Communist Party of Great Britain

The Communist Party of Great Britain was a British political party founded in 1920 that advocated communism and aligned with the Soviet Union. It dissolved in 1991 after disputes over political direction and the Soviet bloc’s decline.

Russian Revolution: The 1917 revolutions that ended imperial rule in Russia and brought the Bolsheviks to power. The Bolshevik victory inspired British communists and shaped the party’s international alignment.
Trade unionism: The organization of workers into unions to pursue shared economic and workplace interests. The party built influence through union branches and communist activity in organized labor.
Harry Pollitt: A British communist trade unionist who led the party as general secretary from 1929 to 1939 and 1941 to 1956. His long leadership made him the party’s most prominent organizer and public representative.
Historians' Group of the Communist Party: A group of Marxist historians within the party, active from the 1940s, that included prominent British scholars. Its members shaped influential historical writing despite tensions with party orthodoxy.
Third International: The Communist International, founded in 1919 to coordinate communist parties worldwide under Soviet leadership. Its conditions for affiliation helped shape the party’s founding and early organization.
Popular Front: A political alliance of communist and noncommunist forces formed to oppose fascism. The party adopted this strategy in the 1930s, broadening cooperation against fascist movements.
Rajani Palme Dutt: A British Marxist writer and Communist Party leader known for his influence on party strategy. His analysis helped define the party’s political line, especially on imperialism and foreign policy.
British New Left: A British intellectual and political movement that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s outside established communist orthodoxy. The 1956 crisis in communism helped spur currents that challenged the party’s authority.
Socialist Labour Party: A British Marxist political organization founded in 1903 by supporters of industrial unionism. It was one of the organizations whose members helped form the party in 1920.
Daily Worker: A British newspaper founded in 1930 as the Communist Party of Great Britain’s daily organ. The paper carried party arguments into public debate and reported on labor struggles.

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