The Communist Party of Great Britain was formed in 1920 with around 2,500 members. It grew to around 10,000 members by 1926, reaching a peak of around 60,000 in 1945 following its involvement in opposing intervention in the Russian Civil War and involvement in organizations like the National Minority Movement. However, it then started declining due to the impacts of the Cold War, Hungarian Revolution, and increasing affluence in Britain. While it still had some influence among trade unions into the 1980s, it disbanded in 1991.

1. Rise and fall of the British
Communist Party

The Communist Party of Great Britain was formed in 1920
with a membership of about 2,500.

This rose to 10,000 approx by 1926.

Its highest point was about 60,000 in 1945.

In 1945-6 it had two MPs and over 200 local councillors.

From 1950 on the party declined, badly affected by the Cold
War, the Hungarian Revolution and increasing affluence.

Its influence in the Trade Union movement stayed strong
until the 1980s and Mrs Thatcher's Trade Union legislation.

The party disbanded in 1991.

2. Hands Off Russia!
A preliminary movement
Campaign of British Socialists in 1919 to oppose British intervention
on the side of the Whites in the Russian Civil War.
Harry Pollitt, Tom Mann, Sylvia Pankhurst, George Lansbury were
prominent.
For months past "Hands Off Russia" has found its way into the
resolution of every labour and Socialist propaganda meeting and
literature about Russia has been the more eagerly read than any
other. (Sylvia Pankhurst 1919)
Many of those who were active in the Hands off Russia Campaign
would go on to found the Communist Party of Great Britain.

3. Foundation of Communist Party
of Great Britain (CPGB)

Founded in 1920 in London by the merger of several smaller
Marxist parties.

Third International or Comintern (Moscow) wanted to
establish communist parties across the world.

Idea gained support of many socialist organisations and
workers' committees after 1917.

Typically strongest among shop stewards and “rank and file”
groups.

“Hands Off Russia” Campaign and “Red Clydeside” groups
also important in its formation.

Many miners joined the party during and after the General
Strike of 1926, though miners' leader disavowed the
CPGB.

4. Daily Herald's attitude to CPGB
convention August 1920 - who is to be
master?

“. . . in any revolutionary movement the alternative is
not between dictatorship and no dictatorship. It is
between the dictatorship of the workers and the
dictatorship of the capitalists—or of their generals.

“To accept that is really to accept facts. And to refuse it
seems to us to ignore facts which happen to be unpalatable.
The strong point of the Communist Party is its steady
realism.”

5. “Purity”
.

Issues were hotly contested early on, e.g. "parliamentarism"
and the attitude of the Communist Party to the Labour Party.

Ever-recurring was the issue of “purity” and how far the
party should keep itself clear of being “tainted” by others.

Similarly, Marxist groups of 19thC had often vied to be the
“true” interpreters of Marx's thought

Lenin corresponded and met with many British Communists
at this time. Some historians assert he gave £55,000
towards the founding of the party – worth about £2m today.

6. Lenin on “left-wing
Communism”
Lenin spoke of good compromises and bad compromises, and
he criticized what he called the stupid attempt at purity by "left-
wing communists" to dismiss compromise entirely.
Lenin referred to “left-wing Communism” as an “infantile
disorder”.
Some such as Sylvia Pankhurst wanted to keep entirely clear of
Parliament and bourgeois institutions, and for Lenin that was
“left-wing Communism”.

7. A political marriage?

At first CPGB attempted to work within the Labour Party.
However, Labour Party decided against affiliation.
Simultaneously, the CPGB promoted candidates of its own at
parliamentary elections.
CPGB encouraged its members to join the Labour Party individually,
and seek Labour endorsement or help for any candidates.
Several Communists thus became Labour Party candidates, and
in 1922 two were elected.

Later, the Labour Party disallowed dual membership. Failure of
any real Labour/Communist relationship was a crucial factor
for left-wing British politics between the wars.

Labour leadership always felt such an alliance would be electoral
suicide.

8. A typical Labour attitude to
CPGB
John R. Clynes, one-time leader of the Labour Party, was
strongly opposed to working with the CPGB
"In countries where no democratic weapon exists a
class struggle for the enthronement of force by one
class over other classes may be condoned, [ie in
Russia] but in this country where the wage-earners
possess 90 per cent of the voting power of the
country, agitation to use not the power which is
possessed but some risky class dictatorship is a
futile and dangerous doctrine."
The phrase “Dictatorship of the Proletariat” was always
rather too much for most British political opinion.

9. Fatal flaw?

It is very useful to consider whether Labour
and the CPGB could, or should have come
together in the 1920s.

What were the factors involved?

Was the left thereby always weakened?

Would an alliance with the CPGB have kept
Labour permanently out of government?

10. The National Minority Movement,
sponsored by CPGB, founded 1924

Affiliated to the Red International of Labour Unions (RILU). Its president,
was Tom Mann and its General Secretary Harry Pollitt.

Other prominent figures included Wal Hannington, and A. J. Cook, who
was elected head of the Miners' Federation.

One of the most successful Communist efforts of the early period.

1926 a special "National Conference of Action" attended by 883
delegates claiming to represent 957,000 workers.

The Miners' Minority Movement was particularly militant.

The stage was set for a chain of events, which would culminate in the
1926 British General Strike.

12. CPGB and the General Strike of
1926 – the background

Idea of a General Strike was an old one, dating from 1830s
in UK.

Idea further developed by French syndicalists in late C19 to
early C20.

Tom Mann of Engineers' Union a leading proponent

The notion was to form industrial unions, then a parliament
of unions, leading to a general strike to overthrow the
capitalist system.

Syndicalism very active among big UK unions 1910-14

It was a worry to employers and govt., but of marginal
influence ultimately.

Tom Mann became a founder member of CPGB.

13. CPGB and the General Strike of
1926 – the background

Idea of a General Strike was an old one, dating from 1830s in UK.

Strategy further developed by French syndicalists in late C19 to
early C20.

The notion was to form industrial unions, then a parliament of
unions, leading to a general strike to overthrow the capitalist
system.

Syndicalism very active among big UK unions 1910-14.

It was a worry to employers and govt., but of marginal influence
ultimately.

Tom Mann of Engineer's Union a leading figure. He later became
a founder member of CPGB.

14. Historians' views of CPGB and General Strike

General Strike as a strategy was advocated by Comintern.

But in reality Communists had little influence on General Strike
apart from a few areas.

Chris Wrigley says there was actually a trend towards co-operation with
employers by mid-1920s.

CPGB did try to politicise unions, but AJ Cook, miners' leader, saw them
as a hindrance.

Tony Lane: “Trade Unionism carried within itself a politics of
accommodation to a capitalist society.”

Keith Laybourn: “In truth, Communism does not appear to have carried
much influence before, during or after the General Strike.”

Timothy Philips: “Moscow was keeping its distance from events...”

15. Practical reasons for lack of impact!

In 1925, 12 members were convicted for Incitement to Mutiny.

By the end of May 1926 (General Strike month) there were 135
Communists in prison, with 99 arrests during the strike.

Party HQ raided three times during the 9-day strike.

Having CPGB literature was enough to gain conviction in some courts.

Saklatvala, the only CPGB MP, arrested at start of strike, sentenced to
two months for sedition.

On 8th
May, leading organisers Robson and Springhall, sentenced to 6
weeks and two months with hard labour for seditious documents.

However, from Jan to Dec 1926, CPGB membership doubled to 11,000,
and party papers sold up to 80,000 copies.

16. Internal contradictions of the Soviet govt
and the CPGB
We see contradictions immediately following 1917 within the
Bolsheviks' international efforts:

Did they want to befriend capitalist countries, trade with them, but
also try to overthrow capitalism?

Did they despise parliamentary systems in western countries,
wish to set up soviets instead, yet try to get Communists elected
to parliament?

Did they despise reformist trade unions in the west, wish to set up
revolutionary unions, yet try to work within the reformist unions
also?

Useful article “The Comintern through a British Lens” by Kocho-Williams
http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/8146/1/The_Comintern_through_a_British_Lens_
%e2%80%93_AHA_2009.pdf
.

17. Kenneth Morgan on why the CP did not progress
more within the unions

Many militant union leaders had found it impossible to
combine high union office with “Leninist” CP discipline.

Example was leader of the furniture trade union, A A Purcell,
founder-member CP in 1920. He left the party in 1922.
Being more syndicalist-minded, he found its Leninist
discipline irksome.

AJ Cook, miners' leader, resigned quickly from CPGB,
though also a founder-member.

By 1931, membership down to 2,350.

18. AJ Cook, hero of the General Strike

19. Early leaders of CPGB