Workers party (SWP) apparently fantasises about an army of polar bears leaving the playing fields of Eton soaked blue with posh blood."
  Working for the newspaper has proven to be an apprenticeship for many prominent journalists at the onset of their careers, including Gary Bushell and the brothers Christopher and Peter Hitchens.
caption: The Socialist Worker being sold on Briggate in Leeds in 2009
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