Marks, John S. And Labour Turned Left: A Critical Analysis. Blackpool: Labour Book League, 1950. Print. Pages 1-3
June 27, 1921
"Brothers, sisters, friends and comrades, I rise before you today in the name of unity, equality, and the left. Our party risks being torn asunder. The formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain in this year past seems to have put a strain upon this party and that is why I asked, quite cordially I might add despite Mr. Clynes' refusal to take part in these proceedings, that a conference be held, a joining of the Parties of Labour to discuss this question of how to move forward...
With these simple, broad words James Maxton began a seismic shift in his contemporary Labour Party. The Scottish radical, with the backing of the ILP's Richard Wallhead, had spent the weeks past calling desperately for a Labour Party conference, something which had become a seemingly annual tradition since 1906 until the rise of J.R. Clynes in the aftermath of the Great War. Clynes, a reformist and, in many ways, a tool of the war-time bourgeoisie had cancelled any discussion of a conference in 1921 every since wresting control of the party from the deserving MacDonald earlier that year. The fear, many analysts believed, was that MacDonald would be able to appeal to the broad base of the party in a conference setting much better then the moderate, removed Clynes who had become a symbolic enemy of the anti-war movement after leading Labour's participation in the National Government.
Yet it was form a very different direction that Clynes great change arose all at once. Maxton's clamor for an accepting of the new Communist Party into Labour's federated structure played well with the base. Accusing Clynes of being a tool of division, first during the war and now by opposing the hard left, Maxton pushed himself to the forefront, his calls for a conference gathering significant momentum among the unions who formed the core of Labour's structure. For his part Maxton might well be mistaken for a shrewd political calculator if it were not for evident heart-felt drive behind each of his decisions; it was, after all, the Communistic left that pushed Maxton over the edge, eventually allowing his capture of the Labour Party.
Sensing an insurgency, however, three more key actors emerged, sliding into place and allowing the Labour General Meeting of 1921 (held without the authority of the party's own leader.) First it was Albert Inkpin, the founder of the Communist Party and its first General Secretary who immediately announced that his party would accept any invitation to any conference, official or otherwise. The second was Bowerman. C.W. Bowerman had been of incredible importance to the founding and rise of the Labour Party as the primary vehicle of the voting working class. A prominent trade unionist, he had played a leading role in both the Social Democratic Federation and Progressive Party before throwing his considerable weight behind the Labour Party, soon thereafter becoming an MP in 1906. However most important of all was Bowerman's activism within the Trades Union's Congress which he became the head of in 1911. By actively tying the TUC with a sitting Labour MP he transformed and legitimized the party more than any other could. However during the war he had fallen out of favor and into prison for his pacifistic stance. Yet, unlike MacDonald and others, Bowerman's pacifism was treated as a secondary trait and thus he never became the symbol others did. With the war over and his influence quickly fading, Bowerman likely saw the General Meeting as his last chance. If he could flex the TUC's muscles perhaps he and his more Syndicalist view of the world could again be brought to the forefront of politics.
Finally, and only days before the conference, the most important piece of the puzzle -- at least in terms of legitimizing the Meeting -- fell into place. Ramsay MacDonald's decision, as the leading opponent of Clynes, to attend the Meeting turned grumbling into full blown rebellion. With him came even more MP's and representatives than many had thought possible and by day one of the conference it had become clear, to Clynes' dismay, that a quruom had been reached and thus any decision made at this meeting, should it recieve a large enough majority, would essentially become official policy of the Labour Party.
However before any of that happened it was time for a little fancy footwork, after all you had four men (Maxton, MacDonald, Bowerman, and Inkpin) all with differing ideologies within the left and all attempting to lead the Working Class into the post-war era....
June 27, 1921
"Brothers, sisters, friends and comrades, I rise before you today in the name of unity, equality, and the left. Our party risks being torn asunder. The formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain in this year past seems to have put a strain upon this party and that is why I asked, quite cordially I might add despite Mr. Clynes' refusal to take part in these proceedings, that a conference be held, a joining of the Parties of Labour to discuss this question of how to move forward...
With these simple, broad words James Maxton began a seismic shift in his contemporary Labour Party. The Scottish radical, with the backing of the ILP's Richard Wallhead, had spent the weeks past calling desperately for a Labour Party conference, something which had become a seemingly annual tradition since 1906 until the rise of J.R. Clynes in the aftermath of the Great War. Clynes, a reformist and, in many ways, a tool of the war-time bourgeoisie had cancelled any discussion of a conference in 1921 every since wresting control of the party from the deserving MacDonald earlier that year. The fear, many analysts believed, was that MacDonald would be able to appeal to the broad base of the party in a conference setting much better then the moderate, removed Clynes who had become a symbolic enemy of the anti-war movement after leading Labour's participation in the National Government.
Yet it was form a very different direction that Clynes great change arose all at once. Maxton's clamor for an accepting of the new Communist Party into Labour's federated structure played well with the base. Accusing Clynes of being a tool of division, first during the war and now by opposing the hard left, Maxton pushed himself to the forefront, his calls for a conference gathering significant momentum among the unions who formed the core of Labour's structure. For his part Maxton might well be mistaken for a shrewd political calculator if it were not for evident heart-felt drive behind each of his decisions; it was, after all, the Communistic left that pushed Maxton over the edge, eventually allowing his capture of the Labour Party.
Sensing an insurgency, however, three more key actors emerged, sliding into place and allowing the Labour General Meeting of 1921 (held without the authority of the party's own leader.) First it was Albert Inkpin, the founder of the Communist Party and its first General Secretary who immediately announced that his party would accept any invitation to any conference, official or otherwise. The second was Bowerman. C.W. Bowerman had been of incredible importance to the founding and rise of the Labour Party as the primary vehicle of the voting working class. A prominent trade unionist, he had played a leading role in both the Social Democratic Federation and Progressive Party before throwing his considerable weight behind the Labour Party, soon thereafter becoming an MP in 1906. However most important of all was Bowerman's activism within the Trades Union's Congress which he became the head of in 1911. By actively tying the TUC with a sitting Labour MP he transformed and legitimized the party more than any other could. However during the war he had fallen out of favor and into prison for his pacifistic stance. Yet, unlike MacDonald and others, Bowerman's pacifism was treated as a secondary trait and thus he never became the symbol others did. With the war over and his influence quickly fading, Bowerman likely saw the General Meeting as his last chance. If he could flex the TUC's muscles perhaps he and his more Syndicalist view of the world could again be brought to the forefront of politics.
Finally, and only days before the conference, the most important piece of the puzzle -- at least in terms of legitimizing the Meeting -- fell into place. Ramsay MacDonald's decision, as the leading opponent of Clynes, to attend the Meeting turned grumbling into full blown rebellion. With him came even more MP's and representatives than many had thought possible and by day one of the conference it had become clear, to Clynes' dismay, that a quruom had been reached and thus any decision made at this meeting, should it recieve a large enough majority, would essentially become official policy of the Labour Party.
However before any of that happened it was time for a little fancy footwork, after all you had four men (Maxton, MacDonald, Bowerman, and Inkpin) all with differing ideologies within the left and all attempting to lead the Working Class into the post-war era....