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An Anti‐Fascist Alliance, 1934–42

Nicholas Owen

in The British Left and India: Metropolitan Anti-Imperialism, 1885-1947

This chapter looks at the most successful effort to build an alliance of the kind described in the previous chapter: the anti-fascist alliance built by Jawaharlal Nehru and parts of the Labour left, ... More

This chapter looks at the most successful effort to build an alliance of the kind described in the previous chapter: the anti-fascist alliance built by Jawaharlal Nehru and parts of the Labour left, and the Communist Party of Great Britain, in the late 1930s. Nehru's greater success in alliance-building in Britain is analysed and explained, and the organizational consequences of his approach — in particular the growing strength of V. K. Krishna Menon's India League, and the anti-fascist agreement co-sponsored by Stafford Cripps in 1938 — are traced. The chapter goes on to examine and explain the difficulties Nehru encountered in delivering the Indian side of the bargain in the early years of the Second World War, the failure of the Cripps Mission in 1942, and the consequent fragmentation of metropolitan anti-imperialism.Less

The Communist Party of Great Britain

K. D. Ewing and C. A. Gearty

in The Struggle for Civil Liberties: Political Freedom and the Rule of Law in Britain, 1914-1945

This chapter discusses the emergence of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), as well as the steps that were taken by the public authorities to suppress it. The discussion starts with an ... More

This chapter discusses the emergence of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), as well as the steps that were taken by the public authorities to suppress it. The discussion starts with an outline of the formation and objects of the party in order to place the reaction of the public authorities in perspective. Finally, the discussion considers the response of the authorities and a number of other state harassments, which led to the sedition trial of 1925.Less

The Communist Party and the Labour Movement, 1920–1926

in The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy

In December 1920, J. T. Murphy returned to Britain after attending the Second Congress of the Comintern in Russia. While in London, he paid a visit to his ex-girlfriend Ethel Morris, who had been ... More

In December 1920, J. T. Murphy returned to Britain after attending the Second Congress of the Comintern in Russia. While in London, he paid a visit to his ex-girlfriend Ethel Morris, who had been actively involved in the pre-war suffragette campaign as the organiser of the Sheffield branch of the Women's Social and Political Union. In the late spring of 1922, Murphy moved to London with Morris, who was already his wife. This chapter examines Murphy's involvement with the Red International of Labour Unions, his influential role directing the British Communist Party's industrial work, and his relationship with the Labour Party. It also looks at his approach towards the ‘Bolshevisation’ of the Labour Party in 1923–1924 as well as his attitude towards the Trades Union Congress General Council and the ‘left’ union leaders prior to the 1926 General Strike. In addition, it discusses the influence of the Comintern on both Murphy and the Communist Party of Great Britain.Less

New Times, New Politics: The Collapse of the CPGB's Historical Narrative

Emily Robinson

in History, heritage and tradition in contemporary British politics: Past politics and present histories

Of all the political traditions examined in this book, Marxism has the closest connection with the practice of history, its political analysis being explicitly based on a theory of historical ... More

Of all the political traditions examined in this book, Marxism has the closest connection with the practice of history, its political analysis being explicitly based on a theory of historical development. Divisions within the Communist Party of Great Britain and the wider Marxist community, dating back to 1956, had often been framed around questions of historical interpretation. However, in 1989 the collapse of the USSR created an historical and mnemonic crisis for CPGB members who struggled to reconcile their past identities with their present situation. Unlike the outward-facing revisionism of other political parties, this was an intensely personal affair. The solution for many was to emphasise the need to find new ways to progress socialist aims, without relying on a discredited grand historical narrative. In contrast, other communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Britain, which had been established (or ‘re-established’) in 1988, fared rather better. By adhering to the international party line of renewal and continued struggle, the party was able to hold its narrative together, condemning the excesses of totalitarian regimes, while reaffirming the need for international class struggle.Less

The ‘New Line’, 1928–1932

in The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy

During J. T. Murphy's stay in Russia as the representative of on the Executive Committee of the Communist International, his relationship with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) leadership, ... More

During J. T. Murphy's stay in Russia as the representative of on the Executive Committee of the Communist International, his relationship with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) leadership, already strained in the wake of the post-General Strike debate, continued to deteriorate. This internal party conflict culminated in the CPGB's adoption of an ultra-left ‘new line’ in which it refused to collaborate with social democrats. This chapter examines the nature of these arguments and their implications for the CPGB's policy, along with the internal struggle for power in Russia and the Comintern and how it shaped Murphy's role in the whole process. In particular, it looks at Murphy's role in pushing the CPGB to accept the Comintern's ultra-left ‘new line’.Less

Towards Left Reformism, 1932–1936

in The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy

J. T. Murphy's strained relationship with the leadership of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from the mid-1920s onwards was evident in a number of contentious issues. For example, Murphy ... More

J. T. Murphy's strained relationship with the leadership of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from the mid-1920s onwards was evident in a number of contentious issues. For example, Murphy denounced the party's acceptance of the Trades Union Congress's instruction to trades councils to disaffiliate from the Minority Movement. There was also the bitter and protracted dispute to gain the party's acceptance of the need to adopt the Comintern's ‘Third Period’ new line. These tensions worsened in early 1931 over a conflicting assessment of the Labour Party's fortunes, culminating in Murphy's expulsion from the CPGB in May 1932 over a disagreement about credits to the Soviet Union. This chapter examines the factors that contributed to Murphy's expulsion from the CPGB, his subsequent involvement with the Socialist League inside the Labour Party, and his political trajectory towards left reformism.Less

Defending the realm: Labour ministers, vetting and subversion¹

Daniel W. B. Lomas

in Intelligence, Security and the Attlee Governments, 1945-51: An Uneasy Relationship?

Chapter Six focuses on the Government response to Communism at home. Shaped by their wartime experiences of intelligence and security, it argues that the popular perception that Ministers were ... More

Chapter Six focuses on the Government response to Communism at home. Shaped by their wartime experiences of intelligence and security, it argues that the popular perception that Ministers were suspicious of the intelligence services, particularly the Security Service, is unfounded, based largely upon Labour folklore. In fact, rather than viewing MI5 with distain, even alarm, Ministers in the new government were aware of the need for an internal security body; any changes in the security apparatus were the result of the recommendations made by Sir Findlater Stewart, whose report of November 1945 is examined here for the first time. The chapter also looks at the development of Whitehall security procedures using the minutes and memoranda of the Committee on Subversive Activities (GEN 183). It argues that, as in the field of British policy towards Russia, domestic countermeasures measures against Communists in the civil service were hidden until the spring of 1948 after attempts at Anglo-Soviet rapprochement finally broke down. Despite the introduction and later expansion of vetting, Ministers sought to balance anti-Communist measures alongside the need for freedom of speech and liberty. Nowhere is this clearer than in discussions for domestic anti-Communist propaganda. While the Labour Party and other organisations had participated in the distribution of such material, IRD had no specific mandate to conduct its activities at home. However, after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, Ministers authorised a domestic campaign aimed at influential sections of the British public, with the study looking at the early development of this campaign, revealing IRD’s domestic activities in education, industry and the armed forces.Less

Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain

Lawrence Parker

in Waiting for the Revolution: The British Far Left from 1956

This article deals with the foundation of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), a 1988 split from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), which was overseen by a group around Tony Chater, whom ... More

This article deals with the foundation of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), a 1988 split from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), which was overseen by a group around Tony Chater, whom had earlier been involved with splitting the Morning Star newspaper away from the CPGB. The CPB was unsuccessful in uniting its preferred constituency, party trade unionists; and appears to have alienated many CPGB oppositionists due to its tactics and agitation for a split. It did manage to group together wider layers of people who had been oppositionists in the old CPGB as the 1990s wore on but, by the middle of the decade, this process had pushed initial leadership figures such as Mike Hicks, Mary Rosser and others into hostility towards those who were perceived to have been oppositional rivals in the 1980s. Thus, the divisions in the CPGB at the foundation of the CPB cast a long political shadow.Less

The Comintern and Stalinism, 1926–1928

in The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy

The role of the Comintern in Russia influenced the political development of J. T. Murphy and the Communist Party of Great Britain. In turn, the Comintern's role was dependent on the changing nature ... More

The role of the Comintern in Russia influenced the political development of J. T. Murphy and the Communist Party of Great Britain. In turn, the Comintern's role was dependent on the changing nature of the Russian workers' state in the first few years after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Indeed, the activities of Murphy and the Communist Party inside Britain must be placed within the much broader context of the rise to power of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Russia. As Russian state interests began to undermine the Comintern's original mission of world revolution, the latter became a mere instrument of Joseph Stalin's foreign policy. This chapter examines the support provided by Murphy and the Communist Party leadership to Stalin in his fight against Leon Trotsky inside the USSR and the Comintern. It considers the reasons for such loyalty and how the rise of Stalinism inside the USSR influenced Murphy's political development.Less

The decline of revolutionary pragmatism and the splintering of British communism in the 1980s

Jeremy Tranmer

in Labour united and divided from the 1830s to the present

The 1980s are often remembered as a period of divisions and splits in the Labour Party. However, it was not the only part of the British labour movement to experience this type of problem since the ... More

The 1980s are often remembered as a period of divisions and splits in the Labour Party. However, it was not the only part of the British labour movement to experience this type of problem since the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was also concerned. Like the Labour Party, it was divided over how to react to the political successes of the Conservatives and the rapid decline of traditional industries. But its internal difficulties also resulted from a number of factors which were specific to the CPGB itself. This chapter contends that a greater understanding of these factors can be achieved by developing a modified version of Nina Fishman’s concept of ‘revolutionary pragmatism’ and applying it to British Communism in the 1980s. It will become apparent that during this decade the very framework within which most Communists acted was challenged and undermined but not successfully replaced.Less

Popular Frontism and Re-appraisal, 1936–1965

in The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy

After he was expelled from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), J. T. Murphy increasingly distanced himself from the working-class movement in Britain. As a member of the Socialist League's ... More

After he was expelled from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), J. T. Murphy increasingly distanced himself from the working-class movement in Britain. As a member of the Socialist League's national leadership, he began to encounter a predominantly public school and university educated group of people. Murphy also began to write for, and closely associate with, a number of liberal reformist journals such as Adelphi and New Britain. During the 1930s, the most dominant political issue in Britain was foreign affairs and the approach of war, and Murphy found himself increasingly at odds with the Socialist League regarding the strategies and tactics to be used in the fight against fascism. This chapter explores Murphy's transition from left reformism towards popular frontism during World War II, his embrace of a cross-class alliance, and his eventual abandonment of socialist politics.Less

Making miners militant?: The Communist Party of Great Britain in the National Union of Mineworkers, 1956–85

Sheryl Bernadette Buckley

in Waiting for the Revolution: The British Far Left from 1956

The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a visible presence across many significant trade unions in the post-war period, largely due to its industrial strategy. The party envisaged that ... More

The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a visible presence across many significant trade unions in the post-war period, largely due to its industrial strategy. The party envisaged that politicising the rank and file of important trade unions and also capturing the leadership of these unions would allow it to influence the Labour Party, as these unions held a significant number of votes at Labour's annual conference. This chapter analyses the success of this strategy in the National Union of Mineworkers, a union that became increasingly emblematic of the difficulties trade unions faced in the late twentieth century, particularly obvious through its 1984 strike. This chapter considers the relationship between Communists in the party and those in the union, exploring the extent to which the party's strategy translated into the union in practice, and understanding if there was any conflict between these two groups who occupied distinctly different roles. Unpicking the concept of 'wage militancy', the way through which the party felt politicisation of the union rank and file would best be achieved, the chapter frames this discussion within the broader context of the increasingly divided CPGB, the political and economic policies of Labour and Conservative governments, and the union's national strikes.Less

Comrades in bondage trousers: how the Communist Party of Great Britain discovered punk rock

Matthew Worley

in Labour and Working-Class Lives: Essays To Celebrate the Life and Work of Chris Wrigley

Matthew Worley’s essay on the Communist Party of Great Britain offers a fascinating insight into how the CPGB and the Young Communist League sought to engage with Punk at a time when the Party was ... More

Matthew Worley’s essay on the Communist Party of Great Britain offers a fascinating insight into how the CPGB and the Young Communist League sought to engage with Punk at a time when the Party was losing membership rapidly in the decade or so before the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Stimulated by the writings of Martin Jacques, and other prominent members of the Party, the attempt to embrace the anti-commercial music establishment of the emerging youth culture in the 1970s led to serious debate within the CPGB between those still committed to mass class conflict based upon industrial struggle as a basis of political consciousness (economism) and those who sought to enact the ‘cultural turn’, by embracing gender and race as well as class. The CPGB failed in its efforts, and was rather less successful than the Socialist Worker’s Party with its ‘Rock against Racism’ campaign, but at least there was a vibrancy of campaigning within a declining organisation which did leave an impact upon subsequent interpretations of punk rock and youth culture..Less

The British left’s attitude towards the Battle of Athens, December 1944–February 1945: commonalities and divisions

Anastasia Chartomatsidi

in Labour united and divided from the 1830s to the present

This chapter examines the wide range of discussions in British society sparked by the unprovoked shooting of unarmed civilians by the Greek police and British troops at Syntagma Square on 3 December ... More

This chapter examines the wide range of discussions in British society sparked by the unprovoked shooting of unarmed civilians by the Greek police and British troops at Syntagma Square on 3 December 1944, the Battle of Athens between the EAM/ELAS forces and the British troops assisted by Greek royalist forces until January 1945, and the reconciliation between the warring parties on 12 February 1945, after the signing of the Varkiza Agreement. The British Left participated in, and actively shaped, the public conversation on the events in Greece and on the role of the British government. On the surface, the three examined parties of the British Left called for the same thing: the withdrawal of British troops from Greece, the end of the British Government’s interventionist policy in Greek political affairs, and the prosperity and sovereignty of the Greek people. However, the response to the events was not unanimous since differences between the parties examined existed on the ideological, rhetorical and practical levels.Less

‘We never trained our children to be socialists’: the next Lansbury generation and Labour politics, 1881–1951

John Shepherd

in Labour and Working-Class Lives: Essays To Celebrate the Life and Work of Chris Wrigley

George Lansbury, the Leader of the Labour Party from 1932-1935, and his wife Bessie had twelve children – ten surviving into adulthood - many of whom played a significant role in the history of the ... More

George Lansbury, the Leader of the Labour Party from 1932-1935, and his wife Bessie had twelve children – ten surviving into adulthood - many of whom played a significant role in the history of the British Labour movement in the early and mid-twentieth century.This Lansbury generation is the focus of the essay by John Shepherd, whose monumental study of the life and political career of George Lansbury is well known and highly respected. In the early 1920s members of the Lansbury family for a time became members of the Communist Party of Great Britain - a factor that weighed against their father’s inclusion in Ramsay MacDonald’s first Labour Cabinet in 1924. Others became important pioneers in various campaigns in working-class politics, including women’s enfranchisement, birth control and abortion law reform. Altogether, they created something of a memorable Lansbury Labour dynasty in the East End, as well as in national political life. Nevertheless, what emerges from John Shepherd’s detailed and meticulous work is that, although the influence of this Lansbury generation was noteworthy in Labour politics, they never reached the political heights of their popular father. Like Herbert Gladstone, in an earlier essay, they played a very important role but in the shadow of their father’s dominating presence.Less

Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur: Students and the far left on English university campuses, .1970–90

Jodi Burkett

in Waiting for the Revolution: The British Far Left from 1956

The far left were an important force on English University and Polytechnic campuses in the 1970s and 1980s but they did not control or direct student politics. By exploring the debates within the far ... More

The far left were an important force on English University and Polytechnic campuses in the 1970s and 1980s but they did not control or direct student politics. By exploring the debates within the far left about students and the role of student activism this chapter sheds new light on the functioning of the far left within the student milieu. It also examines student politics in this period which, to date, have been under-researched. Many student political leaders in this period went on to important roles in mainstream politics. In exploring student politics we can, therefore, gain a greater understanding of British politics, society and culture in this period when Higher Education was changing rapidly and becoming increasingly open to the ‘masses’.Less

Worlds of possibilities: 1946–1955

John Williamson and Martin Cloonan

in Players' work time: A history of the British Musicians' Union, 1893â2013

This chapter examines the development of the music industries (including broadcasting) and the MU in the ten years post 1945. A 1946 survey of musicians is reported. The working practices of ... More

This chapter examines the development of the music industries (including broadcasting) and the MU in the ten years post 1945. A 1946 survey of musicians is reported. The working practices of bandleaders, composers and semi-professional musicians is examined. The 1948 election of Hardie Ratcliffe as General Secretary of the MU is reported and the role of the Communist Part of Great Britain within the Union discussed. A 1946 agreement between PPL and the MU is shown to be of particular importance. The end of the “ban” on alien musicians entering the UK to work is reported.Less

‘A state of confusion which at times amounted almost to chaos’: MI5 1939–41

Charmian Brinson and Richard Dove

in A matter of intelligence: MI5 and the surveillance of anti-Nazi refugees, 1933-50

This chapter deals with MI5's problems in the years 1939-41. According to its own internal history, written in 1946 by John Curry, MI5 was ‘in a state of confusion amounting almost to chaos’ for most ... More

This chapter deals with MI5's problems in the years 1939-41. According to its own internal history, written in 1946 by John Curry, MI5 was ‘in a state of confusion amounting almost to chaos’ for most of the two years following the outbreak of war. The chapter introduces the academic William Robson-Scott, who was recruited to MI5 before the outbreak of war as a German specialist. It also draws on the wartime diaries of Guy Liddell which illuminate MI5's attitudes towards government and in particular its differences with the Home Office, as well as its attitude towards the Communist Party of Great Britain following the Nazi-Soviet Pact and finally its interrogation of the Soviet defector Walter Krivitsky.Less