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Notes -
It is a term originally used by Neil Kinnock (leader of the UK Labour Party from 1983-92) to describe far-left entryists in the Labour Party. The main group he was talking about was Militant, but almost all the far-left groups listed in As Soon as This Pub Closes practiced entryism in the Labour Party at some point in their history. When I was involved in centre-left politics in the UK, the term was an approximate British equivalent of "moonbat".
I agree that the term is (intentionally) offensive and I am happy to stop using it. Is "Loony Left" allowed here to refer to the same people?
Generally speaking, we prefer you not call your outgroup names unless it's actually making some kind of point (besides "I really despise these people"). It doesn't add to the conversation, you can certainly explain in your post why you think they are bad or "loony," but casual derogatory labels like "loony left" or "alt-Reich" quickly become a back and forth game of insults.
We may not enforce this rule with 100% consistency, but it stands out when you call your outgroup "maggots" repeatedly throughout a post.
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