Harry Pollitt
Encyclopedia
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.
, Lancashire
. He was the second of six children of Samuel Pollitt (1863–1933), a blacksmith's striker, and his wife, Mary Louisa (1868–1939), a cotton spinner, daughter of William Charlesworth, a joiner. Pollitt's parents were socialists
and freethinkers
and it was his mother, a member of the Independent Labour Party
, who provided the youngster with his first induction into the principles and local networks of socialism. Theirs was an especially close relationship and Pollitt found in his mother both a confidante and a model of working-class dignity in the face of affliction.
His own sense of injustice at family poverty, as three of his siblings died in infancy, was likewise fundamental to the strong identification with the working class that lay at the root of his political outlook. His formal education, at the local school, ended when he was thirteen. Pollitt was a boilermaker
by trade and he frequently travelled around the country in this connection.
In 1915, whilst living in Southampton, he led a strike of local boilermakers.
. At the end of the war he joined Sylvia Pankhurst
's Workers Socialist Federation
, which became the Communist Party (British Section of the Third International). As a member of this group he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain when it was formed in mid-1920. Pankhurst soon left the party, but Pollitt remained. He was heavily influenced by the Communist intellectual
Rajani Palme Dutt
, and the two remained close allies for many years. From 1924 to 1929 Pollitt was General Secretary of the National Minority Movement
, a Communist-led united front within the trade unions.
In 1925, he married Marjory Edna Brewer (b. 1902), a communist schoolteacher, and they had a son and a daughter. That year Pollitt was one of 12 members of the Communist Party convicted at the Old Bailey
under the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797
, and one of the five defendants sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
, until 1956. He was then made Chairman of the Party, a position he held until his death four years later aboard an ocean liner carrying him home from a visit to Australia
and New Zealand
.
In his public statements, Pollitt was loyal to the Soviet Union
and to CPSU General Secretary
Joseph Stalin
. He was a defender of the Moscow Trials
in which Stalin disposed of his political and military opponents. In the Daily Worker of 12 March 1936 Pollitt told the world that "the trials in Moscow represent a new triumph in the history of progress". The article was illustrated by a photograph of Stalin with Nikolai Yezhov
, himself shortly to vanish and his photographs airbrushed from history by NKVD
archivists.
. When this turned out to be contrary to the Soviet line (as Rajani Palme Dutt
, who succeeded him as General Secretary, had warned him it would be), he was forced to resign.
Pollitt contested the Parliamentary seat of Rhondda East several times; in 1945 he was less than a thousand votes from winning the seat from the Labour candidate.
Pollitt faced another crisis in 1956 when Nikita Khrushchev
attacked the legacy of Stalin. Also in 1956 the Soviet repression of the Hungarian revolution made the crisis in the party worse, and most of its intellectual figures (including Doris Lessing
and E. P. Thompson
) and many ordinary members resigned. Others, for example Eric Hobsbawm
, chose to stay in the Party to try to reform it. Pollitt, depressed both by physical illness (including temporary blindness) and his increasing political isolation, resigned as General Secretary and was appointed CP Chairman.
In this position, he became disilusioned not with Stalin but with Khrushchev himself for telling the story of his crimes. "He's staying there as long as I'm alive", he said of the portrait of Stalin that hung in his living room.
Harry Pollitt died , aged 69, of a cerebral haemorrhage, after years of worsening health, while returning on SS Orion from a speaking tour of Australia
on 27 June 1960. He was cremated at Golders Green
on 9 July, and was survived by his wife and two children, Brian and Jean.
In 1971, Pollitt's devotion to the Soviet cause and to international communism was acknowledged by Moscow when the Soviet navy named a ship after him. A plaque dedicated to the memory of Pollitt was unveiled by the Mayor of Tameside
on 22 March 1995 outside Droylsden
Library. He is also ironically commemorated in the humorous song The Ballad of Harry Pollitt, which actually circulated most popularly in his lifetime.
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:...
and the General Secretary of the party for more than 20 years.
Early life
Pollitt was born 22 November 1890 in DroylsdenDroylsden
Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. He was the second of six children of Samuel Pollitt (1863–1933), a blacksmith's striker, and his wife, Mary Louisa (1868–1939), a cotton spinner, daughter of William Charlesworth, a joiner. Pollitt's parents were socialists
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and freethinkers
Freethought
Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that opinions should be formed on the basis of science, logic, and reason, and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or other dogmas...
and it was his mother, a member 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...
, who provided the youngster with his first induction into the principles and local networks of socialism. Theirs was an especially close relationship and Pollitt found in his mother both a confidante and a model of working-class dignity in the face of affliction.
His own sense of injustice at family poverty, as three of his siblings died in infancy, was likewise fundamental to the strong identification with the working class that lay at the root of his political outlook. His formal education, at the local school, ended when he was thirteen. Pollitt was a boilermaker
Boilermaker
A boilermaker is a trained craftsman who produces steel fabrications from plates and sections. The name originated from craftsmen who would fabricate boilers, but they may work on projects as diverse as bridges to blast furnaces to the construction of mining equipment.-Boilermaking:Many...
by trade and he frequently travelled around the country in this connection.
In 1915, whilst living in Southampton, he led a strike of local boilermakers.
Communist union leader
In 1919 Pollitt was involved in the "Hands off Russia" campaign to protest against western intervention in the Russian Civil WarRussian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. At the end of the war he joined Sylvia Pankhurst
Sylvia Pankhurst
Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst was an English campaigner for the suffragist movement in the United Kingdom. She was for a time a prominent left communist who then devoted herself to the cause of anti-fascism.-Early life:...
's Workers Socialist Federation
Workers Socialist Federation
The Workers' Socialist Federation was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom, led by Sylvia Pankhurst. Under many different names, it gradually broadened its politics from a focus on women's suffrage to eventually become a left communist grouping....
, which became the Communist Party (British Section of the Third International). As a member of this group he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain when it was formed in mid-1920. Pankhurst soon left the party, but Pollitt remained. He was heavily influenced by the Communist intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
Rajani Palme Dutt
Rajani Palme Dutt
Rajani Palme Dutt , best known as R. Palme Dutt, was a leading journalist and theoretician in the Communist Party of Great Britain.-Early years:...
, and the two remained close allies for many years. From 1924 to 1929 Pollitt was General Secretary of the National Minority Movement
National Minority Movement
The National Minority Movement was a British organisation, established in 1924 by the Communist Party of Great Britain, which attempted to organise a radical presence within the existing trade unions...
, a Communist-led united front within the trade unions.
In 1925, he married Marjory Edna Brewer (b. 1902), a communist schoolteacher, and they had a son and a daughter. That year Pollitt was one of 12 members of the Communist Party convicted at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
under the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797
Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797
The Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 was an Act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain. The Act was passed in the aftermath of the Spithead and Nore mutinies and aimed to prevent the seduction of sailors and soldiers to commit mutiny....
, and one of the five defendants sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
General Secretary of the CPGB
In 1929 the CPGB elected him General Secretary, a position he held, with a brief interruption during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, until 1956. He was then made Chairman of the Party, a position he held until his death four years later aboard an ocean liner carrying him home from a visit to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
In his public statements, Pollitt was loyal to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and to CPSU General Secretary
General Secretary
The office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. He was a defender of the Moscow Trials
Moscow Trials
The Moscow Trials were a series of show trials conducted in the Soviet Union and orchestrated by Joseph Stalin during the Great Purge of the 1930s. The victims included most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, as well as the leadership of the Soviet secret police...
in which Stalin disposed of his political and military opponents. In the Daily Worker of 12 March 1936 Pollitt told the world that "the trials in Moscow represent a new triumph in the history of progress". The article was illustrated by a photograph of Stalin with Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Yezhov
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov or Ezhov was a senior figure in the NKVD under Joseph Stalin during the period of the Great Purge. His reign is sometimes known as the "Yezhovshchina" , "the Yezhov era", a term that began to be used during the de-Stalinization campaign of the 1950s...
, himself shortly to vanish and his photographs airbrushed from history by NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
archivists.
Views of World War II
In September 1939, despite the Hitler-Stalin pact, he welcomed the British declaration of war on Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. When this turned out to be contrary to the Soviet line (as Rajani Palme Dutt
Rajani Palme Dutt
Rajani Palme Dutt , best known as R. Palme Dutt, was a leading journalist and theoretician in the Communist Party of Great Britain.-Early years:...
, who succeeded him as General Secretary, had warned him it would be), he was forced to resign.
Return as General Secretary
He was reinstated in 1941 when the Soviet Union entered the war.Pollitt contested the Parliamentary seat of Rhondda East several times; in 1945 he was less than a thousand votes from winning the seat from the Labour candidate.
Pollitt faced another crisis in 1956 when Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
attacked the legacy of Stalin. Also in 1956 the Soviet repression of the Hungarian revolution made the crisis in the party worse, and most of its intellectual figures (including Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
and E. P. Thompson
E. P. Thompson
Edward Palmer Thompson was a British historian, writer, socialist and peace campaigner. He is probably best known today for his historical work on the British radical movements in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, in particular The Making of the English Working Class...
) and many ordinary members resigned. Others, for example Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
, chose to stay in the Party to try to reform it. Pollitt, depressed both by physical illness (including temporary blindness) and his increasing political isolation, resigned as General Secretary and was appointed CP Chairman.
In this position, he became disilusioned not with Stalin but with Khrushchev himself for telling the story of his crimes. "He's staying there as long as I'm alive", he said of the portrait of Stalin that hung in his living room.
Death and legacy
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 27 June 1960. He was cremated at Golders Green
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000, and was opened in 1902 by Sir Henry Thompson....
on 9 July, and was survived by his wife and two children, Brian and Jean.
In 1971, Pollitt's devotion to the Soviet cause and to international communism was acknowledged by Moscow when the Soviet navy named a ship after him. A plaque dedicated to the memory of Pollitt was unveiled by the Mayor of Tameside
Tameside
The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England. It is named after the River Tame which flows through the borough and spans the towns of Ashton-under-Lyne, Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge. Its western...
on 22 March 1995 outside Droylsden
Droylsden
Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
Library. He is also ironically commemorated in the humorous song The Ballad of Harry Pollitt, which actually circulated most popularly in his lifetime.
Publications by Harry Pollitt
- The Communist Party on Trial: Harry Pollitt's Defence. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1925].
- Pollitt's Reply to Citrine. London: National Minority Movement, Aug. 1928.
- The Workers' Charter. London: National Minority Movement, n.d. [c. 1929].
- Struggle or Starve. London: National Minority Movement, n.d. [c. 1931].
- Which Way for the Workers? Harry Pollitt, Communist Party, versus Fenner Brockway, Independent Labour Party, London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [c. 1932].
- Towards Soviet Power. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1933].
- Into Action! The Communist Party's Proposals for the National Unity Congress, February, 1934. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1934].
- The Way Forward: Harry Pollit's Speech at the Great United Front Congress at Bermondsey, February 24th, 1934 (Opening the Discussion on Main Resolution). London: National Congress and March Council, n.d. [1934].
- Labour and War. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [c. 1935].
- We Can Stop War! London: n.p. [Communist Party of Great Britain], n.d. [1935].
- Dynamite in the Dock: Harry Pollitt's Evidence Before the Arms Inquiry Commission. London: n.p. [Communist Party of Great Britain], n.d. [1935].
- Harry Pollitt Speaks: A Call to All Workers. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1935].
- Unity Against the National Government: Harry Pollitt's Speech at the Seventh Congress of the Communist International. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1935].
- The Labour Party and the Communist Party. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1935].
- Forward! London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1936].
- I Accuse Baldwin. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1936].
- The Path to Peace. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1936].
- Unity, Peace, and Security: Pollitt's Reply to Morrison. London: n.p. [Communist Party of Great Britain], n.d. [1936].
- Save Spain from Fascism. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Aug. 1936.
- Spain and the TUC. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Sept. 1936.
- Arms for Spain. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Oct. 1936.
- A War Was Stopped! The Story of the Dockers and the 'Jolly George. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1936].
- The Unity Campaign. With Stafford Cripps (Socialist League) and James Maxton (ILP). London: n.p. [Communist Party of Great Britain], Jan. 1937.
- The Truth About Trotskyism: Moscow Trial, January 1937. With R. Palme Dutt. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Feb. 1937.
- Save Peace! Aid Spain. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, May 1937.
- Salute to the Soviet Union. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Oct. 1937.
- Labour's Way Forward. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Nov. 1937.
- Pollitt Visits Spain. Foreword by J.B.S. Haldane. London: International Brigade Wounded and Dependants' Aid Fund, Feb. 1938.
- Austria. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, March 1938.
- Czecho-Slovakia and Britain. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, May 1938.
- For Unity in London. With Ted Bramley. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [June 1938].
- Czechoslovakia. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Sept. 1938. Reissued Oct. 1938 as Czechoslovakia Betrayed.
- Defence of the People. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Feb. 1939.
- Spain: What Next? London: Communist Party of Great Britain, March 1939.
- Can Conscription Save Peace? London: Communist Party of Great Britain, May 1939.
- Will It Be War? London: Communist Party of Great Britain, July 1939.
- How to Win the War. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Sept. 1939.
- The War and the Labour Movement. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, June 1940.
- The War and the Workshop: Letters to Bill No. 1. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, July 1940.
- What Is Russia Going to Do? Letters to Bill No. 2. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, [July 1940].
- Wages — A Policy. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Dec. 1940.
- Tom Mann, Born April 15, 1856, Died March 13, 1941: A Tribute by Harry Pollitt. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [March 1941].
- Smash Hitler Now! London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [c. June 1941].
- A Call for Arms. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1941].
- Britain's Chance Has Come. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [c. Oct. 1941].
- The World in Arms. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [1942].
- Into Battle! The Call of May Day 1942. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, April 1942.
- The Way to Win: Decisions of the National Conference of the Communist Party of Great Britain, May 1942. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, n.d. [May 1942].
- Speed the Second Front. London: Communist Party of Great Britain, July 1942.
- Deeds — Not Words!" London: Communist Party of Great Britain, Oct. 1942.
External links
- Harry Pollitt Internet Archive, Marxists Internet Archive. Retrieved 30 Aug. 2009.