Campaign for Democratic Socialism
Encyclopedia
The Campaign for Democratic Socialism or CDS was an organization of the British Labour Party
, serving as a pressure group representing the right wing
of the party. Established in 1960, the CDS was composed of Gaitskellites
, Labour members who supported the then-party leader, Hugh Gaitskell
.
The origins of the CDS can be traced to the 1959 general election
, which Labour was largely expected to win, but lost due to the Conservatives
exploiting public uncertainty over the Labour economic program. Gaitskell had promised that there would be no new taxes under his administration should be become Prime Minister
, not wanting to tamper with the prosperity that had emerged in Britain under the Conservative governments of Winston Churchill
, Anthony Eden
, and Harold Macmillan
. However, the Bevanites
– the left wing
faction of the Labour Party – had pushed through an electoral manifesto stating it would raise taxes to support increased government expenditures, undercutting Gaitskell's public image. In the aftermath of the electoral failure, which Gaitskell blamed on the Bevanites and their economic views, Gaitskell attempted (and failed) to "modernize" the Labour charter's Clause IV
, which called for nationalization
.
As a result of the massive Bevanite grassroots
mobilization against Gaitskell, the CDS was established in October 1960 by a group of Labour politicians and supporters, among the most prominent of which were Bill Rodgers
, Dick Taverne
, Anthony Crosland
, Douglas Jay
, Roy Jenkins
. They established as their goals the promotion of economic modernization and reformism
as official policies of the party.
Shortly after the CDS was formed, the Labour Party held its 1960 party congress, during which the Bevanites secured the commitment of the party to backing unilateral nuclear disarmament
. The CDS declared the need to create a grassroots organization for the Labour right that could compete with the organizations allied to the Bevanites, specifically Tribune
and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
, and positioned itself as that organization. It was extremely successful; at the 1961 party conference the Gaitskellites managed to overturn the previous year's commitment to disarmament largely due to the CDS efforts. In between the 1959 and 1964 election
s, 23 of the 29 Labour MPs
elected in by-election
s were allied to the CDS, as were 7 of the 12 Labour regional election organizers.
After the reversal of the disarmament issue, the CDS returned to its efforts to oppose Clause IV. The CDS also supported British entry into the European Economic Community
, which most Gaitskellites supported. CDS influence began to wane, first with the splitting of Gaitskell over the EEC issue in 1962, then with his death and replacement
as party leader by the Bevanite Harold Wilson
in 1963, a position he retained until 1976. After Wilson became Prime Minister in the 1964 general elections
the CDS shut down.
However, despite Wilson's vows to "smash" the CDS before he would resign as Party Leader, former CDS members managed to elect Roy Jenkins to the position of Deputy Party Leader shortly after the 1970 Labour electoral defeat
. However, the Labour left managed to remove him in 1972. In 1977, Bill Rodgers established the Campaign for Labour Victory (CLV), an organization that was somewhat a successor to the CDS. By 1981, the former CDS members had felt that the Labour party had gone too far to the left and claimed that Trotskyite
s had taken over the party, removing its responsibility to the party membership. As a result, the "Gang of Four" of Labour moderates issued the Limehouse Declaration
, stating that they were leaving the Labour Party to establish the Social Democratic Party
. Two of the Gang of Four (Roy Jenkins and Bill Rodgers) were former CDS founders, and a number of the younger CDS members joined in leaving Labour for the SDP.
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, serving as a pressure group representing the right wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
of the party. Established in 1960, the CDS was composed of Gaitskellites
Gaitskellism
Gaitskellism was the ideology of a faction of the British Labour Party. Led by Hugh Gaitskell, Gaitskellites represented the political right of the Labour Party and were opposed by the Bevanites, a more Leftist faction of the party led by Aneurin Bevan...
, Labour members who supported the then-party leader, Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Gaitskell
Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell CBE was a British Labour politician, who held Cabinet office in Clement Attlee's governments, and was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1955, until his death in 1963.-Early life:He was born in Kensington, London, the third and youngest...
.
The origins of the CDS can be traced to the 1959 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1959
This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
, which Labour was largely expected to win, but lost due to the Conservatives
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
exploiting public uncertainty over the Labour economic program. Gaitskell had promised that there would be no new taxes under his administration should be become Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, not wanting to tamper with the prosperity that had emerged in Britain under the Conservative governments of Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Anthony Eden
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, KG, MC, PC was a British Conservative politician, who was Prime Minister from 1955 to 1957...
, and Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
. However, the Bevanites
Bevanism
Bevanism was the ideological argument for the Bevanites, a movement on the Left wing of the Labour Party in the late 1950s and led by Nye Bevan. They were opposed by the Gaitskellites, who are variously described as Centre-left, Social Democrats, or 'moderates' within the Party.Bevanism was...
– the left wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
faction of the Labour Party – had pushed through an electoral manifesto stating it would raise taxes to support increased government expenditures, undercutting Gaitskell's public image. In the aftermath of the electoral failure, which Gaitskell blamed on the Bevanites and their economic views, Gaitskell attempted (and failed) to "modernize" the Labour charter's Clause IV
Clause IV
Clause IV historically refers to part of the 1918 text of the British Labour Party constitution which set out the aims and values of the party. Before its revision in 1995, its application was the subject of considerable dispute.-Text:...
, which called for nationalization
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
.
As a result of the massive Bevanite grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
mobilization against Gaitskell, the CDS was established in October 1960 by a group of Labour politicians and supporters, among the most prominent of which were Bill Rodgers
William Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank
William Thomas Rodgers, Baron Rodgers of Quarry Bank, PC , usually known as William Rodgers but also often known as Bill Rodgers, was one of the "Gang of Four" of senior British Labour Party politicians who defected to form the Social Democratic Party...
, Dick Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne
Dick Taverne, Baron Taverne, QC, is an English politician, who is one of the small number of members of the British House of Commons elected since the Second World War who was not the candidate of a major political party...
, Anthony Crosland
Anthony Crosland
Charles Anthony Raven Crosland , otherwise Tony Crosland or C.A.R. Crosland, was a British Labour Party politician and author. He served as Member of Parliament for South Gloucestershire and later for Great Grimsby...
, Douglas Jay
Douglas Jay, Baron Jay
Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, Baron Jay, PC was a British Labour Party politician.Educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, Jay became a Fellow of All Souls between 1930 and 1937...
, Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
. They established as their goals the promotion of economic modernization and reformism
Reformism
Reformism is the belief that gradual democratic changes in a society can ultimately change a society's fundamental economic relations and political structures...
as official policies of the party.
Shortly after the CDS was formed, the Labour Party held its 1960 party congress, during which the Bevanites secured the commitment of the party to backing unilateral nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
. The CDS declared the need to create a grassroots organization for the Labour right that could compete with the organizations allied to the Bevanites, specifically Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
, and positioned itself as that organization. It was extremely successful; at the 1961 party conference the Gaitskellites managed to overturn the previous year's commitment to disarmament largely due to the CDS efforts. In between the 1959 and 1964 election
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
s, 23 of the 29 Labour MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
elected in by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s were allied to the CDS, as were 7 of the 12 Labour regional election organizers.
After the reversal of the disarmament issue, the CDS returned to its efforts to oppose Clause IV. The CDS also supported British entry into the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
, which most Gaitskellites supported. CDS influence began to wane, first with the splitting of Gaitskell over the EEC issue in 1962, then with his death and replacement
Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 1963
The British Labour Party leadership election of 1963 was held following the death of Hugh Gaitskell, the party leader since 1955. He had died on 18 January 1963 and was succeeded by the deputy leader George Brown....
as party leader by the Bevanite Harold Wilson
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...
in 1963, a position he retained until 1976. After Wilson became Prime Minister in the 1964 general elections
United Kingdom general election, 1964
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power...
the CDS shut down.
However, despite Wilson's vows to "smash" the CDS before he would resign as Party Leader, former CDS members managed to elect Roy Jenkins to the position of Deputy Party Leader shortly after the 1970 Labour electoral defeat
United Kingdom general election, 1970
The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
. However, the Labour left managed to remove him in 1972. In 1977, Bill Rodgers established the Campaign for Labour Victory (CLV), an organization that was somewhat a successor to the CDS. By 1981, the former CDS members had felt that the Labour party had gone too far to the left and claimed that Trotskyite
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
s had taken over the party, removing its responsibility to the party membership. As a result, the "Gang of Four" of Labour moderates issued the Limehouse Declaration
Limehouse Declaration
The Limehouse Declaration was a statement issued on 25 January 1981 by four senior British Labour politicians, all MPs or former MPs and Cabinet Ministers: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
, stating that they were leaving the Labour Party to establish the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (UK)
The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
. Two of the Gang of Four (Roy Jenkins and Bill Rodgers) were former CDS founders, and a number of the younger CDS members joined in leaving Labour for the SDP.