Tributes

Alan Thornett died in Oxford on 9 October 2026. This page gathers obituaries of Alan, tributes from those who knew him, and reviews of his books. These are other people's words, not his, and they are not counted among his writings.

Obituaries

• Alan Thornett: A Working-Class Marxist who Faced the Apocalypse · Duncan Chapel, Red Mole, 10 October 2026

More will be linked here as they appear. Know of one?

Tributes

We have lost one of the good people from the world. One of Alan Thornett's favourite words, apart from 'ecosocialism', which he helped put on the agenda of the Fourth International, was 'remarkable', and indeed he was just that; he was often obstinate in Socialist Resistance meetings: He sat, arms tight-folded while looking out the window at Socialist Resistance National Committee meetings in Brixton as we tried to shift his 'overpopulation' idee fixe, and he was exasperating, and I know I annoyed him; I'm told that I once referred to him as the David Attenborough of the revolutionary left, which I forgot, but the comment reminds me of the affectionate pride I felt at being in an organisation led by him.

— Ian Parker

Very sad news. A legend. I joined Socialist Outlook largely because of Alan’s leadership and record. He was more recently a signpost for ecosocialism, way before it took off among the left.

— David Pardoe, 10 October 2026

So sad to learn of Alan's passing. A truly remarkable socialist militant, an organic intellectual of the working class, and in his rapid assimilation (and internalisation) of ecosocialism, an exemplar of open and critical 21st century Marxism. Deepest sympathies to his family, friends, and comrades.

— Balasingham Skanthakumar

He will be remembered as a sindicalist and an ecosocialist. His contributions and engagements with unions on this issue will stand as an important legacy and a work to continue. Thank you for your huge work comrade ✊

— Peter Saxtrup Nielsen

My condolences to comrades. I worked with Alan often and shared a commitment to winning the trade union movement to environmental politics. We disagreed often but always from a shared vision of socialism liberating humans from capitalism. My solidarity to his friends, family and comrades.

— Martin Empson

Very sad news. Far, far more than a trade union militant - someone who genuinely contributed to an understanding of the modern world, and particularly the ecological threat.

— John Bulaitis

Always passionate and analytical of savage capitalism his book à foundation for our ecosocialism in ACR. His experience and connections to working people the labour movement and community development will be sorely missed.

— Zbyszek Luczynski

I had the privilege of working - and often disagreeing - with Alan on the Red Green Labour website. He wasn't just a dedicated and indefatigable ecosocialist, he was also a really nice man. A great loss for us all.

— Sean Thompson

So sorry to hear this, worked briefly with Alan in the outlook office, quite an experience.

— Andrew Berry

A real working class hero. He was personally very kind to me and a true inspiration to us all

— George Thompson

Reviews of his books

From Militancy to Marxism

From Militancy to Marxism: a personal and political account of organising car workers. Left View Books, 1987.

• Bob PenningtonSocialist Outlook no. 2 · July 1987 · OCR text
• Livio MaitanInternational Viewpoint no. 130 · 23 November 1987 · OCR text

Inside Cowley

Inside Cowley: trade union struggles in the British car industry in the 1970s. Porcupine Press, 1998.

• John McIlroySocialist Outlook no. 10 · November 1997
• Ken LoachSocialist Outlook no. 11 · December 1997 · OCR text

Militant Years

Militant Years: car workers' struggles in Britain in the 60s and 70s. Resistance Books, 2010.

In Chinese: 奋勇斗争的年代——六七十年代英国汽车工人的斗争, Marxists Internet Archive (中文马克思主义文库).

• Ralph DarlingtonSocialist Review no. 358 · May 2011 · external linkDarlington welcomes the book as a rare insider's account of workplace struggle, valuable for its first-hand testimony from the Cowley plant. His reservation is that it stays close to events and offers little general analysis of the shop stewards, the rank and file, or how the left organised inside the factory.Unsigned on the page; filed under Darlington in the Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line. Also at socialistreview.org.uk/358/militant-years.
• Julian Alford“A trade union whodunit”, International Socialism no. 133 · January 2012 · external linkAlford finds the book as gripping as a thriller, for all that its subject is committees and disputes over working practices. He reads it as a reminder of how militant the British car-plant shop floor was, and as an honest account of how union officials helped to undermine that revolt.Also in the Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line.
• Manuela GalettoLabor History, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 162-163 · 16 March 2012 · external linkGaletto, of Warwick Business School, finds the book well written and compelling: an account of Cowley from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s arguing that union officials and the Labour leadership opened the way to Thatcher's offensive. Despite the first-person viewpoint, she thinks the wealth of documents carries the argument and makes the book a mine of case studies for students of industrial relations. Her reservations: the closing rethink on feminism and sustainability feels rushed, the Cold War is underplayed, and 'last in, first out' deserves questioning as a possible source of the division among workers that he blames for the defeat.Subscription required at Taylor & Francis.
• Bill Mullins“Driving industrial action”, Socialism Today no. 157 · April 2012 · external linkMullins, writing for the Socialist Party's magazine, thinks the book a very interesting account of shop-floor militancy at Cowley and across the car industry. He argues, though, that Thornett overstates the part played by his own organisation and gives too little credit to the Militant tendency's positions on participation and nationalisation.
• A Unite rep“Participation, resistance and betrayal among car workers”, rs21 · 7 February 2014 · external linkWritten by a serving Unite representative, the review praises the book as a fine biographical account of rank-and-file resistance at Cowley. It argues that Thornett underplays how participation schemes and the language of 'viability' wore down the stewards' power, and draws the lesson for today: resist 'partnership' and rebuild independent workplace organisation.

Facing the Apocalypse

Facing the Apocalypse: Arguments for Ecosocialism. Resistance Books and Merlin Press, 2019.

• Martin EmpsonMR Online · 2 May 2019
• Pete Murrysocialistresistance.org · 7 May 2019
• Michael Löwysocialistresistance.org · 18 June 2019
• Hans A. BauerE-International Relations · July 2019
• John Walkerrs21 · October 2019