04.04.1996

The Communist Party and the ILP

From 'The Workers’ Weekly', paper of the Communist Party of Great Britain, April 2 1926

The Communist Party wrote both to the Labour Party and the Independent Labour Party, suggesting the discussion of a joint campaign around an agreed programme.

The reply of the Labour Party executive which refused was given a few weeks ago. We give below the reply of the ILP, which has just been received:

To R Stewart, CPGB

Our national council has now had an opportunity of considering your invitations, and has instructed me to reply that, so long as your party is committed to the present thesis of the Third International, insisting that an armed revolution is the only means of establishing socialism, and that it is the duty of your party to prepare the workers for this armed conflict, it is difficult to see how there can be cooperation between our two national organisations.

The point of view from which you approach socialism is that of the inevitability of armed conflict followed by dictatorship. The point of view from which we approach socialism is the bold utilisation of developing political and industrial opportunities to establish socialism by the consent of the majority of the people.

So long as we are divided so fundamentally in method, cooperation would be unreal and of little value … It seems best that we should each carry on our work on separate lines.

Sincerely yours,
A Fenner Brockway,
general secretary