The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

 in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle

Political faction

A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...

, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw the defection of its pro-war Right Wing. After the victory of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 at the end of 1917 and the termination of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 the following year, the BSP emerged as an explicitly revolutionary socialist

Revolutionary socialism

The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...

 organisation. It negotiated with other radical

Political radicalism

The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...

 groups in an effort to establish a unified communist organisation, an effort which culminated in August 1920 with the establishment of the Communist Party of Great Britain

Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...

.

Formative period (1911-1913)

The founding conference which established the British Socialist Party was called by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a group best remembered to history by its pre-1908 moniker, the Social Democratic Federation

Social Democratic Federation

The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...

 (SDF). The old SDF had long sought the unity of the British Left, having originally begun negotiations on the topic with the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

 (ILP) not long after the formation of the latter in 1893. The ILP had long been unwilling to merge forces with a doctrinaire Marxist organization such as the SDF, however, and unity negotiations had reached an impasse. Finally, as the decade of the 1910s dawned, there seemed to be some interest in the topic among the rank and file

Rank and file

In politics and labor unions the rank and file are the individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership. The phrase originated in the military, denoting the horizontal "ranks" and vertical "files" of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the noncommissioned officers....

 of the ILP, and the 1910 Annual Conference of the SDF/SDP had decided to try again in earnest.

The gathering, held in Salford also drew some Independent Labour Party branches and groups adhering to the Clarion newspaper, alongside individuals and representatives of smaller socialist groups. It continued to publish the SDF's newspaper, Justice

Justice (newspaper)

Justice was the weekly newspaper of the Social Democratic Federation in the United Kingdom.The SDF had been known until January 1884 as the Democratic Federation. With the change of name, the organisation launched the paper. Many issues appeared with the by-line "Organ of the Social...

. The resulting organisation, the BSP, contained a multiplicity of views and was organized as a loose federation

Federation

A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...

 of clubs and branches rather than as a centralised

Centralization

Centralisation, or centralization , is the process by which the activities of an organisation, particularly those regarding planning and decision-making, become concentrated within a particular location and/or group....

 and disciplined party.

Leading members of the former SDF, led by the party's patriarch, H. M. Hyndman, rapidly took control of the new organisation. This leading group advocated that the BSP place an emphasis on electoral politics and the effort to capture the state through the ballot box rather than through labour agitation, the formation of trade unions, and pursuit of an extra-parliamentary route to power via the strike movement

Strike action

Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...

.

This cautious, electoral orientation of Hyndman and the early BSP leadership put the party at odds with the tumultuous situation in workplaces around the country. The last five years before the eruption of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in August 1914 were a period of mass labour turmoil. As one historian has noted:

"The mass strike wave of 1910 to 1914 remains unique in British history. A wild, elemental, pent-up force seemed suddenly let loose, disregarding precedents and agreements, impatient of compromise, shaking the old complacent trade unionism by the ears, sometimes, as in the rail strike of 1911, forcing conservative leaders ahead of it like fallen leaves driven before an autumn wind. The trade union leaders, almost to a man, deplored it, the government viewed it with alarm... yet disregarding everything, encouraged only by a small minority of syndicalist

Syndicalism

Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...

 leaders, the great strike wave rolled on, threatening to sweep away everything before it."

The 2nd Conference of the BSP was held 10 to 12 May 1913 at the seaside town of Blackpool. It was attended by about 100 delegates, the majority of whom stood in opposition to the standing Executive Committee of the party. This executive was headed by Henry Hyndman one of the founders of the SDF, an individual who had grown steadily more nationalistic in viewpoint, coming to advocate greater funding the British military

Military

A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 to oppose German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 belligerency. This proved increasingly controversial within the BSP, and opposition to militarism among the party's rank and file

Rank and file

In politics and labor unions the rank and file are the individual members of an organization, exclusive of its leadership. The phrase originated in the military, denoting the horizontal "ranks" and vertical "files" of individual foot-soldiers, exclusive of the noncommissioned officers....

 came to a head at the 2nd Conference.

The events of the 1913 Blackpool Conference were described by a radical

Political radicalism

The term political radicalism denotes political principles focused on altering social structures through revolutionary means and changing value systems in fundamental ways...

 Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 émigré named Vladimir Ulyanov, better known to history by his pen name, N. Lenin:

"[Hyndman] has been acting for a number of years without any attention to the party, and even against the party, on the important question of armaments and war. Hyndman has got it into his head that Germany is threatening to crush and enslave Britain and that socialists should, therefore, support the demand for a 'proper' (i.e., strong) navy for the defence of Britain! * * *


"Understandably, this fancy idea of Hyndman's pleased the British bourgeoisie

Bourgeoisie

In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...

 (the Conservatives

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

 and the Liberals

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

). It can also be understood that British Social-Democrats — be it said to their credit — would not tolerate this disgrace and shame and heatedly opposed it.


"The struggle was a long and stubborn one; attempts at a compromise were made, but Hyndman was incorrigible. It is greatly to the advantage of British Socialism that Hyndman was forced to leave the executive at this Conference and the composition of the executive was, in general, changed by 75 percent (of its eight members only two were reelected — Quelch and Irving)."

Further turnover of the executive soon followed, with Harry Quelch

Harry Quelch

Henry "Harry" Quelch , known exclusively by his nickname "Harry," was one of the first Marxists in Great Britain. He was a socialist activist, journalist and trade unionist...

 dying in London on 17 September 1913.

Internationalism versus national defence (1914-1916)

The party was hampered by a steady attrition of members and branches due to poor organization. A significant percentage of the membership had no clear conception of Marxist theory and were unwilling to dedicate time and effort to advancing the mission of the organization.

On 13 April 1914 a meeting was convened by the International Socialist Bureau between representatives of three of Britain's leading socialist organisations — the BSP, the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

, and the Fabian Society

Fabian Society

The Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...

. The body recommended the formation of a United Socialist Council for the three groups, if the BSP would affiliate with the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

. In line with this recommendation, the party's 1914 Annual Conference decided to take a membership referendum on the question.

The 2nd Conference of the BSP of May 1913 did not resolve the fundamental question facing the party — the decision as to whether it should pursue a policy of anti-militarist internationalism

Internationalism (politics)

Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...

, come what may, or whether it should rally around the flag in the event of military conflict with foreign enemies. The nationalist Hyndman faction had been dealt a defeat at Blackpool, but they remained in the organisation and licked their wounds, preparing for the next battle in the factional war.

The eruption of the Great War

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in August 1914 made the question of unification of the British socialist movement largely moot. All socialist organisation split over the question to greater or lesser degree, between left wing "internationalist" factions, which continued to seek the united action of the working class against worldwide capitalism

Capitalism

Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...

 without regard to territorial boundaries, and right wing "defencists," who rallied to their national colors to defend their country in time of military conflict. This tension between internationalism and national defence was particularly acute in the BSP, as the bitter disagreement had already shown itself in the factional politics of the organisation before the start of the war. Henry Hyndman was the unquestioned leader of the pro-nationalist BSP right, while Zelda Kahan (later Zelda Coates) was the leader of the BSP's internationalist wing.

Early in 1915 came the inevitable split, with the conservative Hyndman wing of the party leaving to form the Socialist National Defence League, while the leadership was defeated in elections in 1916 by an internationalist

Internationalism (politics)

Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all...

 group, essentially pacifist

Pacifism

Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...

, supporting the programme of the Zimmerwald Conference

Zimmerwald Conference

The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 through September 8, 1915. It was an international socialist conference, which saw the beginning of the end of the coalition between revolutionary socialists and reformist socialists in the Second International.-...

. Hyndman and his followers established the National Socialist Party

National Socialist Party (UK)

The National Socialist Party was a small political party in the United Kingdom, founded in 1916. It originated as a minority group within the British Socialist Party who supported British participation in World War I; while historically linked with the Marxist left, the party grew more moderate...

.

John Maclean

John Maclean (Scottish socialist)

John Maclean MA was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist. He is primarily known as a Marxist educator and notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War....

, the party's leader in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, played a leading role in Red Clydeside

Red Clydeside

Red Clydeside is a term used to describe the era of political radicalism that characterised the city of Glasgow in Scotland, and urban areas around the city on the banks of the River Clyde such as Clydebank, Greenock and Paisley...

 strikes during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.

Triumph of the anti-militarist wing (1916-1918)

The party's new leadership, around Secretary Albert Inkpin

Albert Inkpin

Albert Inkpin was a British communist and the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain . He served several terms in prison for political offenses...

, Treasurer Alf Watts

Alf Watts

Alf Watts, sometimes known as A. A. Watts was a British communist.Watts became a compositor and joined the Social Democratic Federation . In 1904, he became a member of the Board of Guardians in Poplar, a post he held until his death...

, and key labour leader John Maclean maintained the desire to join the Second International

Second International

The Second International , the original Socialist International, was an organization of socialist and labour parties formed in Paris on July 14, 1889. At the Paris meeting delegations from 20 countries participated...

. The BSP was finally accepted into the Labour Party

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 later that year.

BSP as a proto-communist party (1918-1920)

By 1918, a large percentage of the party, including Inkpin and Maclean, were inspired by the lead of the Bolshevik

Bolshevik

The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

s in the Russian Revolution

Russian Revolution of 1917

The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

 and determined to establish a British Communist Party on the model of Lenin's organization

Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...

 in Russia

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

. From this time forward the BSP, devoid of its right wing since 1916, emerged as a de facto Communist party.

Negotiations about unity began with the Socialist Labour Party, a group centered in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 espousing a vision of revolutionary industrial unionism not far removed from the Russian soviets

Soviet (council)

Soviet was a name used for several Russian political organizations. Examples include the Czar's Council of Ministers, which was called the “Soviet of Ministers”; a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia; and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union....

, but no agreement could be reached on various organizational details, including the question of whether the new party should affiliate to the Labour Party. An interlude in which the British political landscape was sprinkled with an array of small radical grouplets followed.

The BSP remained the largest of the proto-Communist radical organizations, however, claiming a membership of about 6,000 in 1920. The BSP also gained the cachet of parliamentary representation when it was joined by former Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 MP Cecil L'Estrange Malone

Cecil L'Estrange Malone

Cecil John L'Estrange Malone was Britain's first communist member of the House of Commons.-Early years:Born in Dalton Holme, Yorkshire on 7 September 1890, a rector's son, he joined the Royal Navy in 1905 and attended the Royal Naval College at Devonport. In 1912 he learned to fly and gained his...

.

The BSP remained patient and persistent in its efforts to establish a new Communist Party in Great Britain. During the weekend of 31 July to 1 August 1920, a founding convention was held in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 at which the Communist Party of Great Britain

Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...

 was established. The new organization included some dissident members of the SLP and representatives of several other small radical groups, such as the South Wales Socialist Society

South Wales Socialist Society

The South Wales Socialist Society was a federation of communist groups in Wales, with many of its members being coal miners. It was formed as the Rhondda Socialist Society in 1911 by participants in the Miners Reform Movement, which opposed right-wing trade union leaders., It enthusiastically...

 and the South Wales Communist Council (SWCC), individuals affiliated with the radical shop steward's movement, and adherents of a pro-Comintern

Comintern

The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...

 faction

Political faction

A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...

 of the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

.

A Joint Provisional Committee was chosen to organise the foundation convention of the new party. Representatives of the BSP were J.F. Hodgson, A.A. "Alf" Watts

Alf Watts

Alf Watts, sometimes known as A. A. Watts was a British communist.Watts became a compositor and joined the Social Democratic Federation . In 1904, he became a member of the Board of Guardians in Poplar, a post he held until his death...

, and Fred Willis, joined by Tom Bell, Arthur MacManus

Arthur MacManus

Arthur MacManus was a Scottish trade unionist and communist politician.-Political career:MacManus joined the De Leonist Socialist Labour Party and began work at Singers in Clydebank, then known as part of the Red Clydeside...

, and William Paul

William Paul (British politician)

William Paul , often known as Willie or Bill Paul, was a British socialist politician.Born in Glasgow, Paul became an active socialist and joined the Socialist Labour Party . In 1911, he moved to Derby, where he ran a market stall selling hosiery and drapery...

 of the "Communist Unity Group" faction formerly associated with the SLP, as well as W.J. Hewlett of the SWCC. Secretary was Albert Inkpin

Albert Inkpin

Albert Inkpin was a British communist and the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain . He served several terms in prison for political offenses...

 of the BSP. The group agreed in advance that a Provisional Executive Committee should be established by the forthcoming Communist Party of Great Britain by the Convention electing six more to add to this list.

Effective with the merger, the BSP and its newspaper, The Call, was terminated, replaced by the new party with its new weekly publication published in London called The Communist.

The former office of the BSP, located at 21a Maiden Lane, Strand, London, W.C.2, was made the first office of the newly formed CPGB, which moved to new accommodations within a year.

Conferences of the BSP

{| class="wikitable"

|-
! Year
! Name
! Location
! Dates
! Delegates
|-
! 1911
| align="center" | Socialist Unity Conference
| align="center" | Salford
| align="center" | 30 Sept.-1 Oct.
| align="center" | 219
|-
! 1912
| align="center" | 1st Annual Conference
| align="center" | Manchester
| align="center" | 25–27 March
| align="center" | 250
|-
! 1913
| align="center" | 2nd Annual Conference
| align="center" | Blackpool
| align="center" | 10–12 March
| align="center" | 106
|-
! 1914
| align="center" | 3rd Annual Conference
| align="center" | London
| align="center" | 12–14 April
| align="center" | 140
|-
! 1915
| align="center" | No Conference Held.
| align="center" |
| align="center" |
| align="center" |
|-
! 1916
| align="center" | 5th Annual Conference
| align="center" | Salford
| align="center" | 23–24 April
| align="center" | 108
|-
! 1917
| align="center" | 6th Annual Conference
| align="center" | Salford
| align="center" | 8–9 April
| align="center" | 77
|-
! 1918
| align="center" | 7th Annual Conference
| align="center" | Leeds
| align="center" | 31 March-1 April
| align="center" | 70
|-
! 1919
| align="center" | 8th Annual Conference
| align="center" | Sheffield
| align="center" | 20–21 April
| align="center" | 118
|-
! 1920
| align="center" | 9th Annual Conference
| align="center" | London
| align="center" | 4–5 April
| align="center" | 78
|-
Data from Kendall, The Revolutionary Movement in Britain, pg. 311.
|}

Notable members

• W.P. Coates
• Zelda Kahan-Coates
• Willie Gallacher
  Willie Gallacher
  William "Willie" Gallacher was a Scottish trade unionist, activist and communist. He was one of the leading figures of the Shop Stewards' Movement in wartime Glasgow and a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain...
  
  
• Edward Hartley
  Edward Hartley
  Edward Robertshaw Hartley was a British socialist politician.Hartley began work in a mill at the age of ten, before becoming a warehouse clerk and then a butcher. He became an active socialist in 1885, in reaction to serious unemployment in his home town of Bradford. He was a founder member of...
  
  
• J.F. Hodgson
• H.M. Hyndman
• Albert Inkpin
  Albert Inkpin
  Albert Inkpin was a British communist and the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain . He served several terms in prison for political offenses...
  
  
• Dan Irving
  Dan Irving
  David Daniel Irving, known as Dan Irving was a British socialist activist and Labour Party Member of Parliament....
  
  
• John Joseph "Jack" Jones
• Tom Kennedy
  Tom Kennedy (UK politician)
  Thomas Kennedy PC was a Scottish Labour politician.Kennedy was born in Kennethmont, Aberdeenshire, and became a railway clerk. He joined the Social Democratic Federation and soon became its organiser for Aberdeen, standing for Parliament in Aberdeen North in 1906 and January 1910...
  
  
• Fred Knee
  Fred Knee
  Fred Knee was a British trade unionist and socialist politician.Born in Frome, Somerset, Knee became a printer and moved to London in search of work. By 1892, Knee was living in Wimbledon and had joined the Social Democratic Federation and the Co-operative Society...
  
  

• Henry W. Lee
  Henry W. Lee
  Henry W. Lee, often known as H. W. Lee was a prominent British socialist.Born in London, Lee worked in the printing industry, then joined the Social Democratic Federation soon after its foundation. He became the full-time Assistant Secretary of the party in 1885 and soon after became its General...
  
  
• James Litterick
  James Litterick
  James Litterick was a politician in Manitoba, Canada, and was the first member of the Communist Party of Canada to be elected to that province's legislature....
  
  
• John Maclean
  John Maclean (Scottish socialist)
  John Maclean MA was a Scottish schoolteacher and revolutionary socialist. He is primarily known as a Marxist educator and notable for his outspoken opposition to the First World War....
  
  
• Cecil L'Estrange Malone
  Cecil L'Estrange Malone
  Cecil John L'Estrange Malone was Britain's first communist member of the House of Commons.-Early years:Born in Dalton Holme, Yorkshire on 7 September 1890, a rector's son, he joined the Royal Navy in 1905 and attended the Royal Naval College at Devonport. In 1912 he learned to fly and gained his...
  
  
• Tom Mann
  Tom Mann
  Tom Mann was a noted British trade unionist. Largely self-educated, Mann became a successful organiser and a popular public speaker in the labour movement.-Early years:...
  
  
• William McLaine
• Harry McShane
  Harry McShane
  Harry McShane was a Scottish socialist, and a close colleague of John Maclean. Born into a Roman Catholic family, he became a Marxist...
  
  
• Ivor Montagu
  Ivor Montagu
  The Honorable Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu was a British filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player and apparent Soviet spy...
  
  
• Dora Montefiore
  Dora Montefiore
  Dorothy Frances Montefiore was an English-Australian women's suffragist and socialist. She also wrote poetry, and her autobiography.-Early life:...
  
  
• Walton Newbold
  Walton Newbold
  John Turner Walton Newbold , known as Walton Newbold, was the first Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom to be elected as a Communist.-Early years:...
  
  

• Conrad Noel
  Conrad Noel
  Conrad le Despenser Roden Noel was an English priest of the Church of England. Known as the "Red Vicar" of Thaxted, he was a prominent British Christian Socialist...
  
  
• Harry Pollitt
  Harry Pollitt
  Harry Pollitt was the head of the trade union department of the Communist Party of Great Britain and the General Secretary of the party for more than 20 years.- Early life :...
  
  
• Harry Quelch
  Harry Quelch
  Henry "Harry" Quelch , known exclusively by his nickname "Harry," was one of the first Marxists in Great Britain. He was a socialist activist, journalist and trade unionist...
  
  
• Tom Quelch
• Andrew Rothstein
  Andrew Rothstein
  Andrew Rothstein was a Russian-British journalist.Rothstein, who was to became a significant figure in British Communism, was born in London to Jewish Russian political emigrants. His subsequent life was always tinged by the identity of his father, Theodore Rothstein...
  
  
• Theodore Rothstein
  Theodore Rothstein
  Theodore Aronovich Rothstein was a journalist, writer and communist. He served as a Soviet ambassador in the 1920s.- Life :Theodore Aronovich Rothstein was born 1871 in the Imperial Russian city of Kovno , the son of a Jewish family.Rothstein left Russia in 1890 for political reasons and settled...
  
  
• Will Thorne
  Will Thorne
  William James Thorne CBE , known as Will Thorne, was a British trade unionist, activist and one of the first Labour Members of Parliament .-Early years:...
  
  
• A.A. "Alf" Watts
  Alf Watts
  Alf Watts, sometimes known as A. A. Watts was a British communist.Watts became a compositor and joined the Social Democratic Federation . In 1904, he became a member of the Board of Guardians in Poplar, a post he held until his death...
  
  
• Tom Williams
  Tom Williams, Baron Williams of Barnburgh
  "Tom" Williams, Baron Williams of Barnburgh, PC was a British coal miner who became a Labour Party politician.-Career:...
  
  
• Fred Willis