Gang of Four

In UK politics, the Gang of Four was a breakaway group of four Labour politicians who founded the Social Democratic Party in 1981, including two sitting Labour MPs and a former deputy leader of the party. The term Gang of Four is a reference to the political faction of four Chinese Communist Party officials who came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were accused of attempting to seize power following the death of Mao Zedong. History Bill Rodgers, Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins and David Owen proposed a group called the Council for Social Democracy, which ended up becoming the Social Democratic Party. Their first public move was the Limehouse Declaration, named after the house in Limehouse where David Owen lived, and where the group met. The Gang of Four were followed by a score of other Labour MPs.