Communist Party of Britain

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Communist Party of Britain




Leader	Robert Griffiths

Founded	1920 1988
Headquarters	Ruskin House, Croydon

Political Ideology	Communism, Marxism-Leninism
Political Position	Far left
International Affiliation	unknown
European Affiliation	none
European Parliament Group	none
Colours	Red, Yellow

Website	www.communist-party.org.uk

See also	Politics of the UK Political parties Elections

The Communist Party of Britain, which claims to have around 900 members, is the largest Communist party in the United Kingdom. The CPB does not organise in Northern Ireland, where the Communist Party of Ireland organises. Although founded in 1988 it traces its origins back to 1920 and the Communist Party of Great Britain, and claims the legacy of that party and its most influential members Harry Pollitt and John Gollan as its own.

1 History
2 The Party's stance on existing socialist states and the USSR
3 Symbology
4 Organisation
5 The Party's ideology and main policies
6 Publications
7 Size
8 Headquarters
9 Communist University
10 Articles
11 External links

[edit] History

The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) was formed in 1988 by a disaffected segment of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), including the editorship of the party-controlled newspaper, The Morning Star, largely supporters of the "Communist Campaign Group" (CCG). The founders of the CPB attacked the leadership of the CPGB for allegedly abandoning 'class politics' and the leading role of the working class in the revolutionary process in Britain. The youth wing of the CPGB, the Young Communist League, had collapsed, and The Morning Star was losing circulation.

The next year, the leaders of CPGB formally declared that they had never been Marxist-Leninists, and abandoned the party's programme "British Road to Socialism". Members of the CPB perceived this as the CPGB turning its back on socialism.

Membership of the CPB was boosted after the dissolution of the CPGB in 1991 and its reformation as the "Democratic Left". Many members of the Straight Left faction who had stayed in the CPGB formed a group called "Communist Liaison" which later opted to join the CPB. Others remained in the Democratic Left or joined the Labour Party.

This split within the Communist Party of Great Britain was not the first. The Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) was established in 1968 by a leading engineering union official, Reg Birch, who had been a prominent member of the CPGB and at that time a supporter of the Beijing line in the Sino-Soviet dispute. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, ideological differences between party members led to the establishment of the New Communist Party (formed in 1977), who also opposed 'eurocommunism' and who have close links to the Workers' Party of Korea. The splitting up of the Communist Party of Great Britain resulted in bitter divisions, and the lack of unity between Communists in Britain has had a detrimental effect on the entire Communist movement.

The CPB was largely the creation of the "Communist Campaign Group" and one of its prominent leaders, Mike Hicks, was elected to the post of General Secretary when the CPB was founded in 1988. In January 1998 Mike Hicks was ousted as general secretary in a 17 - 13 vote moved by John Haylett (who was also editor of the Morning Star) at a meeting of the CPB's Executive Committee. Hicks' supporters on the Management Committee of the Morning Star followed by suspending and then sacking Haylett, which led to a prolonged strike at the Morning Star, ending in victory for Haylett and his re-instatement. Some of Hicks' supporters were expelled and others resigned in protest. They formed a discussion group called "Marxist Forum" and continue to hold prominent positions at the Marx Memorial Library in London.

The Communist Party of Britain remains the largest communist party in Britain, and places more emphasis on its extra-parliamentary than its electoral work. At the general election in 2001 the CPB ran six candidates whose total vote came to 1,003. This went up slightly in the May 2005 election when six CPB candidates polled a total of 1,124 votes (average 0.3 per cent a seat). In the 2004 local elections, however, on one occasion a CPB candidate, Glyn Davies (Shotton, Flintshire), polled just over 21 per cent though his total vote was only 99.

The CPB has always been actively engaged in the labour and trade union movement in Britain. It is part of the Stop the War Coalition, with the movement's chair, Andrew Murray, being a Communist Party of Britain member. Another party member, Kate Hudson, is currently chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Prior to the formation of the Respect - The Unity Coalition, headed by George Galloway MP and supported by the Socialist Workers Party, the CPB engaged in a major debate about whether to join an electoral alliance with Galloway and the SWP. Those in favour, including General Secretary Robert Griffiths, Andrew Murray and Morning Star Editor John Haylett, were however defeated at a Special Congress in 2004.

[edit] The Party's stance on existing socialist states and the USSR

The CPB's stance on the former Soviet Union is summed up in their manifesto, Britain's Road to Socialism;

The Soviet Union made a tremendous impact on the struggle for freedom against imperialism across the world, rendering invaluable aid to the national liberation and anti-apartheid movements. Nor should it be forgotten that Soviet industrialisation, on the basis of state ownership and planning, made possible the defeat of fascism in the Second World War - thereby saving the whole of humanity from unprecedented tyranny.

The Soviet Union struggled to build it's socialist system in a backward country, surrounded by hostile imperialist forces. The Soviet people were plunged into two devastating wars - the war of intervention immediately following the revolution, and the Second World War which was followed by the defence burden of the Cold War....

The effects of encirclement and invasion by hostile imperialist forces should not be underestimated...The 'siege mentality' provoked by imperialist aggression was a powerful factor giving rise to wrong policies...decisions were made which led to serious violations of socialist and democratic principles. More specifically, there developed an excessive centralisation of political power. State repression was used against people who failed to conform. Bureaucratic commands replaced economic levers as an instrument of planning... Marxism-Leninism was used dogmatically to justify the status quo.

In accordance to what is said above, the general consensus throughout the CPB is that the positive features of the Soviet Union and what the party continues to call the 'former socialist countries' outweighed the negative ones.

The CPB stands in solidarity with existing socialist states and has close ties with the Cuban, Chinese, North Korean and Vietnamese Communist Parties.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Symbology

Under the Registration of Political Parties Act 1998, which regulated the use of symbols on ballot slips and electoral material, the Communist Party of Britain is the only British political party entitled to use a stand-alone hammer and sickle in such cases. The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), which is also registered, uses a hammer and sickle within a five pointed star. The CPB tends to use the hammer and dove (adopted when the party was established in 1988) in conjunction with the hammer and sickle in publications and on other material, with the hammer and dove normally taking primacy.

The Party's official flag consists of a golden-outlined, five-pointed red star above and slighty to the left of a hammer and sickle design in red with a golden outline in the flag's canton. The words "Communist Party" appear in gold along the bottom of the flag.

[edit] Organisation

The Communist Party of Britain describes itself as a "disciplined and democratic organisation" and operates on a model of democratic centralism. A highly simplified diagram for illustrative purposes showing the organisation of the Party appears to the right, with lower bodies electing higher ones.

The basic party body is the branch. These are normally localities (towns or counties, for example), although workplace branches also exist. In England, branches are grouped into coherent geographical areas and send delegates to a biennial District Congress which elects a District Committee for its area. Similarly, the Welsh and Scottish branches send delegates to their own national congresses where each elects a National Committee. These congresses also decide the broad perspectives for Party activity within their districts and nations.

The all-Britain national congress is also held biennially. Delegates from districts, nations and branches themselves decide the Party's policy as a whole and elect an Executive Committee (EC) that carries out a praesidium-like function, including decision-making and policy-formation whilst congress is not in session.

The EC also elects a Political Committee (PC) to provide leadership when the EC is not meeting. Advisory Committees also exist to provide in-depth information on an array of subjects, including committees dedicated to women, industrial workers, pensions, public services, education workers, economics, housing, rails, science technology and the environment, transport, Marxist-Leninist education, LGB rights, anti-racism/anti-fascism, civil service and international affairs.

The current general-secretary is Robert Griffiths. According to accounts filed with the Electoral Commission in the year ending December 31, 2004, it had an income of £75,692 (of which over half was membership dues) and expenditure of £72,150. It spent £37,871 on salaries. [1]

[edit] The Party's ideology and main policies

The CPB describes itself as a Marxist-Leninist organisation, whose main policies are set out in the Alternative Economic and Political Strategy, the third section in the party's manifesto, Britain's Road to Socialism.

Within this document the party calls for:

An economy based on a combination of workers' co-operatives and state-owned enterprises run on behalf of the people.
The nationalisation of industry in order to boost the economy and raise general standard of living.
Massive investment by the state into key areas of the economy with the aim of ending unemployment and increasing production.
A substantial increase in social welfare spending in education, healthcare and recreational facilities.
A planned economy, designed to increase the standard of living of working people.
The tax burden to be shifted onto the rich, with direct taxes on working people's incomes reduced.
The confiscation of wealth from the rich and windfall taxes on company profits.
The eventual 'withering away' of the socialist state, and the complete emancipation of the working class through to the higher phase of communism.
The importance of democracy and freedom in everyday life, and the placement of particular emphasis on the freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

[edit] Publications

The CPB and the Morning Star (the only daily English-language socialist newspaper in the world) are not organisationally linked, as the paper is owned by a co-operative of its readers and other groups including many trade union organisations. A few years ago an internal dispute within the CPB spilled over into the Morning Star, whose journalists went on strike against "management". The editorial line of the Morning Star must, however, reflect Britain's Road to Socialism, the CPB's programme endorsed by the co-operative's annual general meetings, although considerable latitude exists in relation to the Morning Star's coverage of parties other than the Communist Party and the Labour Party. In particular, the paper reflects a wide range of left and progressive views in its features and letters pages. CPB members of the are expected to abide by one of the party's rules that Party members must read and do all they can to increase the circulation of the newspaper.

The CPB publishes the free Communist News, a regular newsletter for its members and Communist Review, a theoretical and discussion journal for members and non-members, costing £2. The International Department of the CPB also publishes Solidarity.

In addition to this, it has also published numerous pamphlets and booklets, including but not limited to:

A World to Save - the Party's response to environmental issues
Defeat New Labour - the Party's aims at defeating New Labour policies within the labour movement
No to the Euro - the Party's reasoning against the introduction of the single European currency in Britain
Women & Class - the Party's attitudes towards female issues
Britain's Road to Socialism - the Party's complete programme (see above)
What We Stand For - the Party's basic introduction to its principles
Wages, Price & Profit - one of Karl Marx's works, published by the party's Economic Committee
Halting the Decline of Britain's Manufacturing Industry by the Morning Star's economic expert, Jerry Jones, published by the party's Economic Committee
Manifesto of the Communist Party - one of Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels works, published by the party's Political Committee
Case for Communism - by the Party's International Secretary John Foster, covering the rise of Anti-Communism and the record of socialist countries
Education for the People - the Party's attitudes towards developments in the Education system
The Future of Pensions - How we can ensure a decent retirement for all by the Morning Star's economic expert, Jerry Jones, published by the party's Economic Committee

[edit] Size

The CPB claimed that it had some 830 members at its Congress in 2004 and at its congress in May 2006 said this number had risen to 902. As with most left organisations, the CPB's small size is disproportionate to much of its influence particularly in the trade union movement, and organisations such as the Stop the War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

According to the party's accounts for the year 2005 [2], it had income and expenditure around the £100,000 mark, of which £34,000 is spent on staff salaries.

[edit] Headquarters

At the beginning of November 2004, the CPB and its youth organisation, the YCL, moved out of its temporary headquarters in Camden, North London after receiving notice to quit because of redevelopment. The building was owned by AKEL, the Cypriot communist party. Ruskin House in Croydon was chosen as the new Party headquarters, with its long history in the progressive movement as centre of the Anti-Apartheid Movement and also local Labour Party and co-operative groups. The CPB rents the top floor of four offices at Ruskin House which also allows it plenty of room to hold its congresses and other important meetings, including an annual industrial cadre school and the Communist University of Britain.

[edit] Communist University

The CPB's Communist University movement has developed since the Welsh and British communist university events in 2004. The Communist University of Britain has become an annual three-day event from 2005, joined by weekend universities in Scotland and Wales in 2006 and with plans for a Communist University of the Midlands - to be organised jointly with the Association of Indian Communists (Marxist) - in 2007. Among the speakers at the Communist University of Britain at Ruskin House in November 2006 were Labour MP John McDonnell, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers general secretary Bob Crow, CND chair Kate Hudson, Communist Party USA vice-president Jarvis Tyner, French Communist Party economist Paul Boccara and Palestinian Liberation Organization ambassador Dr Noha Khalef.