Red Pepper was founded by the Socialist Movement – an independent left-wing grouping that grew out of a series of large conferences held in Chesterfield in 1987 and 1988 after the defeat of Britain's miners' strike of the mid-1980s. The Socialist Movement set up a campaigning, fortnightly newspaper called Socialist^[1] in autumn 1991. It lasted through September 1992.^[4][5]

Supporters of The Socialist were convinced that there was a demand for a regular green-left publication, published independently of any political party. After a fundraising drive, which raised an initial £135,000, Red Pepper launched as a monthly in May 1995.^[6]

Its first editor was Denise Searle, who had also edited Socialist.^[4] But for most of its history, it has been edited by socialist and feminist Hilary Wainwright^[1] best known as the co-author of Beyond the Fragments. From 2004, she became co-editor alongside Oscar Reyes. In July 2009, Reyes stepped down and James O'Nions and Michael Calderbank replaced him, with Emma Hughes and Sarah-Jayne Clifton joining the editorial team in 2010. Now more of an editorial collective, the magazine today is edited by Wainwright, Calderbank and Ruth Potts. Prominent journalists involved with the publication at some point include Laurie Penny, Gary Younge^[7] and Barbara Gunnell.

The magazine's reported circulation in November 1995 was 13,000 copies.^[8] In 2004, it was reportedly 7,000 copies.^[1]

Red Pepper's editorial charter commits it to 'Internationalism; sustainable, socially useful production; welfare not warfare; and self-determination and democracy.’

This charter claims it as: "a magazine of political rebellion and dissent. Influenced by socialism, feminism and green politics, it is a resource for all those who imagine and work to create another world – a world based on equality, solidarity, and democracy".

The magazine is unusual for the UK left, insofar as it is independent of any political party. Red Pepper has also collaborated in 'Eurotopia', a network of left and progressive European magazines which publishes a multilingual supplement. The magazine sees itself as closely aligned with the global justice movement and has taken part in the organising for the European Social Forum.^[9] More recently it has supported Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Momentum festival The World Transformed.

• Red Pepper website
• BBC Israel to expel detained Briton
• Tam Dalyell, Blair, the war criminal, The Guardian (27 March 2003) (shortened version of article run in Red Pepper)
• The Telegraph Obit of Adrian Mitchell, Red Pepper's "shadow poet laureate"