BEATRICE AND SIDNEY WEBB Fabian Socialists By the same author

WILL THORNE: Constructive Militant (with Giles Radice) REFORMING THE HOUSE OF COMMONS (Fabian Society pamphlet) PRELUDE TO APPEASEMENT: East Central European Diplomacy in the Early 1930s BEATRICE AND SIDNEY WEBB Fabian Socialists

Lisanne Radice

M MACMILLAN © Lisanne Radice 1984

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ISBN 978-0-333-37888-5 ISBN 978-1-349-17472-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-17472-0

The extracts from Bernard Shaw's Sixteen Self Sketches, Bluffing the Value Theory and his letters to Sidney Webb and Beatrice Potter are included by permission of the Society of Authors on behalf of the Bernard Shaw Estate. To Giles, without whose help and endless patience this book would never have been published Contents

Acknowledgements lX List of Illustrations Xl

Introduction

1 1858-18go A Victorian Apprenticeship 'The Elegant Miss Potter.' I 5

2 I8sg-I8go Intellectual Cockney 'A Remarkable Little Man.' 47

3 I8go-1892 Courtship 'Transform I and I into II'. 65

4 I892-1897 Marriage, Politics and Writing 'Our Business is to convert the whole community to Socialism.' 87

5 18g2-1897 Local Government, the TEE and the London School of Economics 'Mr Webb is not a candidate for today, he is one for the day after tomorrow.' I I o

6 18g8 Busman's Holiday 'What taste! Just what one might expect of them!' I26 Vlll Contents

7 18g9-1904 Permeation and Educational Reform 'The ultimate course of society is decided by the thought of the time and your effectiveness will be determined by your contribution to this thought.' 138

8 1905-1911 Royal Commission on the Poor Law 'It will need all my self-command to keep myself from developing a foolish hostility, or becoming self-conscious in my desire to get sound investigation.' 159

9 1911 Far Eastern Travels 'We believe that it is still the Land of the Rising Sun.' 183

10 1912-18 Labour and War 'The Labour Party exists and we have to work with it. A poor thing but our own.' 193

II 1918-1924 From Opposition to Office 'The hectic days of victory.' 217

Ill 1924-1929 Opposition Again 'The labour movement is in the melting pot.' 248

13 1929-1931 Lords and Colonies 'It is agreeable to be treated with deference by a long procession of persons of importance.' 268

14 1931-1933 The Webbs in Russia 'A new civilisation with a new metaphysic.' 291

15 1933-1947 Retreat 'A longing for the eternal sleep of death.' 310

Bibliography 327 Index 336 Acknowledgements

Most of the material for this biography is deposited in the British Library of Political and Economic Science catalogued under the Passfield Papers. However, I have also had occasion to discuss the Webbs with those who either knew them or have written about them. I would like to thank in particular the following who so kindly gave of their valuable time: John Parker, Robin Page-Arnot, Malcolm and Kitty Muggeridge, Professor Norman Mackenzie and the late William Robson. I also wish to thank Dr John Hurt, who read an early draft of some chapters and made many helpful comments. The present Lord Ponsonby kindly allowed me to quote from his grandfather's unpublished diary. I should also like to thank Dr Angela Raspin and the staff at the Br>itish Library of Political and Economic Science for always being unfailingly kind and helpful; Mrs Irene Wagner and the staff of the Labour Party Library; the staff of the British Museum; the staff of the Bodleian Library, Oxford; Nuffield College, Oxford; Corpus Christi College, Oxford; the Public Record Office; and the staff of Transport House. I wish to thank the following for permission to quote: the London School of Economics for permission to quote from the diary of Beatrice Webb and the papers in the Passfield Papers; the Society of Authors for quotations from the writings of Bernard Shaw; Frederick Muller Ltd for quotations from The Webbs and their Work. I am also grateful to Yvonne South, who has toiled over the typescript cheerfully typing and retyping it, and to Nancy Williams who advised me on the illustrations. There are, however, two people to whom I owe a particular debt. The first is Maureen Gilbert, who was my research assistant during the early part of the book. She accepted the daily grind of reading X Acknowledgements the Diary and the letters with an astonishing cheerfulness while at the same time skilfully and patiently extrapolating the most significant passages. The second is to my husband Giles Radice. He not only encouraged me whenever I faltered but also by a skilful combi­ nation of editing and rewriting greatly improved the text. I am particularly grateful for his contribution to Chapters 4, 8, I o, I I, I 3 and I4· Without his help this book would never have been published.

L. R. List of Illustrations

Ia. Beatrice, aged 5 1b. Mr and Mrs Richard Potter with some of their daughters; Beatrice, wearing a hat, is centre-right. 2a. Beatrice Potter 2b. Joseph Chamberlain, 188o 2c. Sidney Webb, 1885 3a. The Young Left, painting by Bertha Newcombe; Mr G. Bernard Shaw, Mrs Sidney Webb, Mr Sidney Webb and Mr Graham Wallis 3b Beatrice Webb-photograph by Bernard Shaw 4a. Mr Sidney Webb on his Birthday, 1914, by Max Beerbohm 4b. The Webb ofDestiny by Frank Reynolds sa. 41, Grosvenor Road (Millbank), photo by Godfrey New 5b. Passfield Corner, Liphook 6a. The First Meeting of the Labour Cabinet, 10 June 1929 6b. Sidney and Beatrice Webb, c. 1900 6c. The First Trip to Russia, May-July 1932 7a. At Passfield Corner, 1929. Sidney and Beatrice Webb, painted by William Nicholson, to celebrate their 'joint 7oth birthday' 7b. Beatrice and Sidney Webb with Bernard Shaw at a Garden Party at Passfield 8. At Passfield Corner: The Last Photograph The publishers have tried to contact all copyright holders but in cases where they have failed will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.