The Socialist Labour Party and the leadership of early British Communism

Article

McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 2020. The Socialist Labour Party and the leadership of early British Communism. Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. 48 (4), pp. 609-659. https://doi.org/10.1080/03017605.2020.1850817
TypeArticle
TitleThe Socialist Labour Party and the leadership of early British Communism
AuthorsMcIlroy, J. and Campbell, A.
Abstract

The Socialist Labour Party (SLP) contributed a small number of members to the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) founded a century ago, compared with the considerably larger British Socialist Party (BSP). Nonetheless, some historians have claimed that leading SLP members, well-versed in Marxist theory, proved to be excellent leadership material and figured disproportionately in directing the early CPGB. ‘Bolshevisation’ of the party in the mid-1920s saw them crowded out by opportunist ex-BSP activists more amenable to Moscow, with a deleterious impact on the CPGB’s theoretical clarity and political fortunes.
Absorption in mundane activity blunted the former SLPers’ theoretical edge and ‘will to revolution’. A statistical analysis of compositional trends on the CPGB Executive Committee, 1920–1928, combined with examination of the 19 ex-SLPers who sat on it and more detailed exploration of major ex-SLP protagonists, confirms they punched above their weight, not just initially but through the 1920s. However, the turning point was not ‘Bolshevisation’ but the onset in 1929 of Stalin’s leftist Third Period. There is scant evidence that former SLP representatives were replaced in the leadership by former BSP activists. The idea of conflicting SLP and BSP political identities persisting beyond the party’s ‘bedding down’ period is exaggerated and fails to facilitate understanding of CPGB development during its first decade.

PublisherRoutledge
JournalCritique: Journal of Socialist Theory
ISSN0301-7605
Electronic1748-8605
Publication dates
Print01 Oct 2020
Online19 Jan 2021
Publication process dates
Deposited15 Apr 2021
Submitted11 Aug 2020
Accepted07 Sep 2020
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory on 01/10/2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/03017605.2020.1850817.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/03017605.2020.1850817
LanguageEnglish
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McIlroy, J. 2010. Organized labour history in Britain. in: Allen, J., Campbell, A. and McIlroy, J. (ed.) Histories of labour: national and international perspectives Merlin Press. pp. 26-63
Histories of labour: national and international perspectives. Editors' introduction
McIlroy, J., Campbell, A. and Allen, J. 2010. Histories of labour: national and international perspectives. Editors' introduction. in: Allen, J., Campbell, A. and McIlroy, J. (ed.) Histories of labour: national and international perspectives Merlin Press. pp. 7-25
Testimony of a revolutionary
McIlroy, J. 2014. Testimony of a revolutionary. Capital and Class. 38 (3), pp. 609-616. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816814551268a
Marxism and the trade unions: the bureaucracy versus the rank and file debate revisited
McIlroy, J. 2014. Marxism and the trade unions: the bureaucracy versus the rank and file debate revisited. Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. 42 (4), pp. 497-526. https://doi.org/10.1080/03017605.2014.984493
British trade unions and the academics: the case of Unionlearn
McIlroy, J. and Croucher, R. 2013. British trade unions and the academics: the case of Unionlearn. Capital and Class. 37 (2), pp. 263-284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816813487134
The turn to transnational labor history and the study of global trade unionism
McIlroy, J. and Croucher, R. 2013. The turn to transnational labor history and the study of global trade unionism. Labor History. 54 (5), pp. 491-511. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2013.849923
British Labour and the challenge of Israel-Palestine
McIlroy, J. 2013. British Labour and the challenge of Israel-Palestine. Capital and Class. 37 (3), pp. 491-496. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816813505282b
The Society for the Study of Labour History, 1956–1985: its origins and its heyday
McIlroy, J. 2010. The Society for the Study of Labour History, 1956–1985: its origins and its heyday. Labour History Review. 75 (S.1), pp. 19-112. https://doi.org/10.1179/174581810X12574393682708
Beyond national history
Croucher, R. and McIlroy, J. 2013. Beyond national history. Labor History. 54 (5), pp. 485-491. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2013.849922
A Trotskyist's tale
McIlroy, J. 2013. A Trotskyist's tale. History Workshop Journal. 75 (1), pp. 287-297. https://doi.org/10.1093/hwj/dbs028
Restoring Stalinism to communist history
McIlroy, J. 2013. Restoring Stalinism to communist history. Critique: Journal of Socialist Theory. 41 (4), pp. 599-622. https://doi.org/10.1080/03017605.2013.876816
Léon Jouhaux, Louis Saillant and the national and international in transnational trade unionism
McIlroy, J. 2013. Léon Jouhaux, Louis Saillant and the national and international in transnational trade unionism. Labor History. 54 (5), pp. 554-576. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2013.849927
Asa Briggs and the emergence of labour history in post-war Britain [book section]
McIlroy, J. 2014. Asa Briggs and the emergence of labour history in post-war Britain [book section]. in: Taylor, M. (ed.) The age of Asa: Lord Briggs, public life and history in Britain since 1945 London Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 108-141
Organizing for partnership: the influence of the American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organisations on the British Trades Union Congress 1995–2005
McIlroy, J. 2013. Organizing for partnership: the influence of the American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organisations on the British Trades Union Congress 1995–2005. Labor History. 54 (2), pp. 138-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2013.773143
The last chance saloon? The Independent Labour Party and miners' militancy in the Second World War revisited
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 2011. The last chance saloon? The Independent Labour Party and miners' militancy in the Second World War revisited. Journal of Contemporary History. 46 (4), pp. 871-896. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022009411413404
Strikes and class consciousness in the early work of Richard Hyman
McIlroy, J. 2012. Strikes and class consciousness in the early work of Richard Hyman. Capital and Class. 36 (1), pp. 53-75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309816811429738
Radical political unionism reassessed
McIlroy, J. 2012. Radical political unionism reassessed. European Journal of Industrial Relations. 18 (3), pp. 251-258. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959680112452802
Waving or drowning? British labor history in troubled waters
McIlroy, J. 2012. Waving or drowning? British labor history in troubled waters. Labor History. 53 (1), pp. 91-119. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2012.650435
Mauritius 1938: the origins of a milestone in colonial trade union legislation
Croucher, R. and McIlroy, J. 2013. Mauritius 1938: the origins of a milestone in colonial trade union legislation. Labor History. 54 (3), pp. 223-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/0023656X.2013.804268
Asa Briggs and the emergence of labour history in post-war Britain [article]
McIlroy, J. 2012. Asa Briggs and the emergence of labour history in post-war Britain [article]. Labour History Review. 77 (2), pp. 211-242. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.2012.13
Ten years of New Labour: workplace learning, social partnership and union revitalization in Britain
McIlroy, J. 2008. Ten years of New Labour: workplace learning, social partnership and union revitalization in Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations. 46 (2), pp. 283-313. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00678.x
A Labour historian of the old school - Raymond Challinor remembered
McIlroy, J. 2011. A Labour historian of the old school - Raymond Challinor remembered. Labour History Review. 76 (2), pp. 143-160. https://doi.org/10.1179/174581811X13063237706961
McGahey, Michael (Mick) (1925-1999)
McIlroy, J. 2010. McGahey, Michael (Mick) (1925-1999). in: Gildart, K. and Howell, D. (ed.) Dictionary of Labour Biography: Volume XIII London Palgrave Macmillan.
Birch, Reginald (Reg) (1914-1994), Trade union leader Communist Maoist
McIlroy, J. 2010. Birch, Reginald (Reg) (1914-1994), Trade union leader Communist Maoist. in: Gildart, K. and Howell, D. (ed.) Dictionary of Labour Biography: Volume XIII London Palgrave Macmillan.
Fifty years on
McIlroy, J., Campbell, A., Halstead, J. and Martin, D. 2010. Fifty years on. Labour History Review. 75 (1), pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1179/174581810X12572557623613
Skills and training: a strategic role for trade unions or the limits of neoliberalism?
McIlroy, J. and Croucher, R. 2008. Skills and training: a strategic role for trade unions or the limits of neoliberalism? in: Daniels, G. and McIlroy, J. (ed.) Trade Unions in a Neoliberal World: British Trade Unions under New Labour London Routledge. pp. 283-315
The National Unemployed Workers Movement and the Communist Party of Great Britain revisited
Campbell, A. and McIlroy, J. 2008. The National Unemployed Workers Movement and the Communist Party of Great Britain revisited. Labour History Review. 73 (1), pp. 61-88. https://doi.org/10.1179/174581808X279118
Two tales about crisis and corruption at the Central Labour College
McIlroy, J. 2007. Two tales about crisis and corruption at the Central Labour College. Labour History Review. 72 (1), pp. 69-73. https://doi.org/10.1179/174581807X179930
The general strike and mining lockout of 1926: a select bibliography
McIlroy, J., Campbell, A., Gildart, K. and Outram, Q. 2006. The general strike and mining lockout of 1926: a select bibliography. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (21), pp. 183-206. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2006.21.8
Memory, commemoration and history - 1926 in 2006
McIlroy, J. 2006. Memory, commemoration and history - 1926 in 2006. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (21), pp. 65-108. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2006.21.4
The last word on Communism
Campbell, A. and McIlroy, J. 2005. The last word on Communism. Labour History Review. 70 (1), pp. 97-101. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.70.1.97
A reply to critics
Campbell, A. and McIlroy, J. 2004. A reply to critics. Labour History Review. 69 (3), pp. 373-380. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.69.3.372
Look back in anger: mining communities, the mining novel and the great miners' strike
McIlroy, J. 2004. Look back in anger: mining communities, the mining novel and the great miners' strike. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (18), pp. 135-164. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2004.18.4
Critical reflections on recent British Communist Party history
McIlroy, J. 2004. Critical reflections on recent British Communist Party history. Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory. 12 (1), pp. 127-154. https://doi.org/10.1163/156920604773564014
Editorial: New directions in international Communist historiography
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 2003. Editorial: New directions in international Communist historiography. Labour History Review. 68 (1), pp. 3-5. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.68.1.3
Histories of the British Communist Party: a user's guide
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 2003. Histories of the British Communist Party: a user's guide. Labour History Review. 68 (1), pp. 33-59. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.68.1.33
Forging the faithful: the British at the International Lenin School
McIlroy, J., Campbell, A., McLoughlin, B. and Halstead, J. 2003. Forging the faithful: the British at the International Lenin School. Labour History Review. 68 (1), pp. 99-128. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.68.1.99
A very different historian: Royden Harrison, radical academics and suppressed alternatives
McIlroy, J. and Halstead, J. 2003. A very different historian: Royden Harrison, radical academics and suppressed alternatives. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (15), pp. 113-143. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2003.15.5
Beyond Betteshanger: order 1305 in the Scottish coalfields during the Second World War, part 2: the Cardowan story
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 2003. Beyond Betteshanger: order 1305 in the Scottish coalfields during the Second World War, part 2: the Cardowan story. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (16), pp. 39-80. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2003.16.2
Beyond Betteshanger: order 1305 in the Scottish coalfields during the Second World War. part 1: politics prosecutions and protest
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 2003. Beyond Betteshanger: order 1305 in the Scottish coalfields during the Second World War. part 1: politics prosecutions and protest. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (15), pp. 27-72. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2003.15.2
Is CPGB history important? A reply to Harriet Jones
Campbell, A. and McIlroy, J. 2003. Is CPGB history important? A reply to Harriet Jones. Labour History Review. 68 (3), pp. 385-390. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.68.3.385
'Every factory our fortress': communist party workplace branches in a time of militancy, 1956-1979, part 2: testimonies and judgements
McIlroy, J. 2001. 'Every factory our fortress': communist party workplace branches in a time of militancy, 1956-1979, part 2: testimonies and judgements. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (12), pp. 57-107. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2001.12.3
'Every factory our fortress': Communist party workplace branches in a time of militancy, 1956-79, part 1: history, politics, topography
McIlroy, J. 2000. 'Every factory our fortress': Communist party workplace branches in a time of militancy, 1956-79, part 1: history, politics, topography. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (10), pp. 99-130. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.2000.10.5
Reds at work: communist factory organisation in the Cold War 1947-1956
McIlroy, J. 2000. Reds at work: communist factory organisation in the Cold War 1947-1956. Labour History Review. 65 (2), pp. 181-201. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.65.2.181
Still setting the pace? Labour history industrial relations and the history of post-war trade unionism
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 1999. Still setting the pace? Labour history industrial relations and the history of post-war trade unionism. Labour History Review. 14 (2), pp. 179-199. https://doi.org/10.3828/lhr.64.2.179
Unfinished business: the reform of strike legislation in Britain
McIlroy, J. 1999. Unfinished business: the reform of strike legislation in Britain. Employee Relations. 21 (6), pp. 521-539. https://doi.org/10.1108/01425459910301655
Organizing the militants: the liaison committee for the defence of trade unions, 1966-1979
McIlroy, J. and Campbell, A. 1999. Organizing the militants: the liaison committee for the defence of trade unions, 1966-1979. British Journal of Industrial Relations. 37 (1), pp. 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8543.00116
Financial malpractice in British trade unions 1800-1930: the background to and consequences of Hornby v. Close
McIlroy, J. 1998. Financial malpractice in British trade unions 1800-1930: the background to and consequences of Hornby v. Close. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (6), pp. 1-64. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.1998.6.1
The enduring alliance? Trade unions and the making of new labour, 1994-1997
McIlroy, J. 1998. The enduring alliance? Trade unions and the making of new labour, 1994-1997. British Journal of Industrial Relations. 36 (4), pp. 537-564. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8543.00107
Review essay: Still under siege: British trade unions at the turn of the century
McIlroy, J. 1997. Review essay: Still under siege: British trade unions at the turn of the century. Historical Studies in Industrial Relations. (3), pp. 93-123. https://doi.org/10.3828/hsir.1997.3.5