The Communist Party of Britain is a small communist party operating in the United Kingdom, although it chooses not to be active in Northern Ireland where the Communist Party of Ireland works. It traces its formation back to 1920 and the Communist Party of Great Britain and claims the legacy of that party and its most influential member Harry Pollitt as its own.

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 blamed what they saw as a domineering clique in the CPGB's leadership for precipitating a dramatic decline in the party's fortunes by introducing a new party constitution. 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 several other Communist Parties including the New Communist Party (formed in 1977), who oppose 'eurocommunism', and have close links to the Workers' Party of Korea, and the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) who also show solidarity with North Korea. The splitting up of the Communist Party of Great Britain into tiny factions resulted in bitter rows and arguments between communists of different parties, 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. Hick's supporters on the Management Board 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 Hick's supporters were expelled and others resigned in protest. They formed a discussion group called the "Marxist Forum" and they continued to hold prominent positions at the Marx Memorial Library in London.

Though the Communist Party of Britain remains the largest Communist party in Britain it has always fared badly in elections. 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 CP candidates polled a total of 1,124 votes (average 0.3 per cent a seat).

Since then, the CPB has worked constantly on the fringes of the labour and trade union movement in Britain. It is a major player in the Stop the War Coalition, with the movement's director, Andrew Murray, being a Communist Party of Britain member. The formation of the Respect coalition, headed by George Galloway MP and supported by the Socialist Workers Party,led to serious divisions amongst the leadership. Calls for a realignment with Respect supported by General Secretary Robert Griffiths, Andrew Murray and Morning Star editor John Haylett, were however defeated at two Congresses in 2004.

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 with the CPB members and leadership is that the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc did more good than harm.

The CPB stand in solidarity with existing socialist states and have close ties with the Cuban and Vietnamese Communist Parties. Opinions on North Korea and China differ between members but several articles published in the CPB journal, Communist Review and on the CPB website express solidarity between both the Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of China and the Korean Workers Party.

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 the hammer and sickle in such cases. 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.

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 elect District Committees for their areas. Welsh and Scottish branches elect a National Committee each. These committees are elected in biennial congresses which also decide the broad perspectives for Party activity within the district.

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]

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.

Publications

The CPB and the Morning Star (one of the few daily English-language socialist newspapers in the world) are not structurally linked, as the paper is owned by a co-operative of its readers and writers and other interested individuals, most of whom are not members of the CPB. 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 board of the Morning Star, must, however, abide by Britain's Road to Socialism, the CPB's programme, although considerable leniency is often given, in particular to the Morning Star's support of parties other than the Communist Party and the Labour Party. In return, members of the CPB must abide by one of its own rules that says 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

Size

The CPB claims to have approximately one thousand members. Despite claims — often stemming from its long-time rival, the Socialist Workers Party — that it consists singularly of elderly people, at a recent Party congress, half of the seventy delegates were aged under thirty-five years. The CPB's small size is disproportionate to much of its influence — something that was true throughout the history of the CPGB — particularly in the Stop the War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

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. The building was owned by AKEL, the Cypriot communist party, and was deemed too small for the CPB's ever increasing operations. 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 two rooms at Ruskin House which also allows it plenty of room to hold its congresses and other important meetings, although the prospect of having a bar in the Party's headquarters would also have been an attraction. Ruskin House will be the venue for this year's annual Communist University.

Communist University

The Communist University is the party's weekend educational school. In 2004, a special University was held by the party's Welsh Committee in Pontypridd. On , the party held its 2005 University at Ruskin House, with sessions on various topics, including but not limited to "'Economic progress' winners and losers", "Latin America: challenging the North" and "the Peace Movement today". Speakers from the Fire Brigades Union, the World Federation of Democratic Youth and other organisations were in attendance.

Articles

• The crisis at the Morning Star(1998)

[2]

• The Morning Star and the CPB's special congress[3]
• Why the new unity coalition must be considered -- John Haylett[4]
• Why the communists won't join Respect[5]
• CPB decides against Respect [6]

External links

• Communist Party of Britain Main Homepage
• Party Programme - Britain's Road to Socialism
• Communist Party of Britain Wales Homepage
• Communist Party of Britain Scotland Homepage
• CPB International Department, links to CPs around the world
• Morning Star
• Ruskin House
• Communist University 2005