Workers' International League (1937)
Encyclopedia
The Workers' International League (WIL) was a Trotskyist group in Britain which existed from 1937 to 1944.
, who had split due to false allegations from the leadership of that group that Ralph Lee, then a newly arrived South African member, had misled a strike and used the strike funds to move to England.
The split took around a third of the membership of the Militant Group and four of its branches, including Jock Haston
and Ted Grant
. The group remained in the Labour Party
, where they published Searchlight edited by Gerry Healy
, which in September 1938 was replaced by the magazine Youth for Socialism, which in its own turn was renamed Socialist Appeal in June 1941 as a result of the WIL's turn of focus away from the Labour Party. The group also produced a theoretical journal Workers International News. The WIL grew with recruits from the Labour Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain
, the Independent Labour Party
and the Militant Group.
The Fourth International
was formed in 1938, and the WIL refused to merge into the newly formed official British affiliate, the Revolutionary Socialist League
itself a regroupment of the Militant Group and others. They requested either affiliate or sympathiser status to the International but were rejected.
developed by Trotsky in his last writings and expanded upon and advocated by James P Cannon and the Socialist Workers Party. They campaigned for the creation of workers' militias instead of the Home Guard, deep air raid shelters for workers, and after 1941 against the pro-war, anti-strike position of the CPGB.
With the outbreak of World War II
, the WIL expected to be banned and so temporarily moved a few members (Tommy Reilly, Jock Haston, Gerry Healy, John Williams and George Noseda) to Dublin. It soon became obvious that the group would not be persecuted, and they were allocated paper for their publications.
On their own initiative, Arthur Carford, who had gained employment as an orderly at the Medical Examination Centre, where potential conscripts fitness was reviewed, and three other members from Sheffield attempted to steal cards to exempt the bearer from military service for medical reasons. The four were arrested and charged at Sheffield Magistrates Court with "stealing, receiving, conspiring to steal and conspiring to receive these cards, to which later was added a fifth charge of doing those acts "with intent to assist the enemy". Realising the seriousness of these charges (especially the fifth charge which carried a charge of 20 years imprisonment), one of the defendants, Fred Jackson, defended himself arguing that by virtue of the political ideals it was impossible for Trotskyists to do anything deliberately to assist Nazi Germany, leading to no guilty verdicts on the fifth charge. He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment, with Carford receiving 18 months, however, given the irresponsibility of their initial action they were barred from holding office within the WIL for a year and reduced to supporter status respectively. Of the other two defendants, Ward received 6 months and Beet was acquitted, but as both had given statements to the police that could have implicated the WIL they were expelled.
which had led the revolt on the Clyde during World War I. This body called a conference in Glasgow on 5–6 June 1943, which attracted delegates from "Yorkshire's West Riding, Newcastle, Nottingham, Huddersfield, Barrow and London" and set up the Militant Workers Federation with Tearse as Secretary and offices in Nottingham near the Royal Ordnance Factory.
By 1944, the Fourth International
had realised that the WIL were far more effective and closer to the FI's policies than the RSL which had disintegrated into a set of warring factions, and so coordinated a unity conference. This produced the Revolutionary Communist Party, which adopted all the WIL's positions.
Formation
The WIl was formed in 1937 by around members of the Militant GroupMilitant Group
The Militant Group was an early British Trotskyist group, formed in 1935 by Denzil Dean Harber, former leader of the Marxist Group, as an entrist group inside the Labour Party....
, who had split due to false allegations from the leadership of that group that Ralph Lee, then a newly arrived South African member, had misled a strike and used the strike funds to move to England.
The split took around a third of the membership of the Militant Group and four of its branches, including Jock Haston
Jock Haston
James "Jock" Ritchie Haston was a Trotskyist politician and General Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist Party in Great Britain.-Early years:...
and Ted Grant
Ted Grant
Edward "Ted" Grant , 9 July 1913 in Germiston, South Africa – 20 July 2006 in London) was a South African Trotskyist who spent most of his adult life in Britain...
. The group remained in the Labour Party
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...
, where they published Searchlight edited by Gerry Healy
Gerry Healy
Thomas Gerard Healy, known as Gerry Healy , was a political activist, a co-founder of the International Committee of the Fourth International, and, according to former prominent U.S. supporter David North, the leader of the Trotskyist movement in Great Britain between 1950 – 1985...
, which in September 1938 was replaced by the magazine Youth for Socialism, which in its own turn was renamed Socialist Appeal in June 1941 as a result of the WIL's turn of focus away from the Labour Party. The group also produced a theoretical journal Workers International News. The WIL grew with recruits from the Labour Party, the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
, the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
and the Militant Group.
The Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
was formed in 1938, and the WIL refused to merge into the newly formed official British affiliate, the Revolutionary Socialist League
Revolutionary Socialist League (UK, 1938)
The first RSL was formed in early 1938 with the merger of two different parties, the Marxist League led by Harry Wicks and the Marxist Group led by C. L. R. James....
itself a regroupment of the Militant Group and others. They requested either affiliate or sympathiser status to the International but were rejected.
Outbreak of World War II
Unlike the Revolutionary Socialist League, the WIL readily adopted the Proletarian Military PolicyProletarian Military Policy
The Proletarian Military Policy was a policy adopted by the Fourth International in response to World War II. It was an attempt to apply transitional demands such as trade union control of military training and the election of officers to transform what it characterised as an imperialist war into...
developed by Trotsky in his last writings and expanded upon and advocated by James P Cannon and the Socialist Workers Party. They campaigned for the creation of workers' militias instead of the Home Guard, deep air raid shelters for workers, and after 1941 against the pro-war, anti-strike position of the CPGB.
Question of the Leadership
Due to the its adoption of the Proletarian Military Policy, the WIL argued that its members should go through the experience of the war with other members of their class by joining the army when called-up. But if this was applied to the whole membership it meant they could be dispersed and provide no real leadership and therefore the organisation took measures to preserve the leading cadres outside the forces.With the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the WIL expected to be banned and so temporarily moved a few members (Tommy Reilly, Jock Haston, Gerry Healy, John Williams and George Noseda) to Dublin. It soon became obvious that the group would not be persecuted, and they were allocated paper for their publications.
On their own initiative, Arthur Carford, who had gained employment as an orderly at the Medical Examination Centre, where potential conscripts fitness was reviewed, and three other members from Sheffield attempted to steal cards to exempt the bearer from military service for medical reasons. The four were arrested and charged at Sheffield Magistrates Court with "stealing, receiving, conspiring to steal and conspiring to receive these cards, to which later was added a fifth charge of doing those acts "with intent to assist the enemy". Realising the seriousness of these charges (especially the fifth charge which carried a charge of 20 years imprisonment), one of the defendants, Fred Jackson, defended himself arguing that by virtue of the political ideals it was impossible for Trotskyists to do anything deliberately to assist Nazi Germany, leading to no guilty verdicts on the fifth charge. He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment, with Carford receiving 18 months, however, given the irresponsibility of their initial action they were barred from holding office within the WIL for a year and reduced to supporter status respectively. Of the other two defendants, Ward received 6 months and Beet was acquitted, but as both had given statements to the police that could have implicated the WIL they were expelled.
Trade Union Activities
The WIL began to orient towards the trade unions, and deprioritised entrism into the Labour Party. After the appointment of Roy Tearse as industrial organiser (replacing Gerry Healy), the WIL found itself involved through him in setting up a solidarity committee in support of victimised workers called the Clyde Workers Committee after the original organisation bearing that nameClyde Workers' Committee
The Clyde Workers Committee was formed to campaign against the Munitions Act. The leader of the CWC was Willie Gallacher, who was jailed under the Defense of the Realm Act together with John Muir for an article in the CWC journal The Worker criticising World War I.-External links:**...
which had led the revolt on the Clyde during World War I. This body called a conference in Glasgow on 5–6 June 1943, which attracted delegates from "Yorkshire's West Riding, Newcastle, Nottingham, Huddersfield, Barrow and London" and set up the Militant Workers Federation with Tearse as Secretary and offices in Nottingham near the Royal Ordnance Factory.
By 1944, the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
had realised that the WIL were far more effective and closer to the FI's policies than the RSL which had disintegrated into a set of warring factions, and so coordinated a unity conference. This produced the Revolutionary Communist Party, which adopted all the WIL's positions.