Radical Trade Unionism in Britain, 1921-1991

From its inception in 1920, the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was intimately involved in trade unionism in Britain. From entryism to election rigging and radical education of workers to support for legitimate industrial action, the CPGB took to trade unionism with particular zest and determination. This collection is comprised of material from the CPGB’s Industrial Department, which sought to organise the party’s strategy in relation to trade unions and industry.

Trade unions were one of the most fertile grounds for the CPGB and, as such, the collection demonstrates the outsized influence the CPGB held at various points in the twentieth century. This includes material from the revolutionary minded National Minority Movement of the 1920s, the destabilising infiltration of unions during the 1970s, and the fierce clashes with Thatcherism during the 1980s.

This collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan.

This is war - not a game of lawn croquet. Our whole future is at stake. We fight against a great monopoly employer who is backed by a Tory Government whose anti-working-class record stinks to the very high heavens.

The Platform, 1958

Insights

The trade union movement in Britain came to prominence in the late eighteenth century following the success of the Chartist movement, in which working class men had fought for the extension of the voting franchise and other political reforms.

Communists gave particular credence to the trade union movement, as they saw the (largely proletarian) organisations as a key battle ground for building anti-capitalist sentiment and establishing a socialist society.

As such, the Communist Party of Great Britain sought to expand its trade union influence through the establishment of the Industrial Department, which organised the party’s industrial strategy and campaigns.

One of the CPGB’s first major campaigns was the National Minority Movement of the 1920s, which aimed to organise a radical presence in the labour movement. The NMM was intimately involved in supporting the failed General Strike of 1926.

Although the party was past the peak of its political influence, the 1960s and 1970s saw the CPGB exercise an outsized influence in the trade union movement. Key actors like Bert Ramelson organised energetic campaigns that mobilised genuine worker discontent with militant tactics like ballot-rigging and entryism.

The collection also features many documents from the fractious period of the 1980s, in which Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher shattered the trade union movement and reshaped labour relations in Britain.

Generally, the collection offers a front-line perspective on a range of industrial disputes in Britain, ranging from bus and maritime strikes in the transport sector, to agitation and the radical education of teachers and higher education staff in universities.

Highlights

Document

Congresses of the Red International of Labour Unions, 1921–1930

Document

Pamphlets of the National Minority Movement, 1930–1931

Document

The People’s March for Jobs, 1981

Document

The miner's strike, 1984-1985

Notable Individuals of the Communist Party of Great Britain

The Departments of the Communist Party of Great Britain: A Detailed Guide

The Archives of the Communist Party Of Great Britain: An Introduction

Editorial Board

Professor Kevin Morgan Professor of Politics and Contemporary History https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/kevin.morgan.html Kevin Morgan is the Professor of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Manchester and recipient of an AHRC Fellowship for the project ‘Communism and the cult of the leader’. Professor Morgan is also the editor of the journal 'Twentieth Century Communism' and a trustee of the Communist Party of Great Britain Archives Trust and the Working Class Movement Library.