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Trade Unions in Crisis: the 1961 ETU Ballot-Rigging Scandal

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ETU ballot-rigging trial proceedings

The High Court judgment condemning the former Communist leadership of the ETU of ballot-rigging on a massive scale was, and remains, a historic...landmark in British trade unionism.
Geoffrey Goodman,  The Guardian

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Study the extent of communist influence in post-war British trade unions

A banner sign from the Electrical Trades Union. In the centre it reads 'Electrical Trades Union', with 'Defence not Defiance' on the top left.

The ETU ballot-rigging trial was a case brought to the High Court by prominent union members John Thomas Byrne and Frank Chapple in 1961. They alleged that members of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) had engaged in "a conspiracy to defraud" in the most recent elections of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), a relatively successful body that represented electricians, wire fitters, and telephone engineers. The judge ultimately ruled in the plaintiffs' favour.

This collection contains verbatim transcripts of the court case. The transcripts provide a unique insight into the CPGB’s influence in the post-war trade union movement. 

The collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan, a senior academic at the University of Manchester.

Contents

Trade Unions in Crisis: the 1961 ETU Ballot-Rigging Scandal...

ETU ballot-rigging trial proceedings

Discover 
A photo of the stage and audience at the Trades Union Congress at Blackpool, England on September 4, 1989

Highlights

Section of the transcript of the opening speech, featuring Mr. Gardiner, Mr. Justice Winn, and Mr. Lawson.

Licensed to access Opening speech by the plaintiffs, 17th April 1961

In this transcript, the plaintiffs open proceedings by alleging communist influence in the ETU and that the 1959 election was rigged.
Section of the transcript of Mr. Francis Joseph Chapple's witness testimony.

Licensed to access Key witness: Frank Chapple, 28th April 1961

These items include the witness testimony of Frank Chapple. He claimed that high level CPGB officials were aware of ballot-rigging in the ETU.
Section of a document labelled Speech 4, dated 8 May 1961.

Licensed to access Speech on behalf of the defendants, 8th May 1961

This document lays out the defence's assertion that there is a distinction between a conspiracy and confusion over voting rules and procedures.
Section of a document labelled Judgement, dated 28 June 1961.

Licensed to access Judgement, delivered by Justice Winn, 28th June 1961

The final verdict concluded that the CPGB de-facto controlled the ETU and had engaged in ballot-rigging to re-elect Frank Huxell.

Insights

  • Like other orthodox communists, the CPGB believed that trade unions were an important site of workers’ political consciousness and power. As such, they spent a great deal of resources attempting to gain positions of influence in union bureaucracies.
  • In the late 1950s, the ETU had a membership of over 240,000. It was controlled by a CPGB-aligned leadership headed by Frank Haxell. In 1959, Jock Byrne, a catholic and staunch anti-communist, ran against Haxell for the position of General Secretary.
  • Haxell won, but allegations of foul play and ballot-rigging soon emerged. A former CPGB member, Frank Chapple, eventually disputed the election results in court on behalf of Byrne.
  • The court papers from the trial are included in this collection. They detail the intricacies of union rules and the arguments of the prosecution and defence, as well as key witness testimony from those with first-hand experience of the scandal.
  • The High Court considered the case in the spring and summer of 1961. Evidence was presented which suggested officials affiliated to the CPGB had disqualified votes from local ETU branches that had overwhelmingly supported Byrne. In June, the court ruled that Haxell and 14 others were guilty of fixing the election.
  • After the verdict, the ETU banned CPGB members from holding office. Most subsequently left the party rather than lose their jobs. More broadly, the trial struck yet another blow to the leadership of John Gollan, which had been undermined by the fallout of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
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