Red Front (UK)
socialist electoral coalition which stood candidates in the 1987 UK general election

Red Front was a socialist electoral coalition in the United Kingdom which stood fourteen candidates in the 1987 general election.
Its main component was the Revolutionary Communist Party of Frank Furedi, while it also attracted the support of the tiny Revolutionary Democratic Group, Red Action and a few independents. The RCP was hugely optimistic about its potential and spoke of it in time replacing the Labour Party as the main left wing force in British politics. However, Red Front candidates shared only 3,177 votes in total and as a result it was abandoned shortly after the election.
Election results
General election 11 June 1987
Bibliography
Revolutionary Communist Party (1 February 1987). The Red Front: A Platform for Working Class Unity. London: Junius Publications. ISBN 978-0948392061.
Smith, Evan (21 November 2022). "A Platform for Working Class Unity?
The public source identifies “Red Front (UK)” as socialist electoral coalition which stood candidates in the 1987 UK general election. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Front, socialist and electoral.
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