The Political Trajectory of J.T. Murphy PDF
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The Political Trajectory of J. T. MURPHY The Political Trajectory of J.T. MURPHY RALPH DARLINGTON University of Salford LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY PRESS First published 1998 by LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY PRESS Senate House, Abercromby Square Liverpool, L69 3BX Copyright # 1998 Ralph Darlington The right of Ralph Darlington to be identified as the author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this volume may be reproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recordingorotherwisewithouttheprior written permission of the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A British Library CIP record is available ISBN 0–85323–733–6 cased 0–85323–743–3 paper Set in Monotype Plantin by Wilmaset Limited, Birkenhead, Wirral Printed and bound in the European Union by Bell and Bain Limited, Glasgow Contents Abbreviations vi Chronology vii Preface and Acknowledgements xviii Photographs xxvii Chapter One The Early Years in Sheffield, 1888–1917 1 Murphy’s early years as a militant engineering shop steward in Sheffield during the First World War Chapter Two The Shop Stewards’ Movement, 1917–1919 30 Assesment of Murphy’s theoretical contribution to the National Shop Stewards’ and Workers Committee Movement Chapter Three Towards Bolshevism, 1919–1920 54 Murphy’s political evolution from syndicalism to communism and towards the need for a Bolshevik-type revolutionary party Chapter Four The Communist Party and the Labour Movement, 1920–1926 87 Murphy’s involvement with the Red International of Labour Unions and his influential role directing the British Communist Party’s industrial work and relationship with the Labour Party v vi The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy Chapter Five The Comintern and Stalinism, 1926–1928 133 Murphy’s close links with the Comintern in Moscow and the impact of the rise of Stalinism inside the USSR on his political development Chapter Six The ‘New Line’, 1928–1932 163 Murphy’s role in pushing the CPGB towards acceptance of the Comintern’s ultra-left ‘new line’ Chapter Seven Towards Left Reformism, 1932–1936 201 The factors underlying Murphy’s expulsion from the CPGB and his subsequent involvement with the Socialist League inside the Labour Party Chapter Eight Popular Frontism and Re-appraisal, 1936–1965 234 Murphy’s embrace of Popular Frontism during the Second World War and the re-evaluation of his political convictions made in later life Conclusion Drawing together some of the central 261 themes of the book and the course of Murphy’s political trajectory Notes 269 Index 311 Abbreviations ACM Amalgamation Committee Movement AEU Amalgamated Engineering Union ASE Amalgamated Society of Engineers BSP British Socialist Party CCP Communist Party of China Comintern Communist (Third) International CP (British) Communist Party CPGB Communist Party of Great Britain CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union ECCI Executive Committee of the Communist International ICC International Control Commission IFTU InternationalFederationofTradeUnions(or‘Amster- dam International’) ILP Independent Labour Party NAC NationalAdministrativeCouncil(oftheshopstewards’ movement) NBM New Britain Movement NEP New Economic Policy NLWM National Left Wing Movement NMM National Minority Movement NUGMW National Union of General and Municipal Workers NUTGW National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers PICTU Provisional International Council of Trade and Indus- trial Unions PLP Parliamentary Labour Party Politburo Political Bureau Profintern Red International of Labour Unions RILU Red International of Labour Unions (Profintern) SDF Social Democratic Federation (in 1908 renamed the SDP) SDP Social Democratic Party (in 1911 renamed BSP) SLP Socialist Labour Party vii viii The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy SPD Social Democractic Party (of Germany) SS&WCM Shop Stewards’ and Workers’ Committee Movement SWSS South Wales Socialist Society TGWU Transport and General Workers Union TUC Trades Union Congress UCWU United Clothing Workers’ Union UMS United Mineworkers of Scotland USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) WSF Workers’ Socialist Federation WSPU Women’s Social and Political Union Chronology 1888 Dec: Birth of Murphy (9th). 1910–1914 ‘Labour Unrest’: strikes of miners, seamen, dockers, trans- port and railway workers. 1914 Aug: First World War breaks out. 1915 Oct: Clyde Workers Committee formed. 1916 Nov: First National Shop Stewards’ Conference. Sheffield engineers’ strike in defence of conscripted work- mate Leonard Hargreaves. 1917 Jan: Formation of Sheffield Workers Committee. Feb: Russian Revolution, Czar overthrown (in the month of March by western calendar). Mar: Amalgamation Committee Conference in Birmingham at which Murphy opposed plan for breakaway engineering union. May: English engineers’ strike over Trade Card Scheme and dilution. SecondNationalShopStewards’ConferenceinManchester (5th–6th). Aug: Third National Shop Stewards’ Conference in Manchester (18th–19th) which elected a National Administrative Coun- cil (NAC). Murphy joins the Socialist Labour Party. Oct: Russian Bolshevik Revolution (in the month of November by western calendar). The Workers’ Committee pamphlet published. ix x The Political Trajectory of J. T. Murphy 1918 Jan: JointnationalconferenceoftheSSWCMandnewlymerged Amalgamation Committees (5th–6th). NAC of shop stewards’ movement rejects strike call against the war (25th). Mar: SSWCM Conference in Sheffield, with representatives of the miners’ reform committees and the railwaymen’s vigi- lance committees (9th–10th). Apr: SSWCM Conference in Manchester (13th–14th). Sept: Last wartime SSWCM Conference in Birmingham (7th– 8th). Nov: War ends. German revolution topples the Kaiser. Dec: Khaki general election with Lloyd George coalition elected into office. 1919 Jan: Forty-hour Clydeside strike. Special SLP Conference agrees new programme ‘Plea for Reconsideration of Socialist Tactics and Organisation’ and sets up SLP Unity Committee (11th–12th). Mar: Founding Comintern Congress (2nd–6th). Apr: SSWCM Conference in Sheffield, attended by miners and railwaymen. Sept: New SLP executive dissolves Unity Committee. 1920 Jan: National Shop Stewards’ Conference (10th). Feb: Amsterdam Conference of Sub-Bureau of Comintern (3rd– 7th). May: London dockers refuse to load munitions for Poland on Jolly George. July– Communist Party of Great Britain formed at Unity Con- Aug: vention in London (31st July–7th August). Second Congress of Comintern (17th July–7th August). Oct: Provisional International Council of Trade and Industrial Unions set up. Dec: British Bureau of RILU set up. SSWCMNationalAdministrativeCouncilmeetinginShef- field (9th–10th).
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