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Policymaking and Revolutionary Politics, 1924–1991

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The Political Committee (PC) papers

The Political Committee shall have the responsibility for giving prompt and effective leadership in between meetings of the Executive Committee.
Communist Party of Great Britain,  1959 Party Congress

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Study CPGB management, leadership, and perspectives on domestic and international policy issues

A black and white image of John Gollan, leader of the Communist Party of Great Britain, 1972

The Political Committee of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was a subsidiary of the Executive Committee. It was responsible for determining the party’s policy positions. Due to the CPGB being unable to maintain a full time Executive Committee, the Political Committee emerged as the de facto leadership body of the party. This collection contains materials from the Political Bureau during the CPGB’s early years of great optimism and hope, to the Political Committee that helped toe-the-line for the Soviet Union during the Cold War and eventually collapsed with it. 

The documents offer a vast and fascinating perspective on the stances that the CPGB took towards ongoing issues in British and international politics. As such, the documents detail political debates including treatment of the Windrush generation of immigrants, Britain’s controversial entry into the European Community, and Soviet intervention in the Eastern bloc. 

The collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan.

Contents

Policymaking and Revolutionary Politics, 1924–1991...

The Political Committee (PC) papers

Discover 
An extract from a typed draft report for the Executive Committee, with the title 'Eastern Europe'.

Highlights

Section of minutes from a Meeting of Political Bureau dated 4 November 1924, regarding the appointment of a chairman and the Report of Electoral Commission.

Licensed to access Establishment of the Political Bureau, November 1924

Echoing the ‘Politburo’ of the Soviet Union, the Political Bureau was established in the 1920s and by the end of the decade was the de facto leadership body of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Minutes taken cover the fallout of the 1924 General Election, as well as internal party issues.
Section of the introduction to a draft statement on Hungary.

Licensed to access New Leadership and the Hungarian Revolution, December 1956

This document covers the immediate reaction of the CPBG to Soviet intervention in Hungary, as the Political Committee rushed to justify Soviet actions. This represented a first challenge for new General Secretary John Gollan and resulted in reputational damage that would harm the CPGB for years to come.
Section of a weekly letter from the Communist Party of Great Britain titled The Political Committee, dated 25 January 1979.

Licensed to access Agitation During the ‘Winter of Discontent’, January 1979

This document covers the CPGB’s perspectives during the infamous ‘Winter of Discontent’, a period characterised by widespread strikes, industrial action, and political instability in Britain.
Section of minutes of Political Committee meeting, dated 8 April 1991.

Licensed to access ‘Transforming’ the Communist Party of Great Britain, April–June 1991

Against the backdrop of the collapse of the Soviet Union, material in this document covers the often painful and fraught ‘transformation’ that the CPGB went through as it morphed from political party to grassroots think-tank called the ‘Democratic Left’.

Insights

  • The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was established in the early 1920s. The first batch of material from the 1920s shows how and what decisions were taken during the CPGB’s formative years.
  • After the Political Bureau transformed into the Political Committee, the material becomes more uniform and extensive, reflecting the CPGB’s development of a sophisticated party apparatus and the increased scope of their activities.

  • The Political Committee usually met once a week to discuss and decide on party policy and direction. Minutes and newsletters written by the Political Committee offer a valuable and fascinating insight into the political issues of the day, in both Britain and the wider world.

  • As such, the collection offers concise left-wing perspectives on a range of historical events, including everything from British industrial disputes to Cold War proxy wars across the globe.
  • As well as covering outward politics and external policy issues, the Political Committee spent much time discussing internal problems, like party discipline, membership numbers, and adjacent campaigns.
  • Much of the material is complemented by hand-written notes by key figures from the Political Committee, including Bill Wainwright, Reuben Falber, and Margaret Woddis. These notes offer a candid look at the perspectives of those intimately involved in the work of the Political Committee.
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Related Media

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The Departments of the Communist Party of Great Britain: A Detailed Guide Contextual Essays

The singular nature of the CPGB's relationship with the Communist International means that the organisational holdings of the archives in Britain are of a highly asymmetrical character. Discrete groups of documents from the inter-war years, some of considerable historical significance, appear to have been retained by individuals and deposited in... Read more →
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Professor Kevin Morgan
Published 20th January, 2020

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