Letters
Next month will be the centenary of
the formation of the Socialist Party of Great Britain in 1904. To mark
this, the Socialist Standard will be expanded to 48 pages (the price
will remain the same), with articles about the activities of the
Socialist Party over the decades and how others have seen these as well
as on our specific contributions to the development of socialist
theory. In anticipation, we publish below some of the contributions we
have received.
Glasgow Branch
To say times were hard when Glasgow branch was formed in 1924
would be a serious understatement. The branch consisted of working men,
only some of whom had jobs, and money was so scarce that in the early
days branch meetings were sometimes held in the open because members
couldn’t afford to rent a hall.
If funds were lacking then energy and commitment were not, so members
threw themselves into making the party known in the city. John Higgins,
the first branch secretary, was particularly effective at this and his
meetings Glasgow Green gave many Glaswegians their first introduction
to the party’s case.
To branch members knowledge meant everything and they were determined
to have as much of it as they could, so classes on Marxist theory,
logic, etc, were an essential feature, but the main activity was always
indoor and, especially, outdoor meetings. Glasgow branch always had a
reputation for having first-class speakers and even our opponents,
whatever else they thought of us, conceded that.
Two outstanding examples of this were Alex Shaw and Tony Mulheron. Shaw
was an old-time street corner orator with an ability to have his
audiences in stitches – his lampooning of some of Glasgow’s left-wing
folk heroes, especially the “Red Clydesiders”, was hilarious. Mulheron,
by contrast, was in his element on the indoor platform. Tony was
extremely articulate and had a witty, flamboyant speaking style that
could turn even the driest-sounding theoretical subject into an
entertainment.
During the war activities were stepped up. Ever more meetings were held
and new, younger speakers came forward. The wartime scene was
brightened by visits from London speakers taking a break from the Blitz
and, later on, doodlebugs and V2 rockets.
After “peace” was declared the momentum was maintained and the branch’s
biggest ever audiences attended meetings at the St. Andrew’s Halls and
the Cosmo cinema. Membership increased and the branch even acquired its
own premises. In 1949 a second branch was formed in the city and this
lasted until 1961.
In the late 1950s an influx of younger members revitalised activities,
and in the 1960s candidates were fielded in three parliamentary and
five municipal elections. More outdoor speaking stances were opened and
there were public debates aplenty with Labourites, Leninists and others.
Added to all this was a winter programme of Sunday evening indoor
meetings which ran from October to April and continued for many years.
This meant that members had to wrack their brains to come up with
titles for around 30 meetings every winter!
Today the old propaganda methods, which were the branch’s strength, are
all but finished. People will no longer come to indoor meetings or stop
and listen to those held outdoors, and this means that the branch has
had to adapt to the new situation. Now we organize day schools,
discussion groups, hand out leaflets at demos, provide speakers and
other assistance for party activities elsewhere in the country etc.
Glasgow branch has for eighty years played its part in the party’s
activities. Its members have, in the past, given generously of their
time, effort and abilities, and today’s members, despite very different
and difficult conditions, strive to maintain this record.
V.V.
Memories of Camberwell Branch
At the end of World War II and a landslide victory for the
Labour Party, there was a greater public interest in politics. The
Communist Party had a large number of members as a result of pro-Russia
sentiment at the end of the war. During this period the Camberwell
Branch was formed with about a dozen members. A decent room was hired
from the Labour Party in Camberwell. The local MP Freda Corbett used to
enter the room apologising for disturbing the meeting. She was unaware
of the fact that we were not the Labour Party. When the SPGB contested
Paddington North in 1945, realising we were not the Labour Party we
were given notice to quit.
The branch held meetings on Sundays at East Street, Walworth market
place. These took place at 12 o’clock midday. The local stall-holders
regarded our arrival with suspicion and puzzlement. They could not
figure out what was in it for us. However, when we sold Party
literature and took collections they considered we were getting the
proceeds.
The meetings were successful. Only one meeting could be held at a time
because of Home Office regulations. The Communist Party who, locally,
had many more members were competing with us for the pitch and on one
or two occasions they succeeded. The Camberwell Branch forced a vote to
get to the meeting site earlier in order to “book the pitch”. This
resulted in us getting there at one o’clock in the morning, so the
pitch could be occupied. The Communist Party stopped competing and
disappeared from East Street for many months.
A handful of dedicated socialists saw off an organisation with several
hundred local members. The Communist Party today is virtually
non-existent . . . The Socialist Party is still alive.
T.L.
Sweden
Since the beginning of the 1970s there have been
socialists in Sweden, sharing the ideas of the World Socialist
Movement. For a number of years some of them produced a journal,
V„rldssocialism (World Socialism). Many of the articles in it were
translations from the Socialist Standard.
After several years of informal work with V„rldssocialism and other
socialist activities a handful of socialists living in Uppsala and
Stockholm decided to organise themselves formally as
V„rldssocialistiska Gruppen (the World Socialist Group). At its first
meeting in Uppsala on Saturday 20 January 1979 the group adopted a
slightly modified version of the Object and Declaration of Principles
of the Companion Parties of Socialism. The modifications had to do with
the fact that the Group was not a political party, but had as its
object to work for the formation of a Socialist Party in Sweden.
The work of the Group centred on the production of a series of
pamphlets called V„rldssocialistiska h„ften. The first of these
booklets was a translation of the SPGB-pamphlet Questions of the Day.
Other issues of V„rldssocialistiska h„ften dealt with Soviet state
capitalism, capitalism and war, Marxism 100 years after Marxļ death,
and how life is in capitalism and can be in socialism.
Most of the members and a few sympathizers were in their twenties when
the group was formed. After a few years, as some of them established
families or got jobs in other places -- and one or two lost interest in
socialism altogether - it became increasingly difficult to maintain
organised activities. During the past ten years or so
V„rldssocialistiska Gruppen, although not formally dissolved, has not
carried out any organised activities. Individual members read the
Socialist Standard and sometimes see each other.
Hopefully there are people in Sweden who in the not too distant future
will find that they agree with the object and principles of the World
Socialist Movement and then take action in order to reawaken the group.
To achieve its object, the establishment of a Socialist Party in
Sweden, will be a tiny task compared with bringing about the object of
such a party.
¸KE SPROSS, Uppsala, Sweden
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