Michael Banda

Michael Banda (1930 – 29 August 2014), born Michael Alexander Van Der Poorten, was a Sri Lankan socialist activist best known as the General Secretary of the British Workers Revolutionary Party.

Born in Sri Lanka, Banda attended Trinity College, Kandy, alongside his brother, Tony. The two were convinced by teacher Hilary Abeyaratne to join the Bolshevik–Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma, a Trotskyist organisation affiliated to the Fourth International. In 1950, the party merged into the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), and around this time, the Banda brothers left Sri Lanka. They spent a couple of years in Yugoslavia, the Fourth International at the time being supportive of Josip Broz Tito's regime. They then emigrated to Britain, where they joined the British affiliate of the Fourth International, The Club, which was led by Gerry Healy.

The Club underwent a major split in 1953, leaving the Fourth International, and Banda was a leading supporter of the majority around Healy. In particular, Banda attacked Michel Pablo, a leading figure in the international, for becoming critical of Tito.

The Banda brothers played a leading role in the design and printing of the group's publications, and remained leading figures as it transformed into the Socialist Labour League. In 1969, they co-ordinated the launch of a daily newspaper, the Workers' Press, and Mike Banda became its first editor.

In 1973, the party was again renamed, becoming the Workers' Revolutionary Party (WRP). Banda supported the Chinese Cultural Revolution and won the group to his position. He succeeded Healy as the WRP's general secretary in 1978, although Healy remained the party's most prominent and influential figure. At the 1979 general election, Banda stood for the party in Newham North East under his birth name, but took only 0.4% of the vote.

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