Peter Taaffe (born April 1942) is a British Marxist Trotskyist political activist and former leader of the Socialist Party. Taaffe was the founding editor of the Trotskyist Militant newspaper in 1964, and became known as a leading member of the entryist Militant group. Taaffe was expelled from the Labour Party in 1983, along with four other members of Militant's editorial board. Taaffe was influential in the policy decisions of Liverpool City Council of 1983–1987, according to the council's deputy leader Derek Hatton, and in the formation of the Militant tendency's policy regarding the Poll Tax in 1988–1991.

Early life

Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, one of six children of a sheet metal worker. He was recruited to what would become the Militant tendency in 1960 by Ted Grant.

Liverpool City Council under Militant

In the four-year Liverpool struggle, Taaffe was closely involved with developments, discussing with close friends and leading Liverpool Militant supporters, such as the former print worker Tony Mulhearn.