Liz Payne
Liz Payne is chair of the Communist Party of Britain and its women’s organizer.[1]
Also involved in the World Peace Council.
CPB Office Manager
At the January 2022 Communist Party of Britain executive committee meeting Liz Payne was elected CPB Office Manager.[2]
Peace Commission
At the January 2022 Communist Party of Britain executive committee meeting Liz Payne became chair of the Peace Commission.[3]
British Peace Assembly Re-launch
Liz Payne Communist Party of Britain, Dr. Stavros Tassos World Peace Council, Meirian Jump Marx Memorial Library at re-launch of the British Peace Assembly.
"Red Lives"
The editors, Simon Meddick, Liz Payne and Phil Katz would like to express our thanks to all the contributors to this volume of Red Lives, who have given their time and work freely in the interests of ensuring these personal histories could be shared to inspire others.
Personal recollections and connections have been the principal source for the writers of these biographies, which makes this collection so special. Therefore our thanks go to: Kolya Abramsky, Bill Adam, Mary Aldridge, Brian Allbutt, Arthur Attwood, Meic Birtwistle, Annie Banham, Martin Brown, John Campbell, Colin Carritt, Jennie Chesterton, Joe Clark, Tony Conway, Andy Croft, Mary Davis, Lesley Discum, Megan Dobney, Lorraine Douglas, Paul Dunn, John Ellison, Dan Evans, Ann Field, John Foster, John Fox, Susan Galloway, Tom Gill, Alex Gordon, Bill Greenshields, Robert Griffiths, Liane Groves, Anita Halpin, Jonathan Havard, David Horsley, Pat Jay, Ben Jay, Cad Jones, Roger Jones, Meirian Jump, Chris Kaufman, Phil Katz, Ken Keable, George Kerr, Tam Kirby, Peter Lazenby, Martin Levy, Eleanor Lewington, Alex Maxwell, Rosie McGregor, Bevis Miller, Laura Miller, Tommy Morrison, Kevan Nelson, Cynthia Oughton, Liz Payne, Mike Pentelow Evan Pritchard, Mike Quille, Neil Rafeek, Ruth Rickman-Williams, Jane Rosen, Jane Scott, Tom Sibley, Dr. Mike Squires, Carol Stavris, Dave Stavris Graham Stevenson, Keith Stoddart, Robert Streader, Ruth Styles, The Vale of Leven History Project, Mike Vine, Michael Walker, Lynne Walsh, Robert Wilkinson, Jim Whyte, Tanya Wills, Anita Wright, Nick Wright.
CPB Organisation Committee
At the January 2022 Communist Party of Britain executive committee meeting Andy Chaffer, Lorraine Douglas, Robert Griffiths, Jonathan Havard, Phil Katz David Morgan, Ruth Styles, Liz Payne, David Pettifor, Ruth Styles, Johnnie Hunter, Nick Wright were appointed to the CPB Political Committee.[4]
CPB SW & Cornwall District Committee
Liz Payne Chair, Ken Keable Secretary.
Cornwall Communist Party
Cornwall Communist Party with Liz Payne and Owain Holland.
Celebrating CPC
With Liz Payne, Wang Yingchin, Robert Griffiths, Dr Jenny Clegg, Kenny Coyle, Iain Inglis.
2021 Marx Oration
Lydia Samarbakhsh, Liz Payne, Alex Gordon.
Engels Bicentenary
John Foster, Allison Fewtrell and Liz Payne from the Communist Party of Britain and Renate Koppe, Int'l Sec of the KPD and Phil Collins who brought the Engels statue back to Manchester..
Centenary conference
Communist Party of Britain centenary conference August 1, 2020
Against imperialism & militarism
- Chair: Liz Payne Chair of Communist Party of Britain, member of International Committee
Speakers
- Aida Touma-Sliman MK in Israeli Knesset and a leader of Hadash and the United List
- Kenny Coyle Author and specialist writer on Asia
- Nisar Ahmed Sociologist and historian, Communist Party of Britain executive committee
- Johnnie Hunter General secretary of Young Communist League of Britain
- Vera Polycarpou Secretary of international department AKEL Workers’ Party of Cyprus
China talks
In a high-level meeting at the beginning of June 2021 , leading Communists from China and Britain spent more than two hours discussing Marxism past, present and future.
The online talks took place at the invitation of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its Vice-Minister Guo Yezhou. The Communist Party of Britain was represented by General Secretary Robert Griffiths, Chair Liz Payne, International Secretary John Foster and Political Committee member Ben Chacko.
The focus of discussion was on the prime importance of Marxism for the development of the political practice of both parties.
Vice-Minister Guo stressed the commitment of the CPC to the development of Marxist theory and practice in the concrete circumstances of China over the past century. He outlined the broad popular alliances formed by the CPC, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, in order to defeat both Japanese fascism and the internal forces of reaction and imperialist control.
The creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 was the outcome of these mass popular struggles combining the strength of workers, peasants and sections of the anti-imperialist bourgeoisie. Mao creatively integrated Marxism with the realities of Chinese society, Vice-Minister Guo explained.
Vice Minister Guo also stressed that it was during the 11th Central Committee of the CPC in 1978 that Comrade Deng Xiaoping initiated the ‘reform and opening up’ strategy of market socialism to transform economic development.
These new guidelines ultimately ensured that China’s industrialisation was completed, absolute poverty eliminated and a moderately prosperous socialist society created.
In the new century, President Xi Jinping has sought to renew Marxism for a new era so that, by 2050, China becomes a prosperous, developed modern socialist society. Vice Minister Guo stressed the CPC’s commitment to Marxism, to the achievement of socialism and ultimately to the development of a communist society.[5]
Leadership
National Assembly of Women Executive Committee 2019-20
Mollie Brown, Megan Dobney, Siobhan Endean, Bernadette Keaveney, Rose Keeping, Liz Payne, Yvonne Washbourne.
Celebration of the life of Laurence Platt
November 2019 celebration of the life of Laurence Platt.
- Mick Costello Morning Star
- Dr. Sharon Clancy - former partner
- Liz Payne World Peace Council, Communist Party of Britain.
- Dr. Howard Jones Director Trent & Peak Archaeology
- Graham Stevenson Unite History Project
”No war in the Persian Gulf”
Morning Star readers, concerned about the threat of a war in the Persian Gulf, have called a public meeting on Saturday 24 August 2019 in the Town Hall, Glastonbury, 2.30-4.30pm.
Speakers: Ben Chacko (Editor of the Morning Star); Jamshid Ahmadi, Assistant General Secretary of the Committee for the Defence of Iranian People's Rights; Liz Payne, Convenor of the British Peace Assembly.
Info: Ken Keable.[6]
Portugal
Liz Payne and Navid Shomali, Portugal December 2016.
Peace
The Communist Party of Britain Peace Commission has met on several occasions and was instrumental in reinvigorating the British Peace Assembly (BPA) in the period since the last Party Congress. This is particularly important in linking the peace movement in Britain with the anti-imperialist, anti-NATO World Peace Council (WPC). Liz Payne attended the WPC Executive in Goa in late 2014 to discuss plans for the revival of BPA activities. The event to relaunch the BPA was held at the Marx Memorial Library on July 31, 2015, on the eve of the Red Star Festival, with Comrade Stavros Tassos of the WPC Executive representing its general secretary, Athanasios Pafilis. It was agreed that the BPA’s activities would include an annual Bernal Lecture, the first of which is being planned for early 2017.
Communist internationalism
Communist Party of Britain attendance was organised for the International Meetings of Communist and Workers Parties in Ecuador in 2014 (Nick Wright), Turkey in 2015 (Liz Payne and John Foster) and Vietnam in 2016 (Robert Griffiths). The Party was represented at the following international events: PSUC Congress, Catalonia 2015 (Leo Impett), AKEL Congress, Cyprus 2015 (Ben Stevenson), DKP rally at Rosa Luxemburg Conference, Germany 2016 (addressed by Robert Griffiths) PCF Congress, France 2016 (Robert Griffiths), Avante! Festivals, Portugal (Steve Johnson and Nigel Green 2015 and 2016, and Robert Griffiths in 2016 who addressed a meeting on Brexit), Portuguese Communist Party Conference on EU, Portugal 2016 (addressed by Liz Payne), Unsere Zeit, Germany 2016 (Ben Stevenson and Keith Barlow) and l'Humanite 2015 (Ben Chacko and Ben Stevenson).[7]
Lexit
With Robert Griffiths as Chair, Alex Gordon as Convenor and Jonathan Havard as Treasurer, Lexit worked closely with Scottish Left Leave, the RMT, ASLEF, the Bakers’ Union and leading people in the Labour Leave campaign to produce a range of materials, set up a website and organise or support a large number of public meetings. Locally, many Party organisations and members participated enthusiastically in the Lexit campaign. As well as the Lexit officers, comrades Liz Payne, Graham Stevenson and Bill Greenshields participated in numerous public, trade union and media debates in a Lexit or Communist Party capacity. The future role of Lexit is now under consideration by the Party and its allies.[8]
CPB Commissions
In 2016 the Communist Party of Britain EC endorsed the following Commission convenors who subsequently took up their positions: Mark O'Neill (Anti-austerity & People’s Charter), Tony Conway (Anti-Racism Anti-Fascism), Mike Quille (Culture), Chris Guiton (Economics), Robert Wilkinson (Education), Robert Wilkinson (Anti-EU & Popular Sovereignty), Graham Stevenson (Communist History Group), John Foster (International), Bill Greenshields (Political Education & Cadre Development), Joanne Stevenson (Peace), Tommy Morrison (Unemployment), Liz Payne (Women).[9]
2019 CPB Executive Committee
Liz Payne chair, Ruth Styles vice chair, Robert Griffiths Gen Sec. Andy Bain TU organizer, John Foster Int'l Sec, Carol Stavris women's organizer. Martin Levy is editor of Communist Review.
New Political Committee is Payne, Griffiths, Bain, Foster, Stavris, Ben Chacko, Steve Johnson, Tony Conway, as standing members and Mollie Brown and Alex Gordon as Alternates.
2014 CPB Executive Committee
Andy Bain, Ben Chacko, Andy Chaffer, Tony Conway, John Foster, Pauline Fraser, Alex Gordon, Moz Greenshields, Bill Greenshields, Robert Griffiths, Tim Gulliver, Anita Halpin, Zoe Hennessy, Steve Johnson, Bernadette Keaveney, Thomas Kirby, Eleanor Lakew, Martin Levy, Peter Middleman, Tommy Morrison, Mark O'Neill, Liz Payne, Ben Stevenson, Graham Stevenson, Joanne Stevenson, Ruth Styles, Anita Wright, Nick Wright.[10]
Red Star Festival 2015
Red Star Festival 2015 was held July 2015 Clerkenwell Green, London was held It was sponsored by the Morning Star, Marx Memorial Library and the Communist Party of Britain. Speakers included Liz Payne.