Ellen Wilkinson : from red suffragist to government minister

169 Pages·2014·5.648 MB·English

by  Paula Bartley

Ellen Wilkinson
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Revolutionary Lives
Series Editors: Sarah Irving, University of Edinburgh;
Professor Paul Le Blanc, La Roche College, Pittsburgh
Revolutionary Lives is a series of short, critical biographies of radical figures
from throughout history. The books are sympathetic but not sycophantic, and
the intention is to present a balanced and, where necessary, critical evaluation
of the individual’s place in their political field, putting their actions and
achievements in context and exploring issues raised by their lives, such as the
use or rejection of violence, nationalism, or gender in political activism. While
individuals are the subject of the books, their personal lives are dealt with
lightly except insofar as they mesh with political concerns. The focus is on the
contribution these revolutionaries made to history, an examination of how far
they achieved their aims in improving the lives of the oppressed and exploited,
and how they can continue to be an inspiration for many today.
Also available:
Salvador Allende:
Revolutionary Democrat
Victor Figueroa Clark
Hugo Chávez:
Socialist for the Twenty-first Century
Mike Gonzalez
Leila Khaled:
Icon of Palestinian Liberation
Sarah Irving
Jean Paul Marat:
Tribune of the French Revolution
Clifford D. Conner
Sylvia Pankhurst:
Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire
Katherine Connelly
Gerrard Winstanley:
The Digger’s Life and Legacy
John Gurney
www.revolutionarylives.co.uk
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Ellen Wilkinson
From Red Suffragist to Government Minister
Paula Bartley
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First published 2014 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by
Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Copyright © Paula Bartley 2014
The right of Paula Bartley to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their
permission for the use of copyright material in this book. The publisher apologises
for any errors or omissions in this respect and would be grateful if notified of any
corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 3238 3 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 3237 6 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 7837 1016 4 PDF eBook
ISBN 978 1 7837 1018 8 Kindle eBook
ISBN 978 1 7837 1017 1 EPUB eBook
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed
and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are
expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset from disk by Stanford DTP Services, Northampton, England
Text design by Melanie Patrick
Simultaneously printed digitally by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham, UK and
Edwards Bros in the United States of America
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For Réka and Dóra Dudley
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Contents
List of Illustrations viii
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
1. The Making of ‘Red Ellen’, 1891–1914 1
2. The First World War and its Aftermath, 1914–24 10
3. On the Opposition Benches, 1924–29 28
4. In and Out of Power, 1929–35 47
5. Fighting Fascism and Imperialism in the 1930s 66
6. In Parliament Again, 1935–39 85
7. The Second World War, 1939–45 101
8. Post-war, 1945–47 115
Conclusion 132
Notes 140
Index 150
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List of Illustrations
1.1 Ellen in her graduation gown 6
2.1 Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom,
Zurich, 1919 20
3.1 Ellen’s election leaflet 29
4.1 Ellen and Labour women MPs, 1929. Back row: Marion
Phillips, Edith Picton-Turbeville, Ethel Bentham and
Mary Hamilton. Front row, left to right: Cynthia Mosley,
Susan Lawrence, Margaret Bondfield, Ellen Wilkinson
and Jenny Lee 48
5.1 Ellen and Clement Attlee inspecting bomb damage in
Madrid, 1937 80
6.1 Ellen relaxing with the Jarrow marchers 90
7.1 Ellen at home 103
7.2 Meeting the fire-guards 109
8.1 The Labour Party Cabinet, 1945 121
8.2 Ellen chairing the first UNESCO conference 129
viii
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank a number of historians: Robert Pearce, who
read and commented on an early draft of this book and whose advice,
as ever, was invaluable; Lesley Hall, June Hanham, Karen Hunt, Sue
Johnson, Christopher Knowles, Godfrey Lomas, Janis Lomas, Sue
Morgan, Alison Ronan and Nicola Wilson for sharing their research
and ideas with me; and Diane Atkinson, Maggie Andrews and Angela
V. John who helped in a variety of useful ways. G.W. Jones patiently
answered innumerable questions so a huge thanks to him too. I am
grateful to other historians I have not referenced due to lack of space:
a bibliography can be requested from [email protected].
Thanks also to Pluto Press and its editorial team for having faith in
Ellen Wilkinson: in particular to David Castle and Sarah Irving for
their support and guidance.
Historians are rightly indebted to archivists. I would like to thank
Rob Whitfield, McMaster University, Canada; Elaine Moll, Hull
History Centre; Professor Marion Shaw, literary executor of the
Winifred Holtby archives; the Devon Record Office; Ian Rawes at the
British Library; Guy Baxter and Danielle Mills at the University of
Reading; Rayanne Byatt at the Coventry History Centre; Paul Taylor
at the Birmingham Archives and Heritage Centre; Inderbir Bhullar
at the Women’s Library and all the archivists at the Bodleian, the
National Archives and Middlesborough Central Library for their
help. The Modern Record Centre at the University of Warwick was
particularly obliging: Helen Ford even helped guide me through
the complex business of copyright permissions. The reputation
of Mancunians as friendly helpful people continues to thrive. It
was always such a delight to visit any Manchester archive because
everyone was so welcoming. Thank you to everyone at the Working
Class Movement Library and to Jane Hodgkinson at the Manchester
Archives and Local Studies Centre. Very extra special thanks to
Darren Tredwell, at the People’s History Museum, Manchester. His
knowledge of Labour history and its archives is humungous and
ix
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