Not on the French radar?

The war of Algerian independence (1954-1962) generated intense debates – and sometimes action – in the British left at a time when Britain itself was facing the end of its empire. Many individuals and several movements and parties were thus involved in the war, giving support to independence movements, protesting against torture, or simply debating the consequences of the Algerian war for Europe, the western world and the future of socialism. Focusing on the papers of Labour MPs, the records of the TUC and of several socialist and Trotskyist groups and individuals, this article shows that the Modern Records Centre holds key collections to understand the ways in which the Algerian war influenced conceptions of socialism in Britain. This is particularly true when they are read against the grain of French surveillance files and situated within a broader, transnational archive. The article therefore also reflects on archives as a site and as a source for understanding processes of domination and means of liberation, for both the colonies and the metropoles, and for the writing of transnational histories of solidarity.