Socialist Organiser

Now-defunct socialist newspaper (NOT an organisation) run during the 1980s by the Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory (SCLV). Neither the paper nor SCLV exists at present, both having been dissolved in the late 80s.

This does not stop the rightwing in NUS treating Socialist Organiser (aka "S.O.") as the secret conspiracy behind every setback and every instance of opposition they face. The supposed organisation is supposed to have covert arrangements to produce such outcomes, and every left-leaning campaign, however broad-based, is accused of being a "front" for "S.O.". Basically, the NUS rightwing's pet version of Illuminati, cabal or ZOG.

Also known as 'the trots'.

(n) Socialist Organiser (Soggy Oggy, Soggy) Memember of a broad left organisation founded in 1979. In the mid-1980s they formed SSiN (Socialist Students in NOLS) a campaigning group with some success in NOLS (National Organisation of Labour Students) and gained some success in achieving positions in NUS (not National Union of Semen, National Union of Students). SSin was relaunced in 1989 as Left Unity. Both SSiN and Left Unity interpreted Israel/Palestine, NI/ROI and the nature of the Soviet Union in ways that made them alarming to most other Trotskyist groups . It should be noted that "far left soggy nonsense" of the 1980s is standard idealogy within most mainstream social democratic parties.

Although membership, requirements were much less that similar Trotskyist groups at the time. (Militant wanted 20 papers sold and a 20pc tithe on your earnings), political education went beyond the understanding of most socialists and left within months (I came from a Liberal Party background, and enjoyed the schism histories of Left Politics, but just couldn't understand finer points of the nature of the Soviet Union; Militant gave me a 30 minute lecture on the break up of the Soviet Union and a disco)