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Fielding Prelims.P65
7 Instilling ‘responsibility’ in the young If only for reasons of self-preservation, Labour was obliged to draw some young people into the party so they could eventually replace its elderly stalwarts.1 Electoral logic also dictated that Labour had to ensure the support of at least a respectable proportion of what was an expand- ing number of voters. Consequently, the 1955 Wilson report on party organisation (see Chapter 2) expressed particular concern about the consequences of Labour’s inability to interest youngsters in the party.2 Many members were, however, uncertain about the purpose, manner and even merit of making a special appeal to the young. The 1960s began with commentators asserting that most young adults were materi- ally satisfied and so inclined to Conservatism, but the decade ended with the impression that many young people had become alienated from society and embraced far-left causes. This shift in perceptions did not exactly help clarify thinking. Those who have analysed Labour’s attempt to win over the young tend to blame the party’s apparent refusal to take their concerns seriously for its failure to do so.3 They consider Labour’s prescriptive notions of how the young should think and act inhibited its efforts. In particular, at the start of the decade the party’s ‘residual puritanism’ is supposed to have prevented it evoking a positive response among purportedly hedonistic proletarians.4 At the end of the 1960s, many believed the government’s political caution had estranged middle-class students.5 This chapter questions the exclusively ‘supply-side’ explan- ation of Labour’s failure evident in such accounts. -
Theatre As a Weapon? the Emergence of Eeft Theatre on Mer- Seyside
THEATRE AS A WEAPON? THE EMERGENCE OF EEFT THEATRE ON MER- SEYSIDE M.Jones, B.A. Most practitioners of left theatre, past and present, would accept that a socialist drama should remain flexible enough to respond freshly to each new political situation. Partly for this reason there is an inevitable difficulty in identifying continuous development in the history of left-wing theatre. So ignorant of even quite recent developments were those who set up the Merseyside Eeft Theatre Club (M.L.T.) (later Merseyside Unity Theatre) in 1937, that they only learned of the previous performance of socialist drama on Merseyside, and the prior existence of the Workers' Theatre Movement (W.T.M.) in the 1920s and '30s, when one of their members wrote a doctoral thesis on the subject many years later. 2 Merseyside Left Theatre was set up as a spontaneous response to an immediate political demand. In attempting to use theatre as a weapon in support of the Spanish Government against the attack of international fascism it had no inherited tradition to call upon and only a vague knowledge of similar work being conducted by London Unity Theatre Club or Manchester Theatre of Action.3 For those in agreement with Raphael Samuel, who seeks to portray Unity Theatre as a return to conventional theatri cal forms and a retreat from 'true' socialist drama as compared to the work of the W.T.M., then this new Left Theatre was 'merely' a reflection of the Popular Front in Britain.* On Merseyside, unaware of the work of the W.T.M., Left Theatre unconsciously developed a very simi lar attitude to performance and repertoire: the first produc tion was an 'unconscious' mass declamation an 202 M. -
Vol. 3 No. 5, December 1958
- - Vol. ·3 DECEMBER 1958 No.5 RANK AND FILE ON THE MOVE J Deutscher.. reviews Carr's 'Socialism in One Country' 132 Race Riots: the Socialist- Answer.- - 134 The Pasternak Affair 137 Marxists in the Second World War 139- Origins of Sectarianism .'46 A Poem- from the Azores --_ #55 BOOK REVIEWS 156 TWO SHILLINGS , , , ' . ; ~" 266 Lavender Hill, London S.W. II Editors: John Daniels, Robert Shaw Business Manager: Edward R. Knight Contents EDITORIAL Rank and File on the Move 129 THE IRONY OF HISTORY IN STALINISM Isaac Deutscher 132 RACE RIOTS: THE SOCIALIST ANSWER ClilT Slaughter 134 THE PASTERNAK AFFAIR Alan MacDonald 137 MARXISTS IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR William Hunter 139 rHE ORIGINS OF SECTARIANISM Peter Cadogan J46 DOCUMENT A Charter of Workers' Demands 152 COMMUNICATION Rejected by the New Statesman Douglas Goldring 154 MUSIC FROM AFAR P. McGowan (trans.) 155 BOOK REVIEWS The British Communist Party: A Historical Profile, by Henry Pelling Brian Pearce 156 The Worker Views his Union, by Joel Seidman, Jack London, Bernard Karsh and Daisy L. Tagliacozzo Jock Stevens 157 Death on the Left, by John Connell G. Gale 157 Ethical and Political Problems of the Atomic Age, by C. F. von Weizsacker Donald O. Soper 157 The Initial Triumph of the Axis, cd. Arnold Toynbee and Veronica M. Toynbec J.A. 15g French Socialism in the Crisis Years, 1933-1936, by John T. Marcus Robert Sherwood 158 Quai d'Orsay, 1945-51, by Jacques Dumaine Martin Grainger 158 The Soviet Cultural Scene 1956·1957, ed. W. Z. Laqueur and G. Lichtheim H. -
Gb1072 329Mcp-329Com
GB 1072 329MCP/329COM Merseyside Record Office This catalogue was digitised by The National Archives as part of the National Register of Archives digitisation project NRA 36929 The National Archives Cunard Building (4th Floor) MERSE YSIDE Pier Head Liverpool L3 1EG. Telephone: 051-236 8038 Fax: 051-207 1342 329C0M liERSEYSI DE COMMUNIST PAR IY, 1940s-1990 The earliest survivinq minute books for the Merseyside Area Communist Party (MCP) date only from 19IS5. Though it is clear that the Party was active in the 1940s (and possibly earlier), only ephemeral material has- survived from this period, and no written evidence for its earlier history has survived. Similarly there is no existing^ history of the party in Merseyside: the most accessible source -for its year-to-year activities can be found in the reports to (biennial) Area Conferences (5/ below). The Area CP achieved District Status in Summer 1988 becoming Merseyside and Cheshire District CP. Before this date the Mer seyside Area was part of the North West District CP (earlier Lancashire and Cheshire District). In 1992 the reconstituted CP took the title Democratic Left' , with the local area known as Mersey Region Democratic Left' (MRDL). - Records The records of the MCP do not seem to have ever been kept in a methodical way; this and the fact tha* the bulk of the records were found in a physically chaotic state, posed problems when compiling thi"s list. Many files have been reconstituted or individual items grouped together on a subject basis; neverthe less it is hoped that the list is an accurate as possible repre sentation of the work and actitivies of the MCP - there has been some cross-referencing to related records within the list but searchers are recommended to look carefully at all possible sections. -
The Art Museum As a Site of Protest in the Early Twentieth Century Suzanne Macleod* University of Leicester
44 Civil disobedience and political agitation: the art museum as a site of protest in the early twentieth century Suzanne MacLeod* University of Leicester Abstract This paper focuses on two examples of political protest which took place in museums in the early decades of the twentieth century: Mary Richardson’s attack on Velazquez’s Rokeby Venus in London’s National Gallery in 1914 and the ‘rushing’ and occupation of the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool by the National Unemployed Workers’ Committee Movement (NUWCM) in 1921. In each of these cases, the museum was selected as a suitable site to make a political point. In both cases, the protestors utilized the space of the museum to further a political cause. Through a description of these two examples, and in addition to locating the public art museum as one amongst a series of potential sites of protest in the spatial networks of the city by the early twentieth century, this paper explores the motivations of the protestors in order to suggest certain perceptions of the Walker Art Gallery and the National Gallery which identified them as potential sites for political action. What becomes clear is that the unemployed workers and the suffragists occupied very specific subject positions in relation to these sites, subject positions which directly influenced their perceptions of art museums and their selection of art museums as sites of protest. Key Words: Art museums, museum history, the museum as a site of political protest. Introduction This paper focuses on two examples of political protest which took place in museums in the early decades of the twentieth century: Mary Richardson’s attack on Velazquez’s Rokeby Venus in the National Gallery in 1914 and the ‘rushing’ and occupation of the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool by the National Unemployed Workers’ Committee Movement (NUWCM) in 1921. -
Bulletin Summer 2019 Labour Heritage
Bulletin Summer 2019 place in most newspapers. Their role as ‘industrial’ correspondent was to cover Contents: Labour Heritage AGM (Labour ‘industrial relations’ in industry rather than correspondents and London Labour), Morgan the general state of business; and as Jones book launch, Letters from the Chiswick ‘labour correspondents’ their role was to Times 1920, Acton Employment Committee, cover the political role of trade unions Socialist Fellowship and Socialist Outlook, within the wider labour movement, as Southall Resists 40, Barnhill Estate (Hayes), Book review: Struggle for Power in the Labour opposed to the Westminster lobby Party correspondents who covered the Labour Party in Parliament. At their peak, there Labour Heritage AGM were more labour correspondents for some newspapers than political correspondents. Many went on to prominent roles as The AGM of Labour Heritage was held on political correspondents, columnists and Saturday 15th June at Conway Hall. There press officers, including in the case of were two speakers, Steve Schifferes and Bernard Ingham, who started as a labour Michael Tichelar. correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, as Mrs Thatcher’s press The Lost Tribe: the Rise and Fall of the secretary. Labour Correspondent The labour correspondents gave a direct By Steve Schifferes (former economics channel for the trade union movement to correspondent for BBC News Online communicate its message to the wider and Director of Financial Journalism public in the mainstream press. MA, City University) Correspondents developed close personal relationships with many union leaders, The labour or industrial correspondent was which were cemented at a private dinner a major part of the UK media scene for and cricket match at the end of each TUC many years. -
Ompass Together for a Good Society P Post
RIDING THE NEW Feminism and WAVE the Labour party Edited by Anya Pearson & Rosie Rogers With Ivana Bartoletti, Lisa Clarke, Zita Holbourne, Natacha Kennedy, Lisa Nandy MP, Yas Nacati, Fiona Mactaggart MP, Sue Marsh, Kirsty McNeill, Anwen Muston & Stuart White ompass together for a good society p post ABOUT THE FABIAN SOCIETY The Fabian Society is Britain’s oldest political think tank. Since 1884 the society has played a central role in developing political ideas and public policy on the left. It aims to promote greater equality of power and opportunity; the value of collective public action; a vibrant, tolerant and accountable democracy; citizenship, liberty and human rights; sustainable development; and multilateral international cooperation. Through a wide range of publications and events the society influences political and public thinking, but also provides a space for broad and open-minded debate, drawing on an unrivalled external network and its own expert research and analysis. Its programme offers a unique breadth, encompassing national conferences and expert seminars; periodicals, books, reports and digital communications; and commissioned and in-house research and comment. The Society is alone among think tanks in being a democratically-constituted membership organisation, with almost 7,000 members. Over time our membership has included many of the key thinkers on the British left and every Labour prime minister. Today we count over 200 parliamentarians in our number. The voluntary society includes 70 local societies, the Fabian Women’s Network and the Young Fabians, which is itself the leading organisation on the left for young people to debate and influence political ideas. -
The Labour Left
THE LABOUR LEFT PATRICK SEYD Ph. D. DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL THEORY AND INSTITUTIONS SUBMITTED JUNE 1986 THE LABOUR LEFT PATRICK SEYD SUMMARY Throughout its lifetime the Labour Party has experienced ideological divisions resulting in the formation of Left and Right factions. The Labour Left has been the more prominent and persistent of the two factions, intent on defending the Party's socialist principles against the more pragmatic leanings of the Party leadership. During the 1930s and 1950s the Labour Left played a significant, yet increasingly reactive, role within the Party. In the 1970s, however, the Labour Left launched an offensive with a wide-ranging political programme, a set of proposals for an intra-Party transferral of power, and a political leader with exceptional skills. By 1981 this offensive had succeeded in securing the election of a Party Leader whose whole career had been very closely identified with the Labour Left, in achieving a significant shift of power from the parliamentarians to the constituency activists, and in developing a Party programme which incorporated certain major left-wing policies. Success, however, contained the seeds of decline. A split in the parliamentary Party and continual bitter intra-Party factional divisions played a major part in the Party's disastrous electoral performance in the 1983 General Election. The election result gave additional impetus to the Labour Left's fragmentation to the point that it is no longer the cohesive faction it was in previous periods and is now a collection of disparate groups. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the Social Science Research Council for its financial aid in the form of a postgraduate research award; Professors Bernard Crick and Royden Harrison for their support and encouragement; and Lewis Minkin for sharing his ideas and encouraging me to complete this project. -
St. Luke in the City Parish Liverpool. a Suggested Walk Around Liverpool Themed Around Peace and Social Justice, Starting at Lime St
St. Luke in the City Parish Liverpool. A suggested walk around Liverpool themed around Peace and Social Justice, starting at Lime St. Station Feature Commentary and questions for discussion. Onward directions Km to Minutes next to next Bessie Braddock Statue Bessie Braddock, 1899 -1970, was MP for Liverpool Exchange Leave the Station by the entrance close to the 0.18 5 and Liverpool Pals from 1945-70, and a local councilor from 1930-61. She never statues and keep ahead, using the Pelican Mural. Lime St. station. held office but had a national reputation for forthright crossing to go over the dual carriageway (Lime Opposite Platform 7. campaigning on social issues such as housing and public Street). Turn right onto St. George’s Plateau, health. She has been described as ‘formidable’ ‘outspoken’ heading for the Cenotaph in the middle. and ‘a pugnacious presence in Parliament’. From 1953-57 she served on The Royal Commission for Mental Health, which led to The Mental Health Act of 1959. She later became Liverpool’s first female ‘Freeman’. Beside her is a statue of Ken Dodd, Liverpool’s famous funny man, and also a Freeman. No obvious issues of social justice, although no doubt there would have been if he had been found guilty at his tax evasion trial in 1989. He was knighted in 2017, and died in 2018. Many call him ‘the greatest’. A few yards to the right of the statues (looking from the platforms), above head height, are the very moving Liverpool Pals murals, created by sculptor Tom Murphy. There is an accompanying plaque of explanation, on the wall next to Left Luggage Does the world need more ‘Bessies’? What would she be campaigning on now? What are your thoughts on the Pals, their initial enthusiasm and the huge losses they suffered? The Cenotaph Dedicated in 1930, it was designed by Lionel Budden, later Keep going along the Plateau to the huge column 0.14 2 Roscoe Professor in Architecture at Liverpool University. -
Communists Text
The University of Manchester Research Communists and British Society 1920-1991 Document Version Proof Link to publication record in Manchester Research Explorer Citation for published version (APA): Morgan, K., Cohen, G., & Flinn, A. (2007). Communists and British Society 1920-1991. Rivers Oram Press. Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on Manchester Research Explorer is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Proof version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the Research Explorer are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Takedown policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please refer to the University of Manchester’s Takedown Procedures [http://man.ac.uk/04Y6Bo] or contact [email protected] providing relevant details, so we can investigate your claim. Download date:30. Sep. 2021 INTRODUCTION A dominant view of the communist party as an institution is that it provided a closed, well-ordered and intrusive political environment. The leading French scholars Claude Pennetier and Bernard Pudal discern in it a resemblance to Erving Goffman’s concept of a ‘total institution’. Brigitte Studer, another international authority, follows Sigmund Neumann in referring to it as ‘a party of absolute integration’; tran- scending national distinctions, at least in the Comintern period (1919–43) it is supposed to have comprised ‘a unitary system—which acted in an integrative fashion world-wide’.1 For those working within the so-called ‘totalitarian’ paradigm, the validity of such ‘total’ or ‘absolute’ concep- tions of communist politics has always been axiomatic. -
Fielding Prelims.P65 1 10/10/03, 12:29 the LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70
fielding jkt 10/10/03 2:18 PM Page 1 The Volume 1 Labour andculturalchange The LabourGovernments1964–1970 The Volume 1 Labour Governments Labour Governments 1964–1970 1964–1970 This book is the first in the new three volume set The Labour Governments 1964–70 and concentrates on Britain’s domestic policy during Harold Wilson’s tenure as Prime Minister. In particular the book deals with how the Labour government and Labour party as a whole tried to come to Labour terms with the 1960s cultural revolution. It is grounded in Volume 2 original research that uniquely takes account of responses from Labour’s grass roots and from Wilson’s ministerial colleagues, to construct a total history of the party at this and cultural critical moment in history. Steven Fielding situates Labour in its wider cultural context and focuses on how the party approached issues such as change the apparent transformation of the class structure, the changing place of women, rising black immigration, the widening generation gap and increasing calls for direct participation in politics. The book will be of interest to all those concerned with the Steven Fielding development of contemporary British politics and society as well as those researching the 1960s. Together with the other books in the series, on international policy and Fielding economic policy, it provides an unrivalled insight into the development of Britain under Harold Wilson’s premiership. Steven Fielding is a Professor in the School of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford MANCHESTER MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70 volume 1 fielding prelims.P65 1 10/10/03, 12:29 THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70 Series editors Steven Fielding and John W. -
British Domestic Security Policy and Communist Subversion: 1945-1964
British Domestic Security Policy and Communist Subversion: 1945-1964 William Styles Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge September 2016 This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy William Styles British Domestic Security Policy and Communist Subversion: 1945-1964 This thesis is concerned with an analysis of British governmental attitudes and responses to communism in the United Kingdom during the early years of the Cold War, from the election of the Attlee government in July 1945 up until the election of the Wilson government in October 1964. Until recently the topic has been difficult to assess accurately, due to the scarcity of available original source material. However, as a result of multiple declassifications of both Cabinet Office and Security Service files over the past five years it is now possible to analyse the subject in greater depth and detail than had been previously feasible. The work is predominantly concerned with four key areas: firstly, why domestic communism continued to be viewed as a significant threat by successive governments – even despite both the ideology’s relatively limited popular support amongst the general public and Whitehall’s realisation that the Communist Party of Great Britain presented little by way of a direct challenge to British political stability. Secondly, how Whitehall’s understanding of the nature and severity of the threat posed by British communism developed between the late 1940s and early ‘60s, from a problem considered mainly of importance only to civil service security practices to one which directly impacted upon the conduct of educational policy and labour relations. Thirdly, how official counter-subversion methods were formulated and enacted over the period – from remarkably limited beginnings as small-scale vetting reform to a wide-ranging program of surveillance and counter-propaganda by the early 1960s.