Labour Independent Group
Encyclopedia
The Labour Independent Group was an organisation of five former Labour Party
Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom
.
In April 1948, the MP John Platts-Mills
campaigned for Pietro Nenni
and the Italian Socialist Party
, against the Labour government policy. He was expelled from the party. In May 1949, six Labour MPs voted against signing the North Atlantic Treaty
, and of them, Leslie Solley
and Konni Zilliacus
were expelled.
All these MPs were known for their communist sympathies, and the four joined with D. N. Pritt, who had been expelled from the Labour Party in 1940 for supporting the Soviet Union
in the Russo-Finnish War, to form the Labour Independent Group. Pritt was appointed the group's Chairman.
The group adopted a position of support for Joseph Stalin
. Zilliacus developed a negative impression of Stalin when the two met, and so he resigned from the group later in 1949, instead adopting a position of support for Josip Broz Tito
, who he had also met.
In July 1949, Lester Hutchinson
was also expelled from the Labour Party and joined the group. All four remaining MPs stood as "Independent Labour" candidates in the 1950 UK general election, but all lost their seats, thus dissolving the group.
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...
Members of Parliament (MPs) in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
In April 1948, the MP John Platts-Mills
John Platts-Mills
John Faithful Fortescue Platts-Mills, QC was a British Labour Party politician born in Wellington, New Zealand. He graduated with a first-class honours degree in law from Victoria University of Wellington and in 1928 won a Rhodes Scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford...
campaigned for Pietro Nenni
Pietro Nenni
Pietro Sandro Nenni was an Italian socialist politician, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party and lifetime Senator since 1970. He was a recipient of the Stalin Peace Prize in 1951...
and the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
, against the Labour government policy. He was expelled from the party. In May 1949, six Labour MPs voted against signing the North Atlantic Treaty
North Atlantic Treaty
The North Atlantic Treaty is the treaty that brought NATO into existence, signed in Washington, D.C. on 4 April 1949. The original twelve nations that signed it and thus became the founding members of NATO were:...
, and of them, Leslie Solley
Leslie Solley
Leslie Judah Solley was a British politician and barrister.Solley was born in London and attended the University of London. He worked as a scientist and then a barrister...
and Konni Zilliacus
Konni Zilliacus
Konni Zilliacus was a left-wing Labour Party politician in the United Kingdom.-Life:Zilliacus was born on 13 September 1894 in Japan, where his parents, Finland-Swedish Konrad Viktor Zilliacus , a prominent activist for the independence of Finland from the Russian Empire, and American-born Lilian...
were expelled.
All these MPs were known for their communist sympathies, and the four joined with D. N. Pritt, who had been expelled from the Labour Party in 1940 for supporting 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....
in the Russo-Finnish War, to form the Labour Independent Group. Pritt was appointed the group's Chairman.
The group adopted a position of support for 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...
. Zilliacus developed a negative impression of Stalin when the two met, and so he resigned from the group later in 1949, instead adopting a position of support for Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
, who he had also met.
In July 1949, Lester Hutchinson
Lester Hutchinson
Hugh Lester Hutchinson was a Labour politician who was elected to represent Manchester Rusholme in the 1945 General Election....
was also expelled from the Labour Party and joined the group. All four remaining MPs stood as "Independent Labour" candidates in the 1950 UK general election, but all lost their seats, thus dissolving the group.