The Marxist-Leninist and Anti-Revisionist Movement in Britain

Posted on 11/02/2022 by Michael

Condemned from the dock

The Marxist-Leninist and Anti-Revisionist Movement in Britain

Included on this page is an eclectic collection of documents produced in the two large islands on the western edge of Europe. They cover some of the revolutionary tracts that were produced before Britain had a ‘united’ Communist Party and other documents that were produced after the betrayal of the principles of Marxism-Leninism by Nikita Khrushchev at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in November 1956. Documents of the closest Party (so far in Britain) to be able claim the accolade of being Marxist-Leninist (the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) – CPB(ML)) have their own page.

In 1920 VI Lenin published his seminal work on Party building, Left-wing Communism – an infantile disorder. Much of that pamphlet was devoted to the situation in Britain. Unfortunately, British workers and Marxist-Leninists are still to learn the lessons of the Bolshevik success.

John Maclean (24 August 1879 – 30 November 1923)

A Scottish Revolutionary, spoke out against the 1914-1919 war (the ‘First World War’) – unlike most social-democrats in Britain – the activity for which he was imprisoned.

Condemned from the dock, John Maclean, his famous speech against war and capitalism, introduction by Harry McShane, The John Maclean Society, Lothian, 1968, 7 pages.

The Irish Tragedy, Scotland’s Disgrace (1920), John Maclean, introduction by Harry McShane, The John Maclean Society, Lothian, 1970, 22 pages.

Remembering John Maclean, Portrait of a Scottish Revolutionary, Harry McShane, The John Maclean Society, Lothian, 197?, 7 pages.

Committee to Defeat Revisionism for Communist Unity (CDRCU)

The CDRCU was formed in 1963 by Marxist-Leninists who were previously members of the Communist Party of Great Britain who opposed the ‘modern revisionist’ line that the CPGB had been following since Khrushchev’s so-called ‘secret speech’ at the 20th Congress of the CPSU in 1956.

The Way Forward, The need to establish a Communist Party in England, Scotland and Wales, Michael McCreery, CDRCU, London, January 1964, 15 pages.

Notes on the Lower Middle Class and the Semi-Proletariat in Britain, Michael McCreery, CDRCU, London, January 1964, 8 pages.

The National Question in Britain, Origins of the British State, Michael McCreery, reproduced from Vanguard, periodical of the CDRCU, July 1964, Workers Party of Scotland, Glasgow, 1977, 9 pages.

Workers’ Party of Scotland

An Anti-Revisionist Marxist-Leninist party formed in 1966 which operated primarily in Scotland. The magazine, Scottish Vanguard was published until 1972.

Scottish Vanguard, Volume 4, No. 3, organ of the Workers’ Party of Scotland, 1970, 26 pages.

Scottish Vanguard, Volume 4, No. 4, organ of the Workers’ Party of Scotland, February 1971, 24 pages.

Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) – CPB(ML)

The Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) was formed on April 14th 1968. It arose out of the British anti-revisionist movement which had taken a long time to re-establish a formal party structure following Nikita Khrushchev’s repudiation of Joseph Stalin (but fundamentally Marxism-Leninism) at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956. It was the closest the British working class have, so far, come to establishing a Marxist-Leninist Party in Britain.

Communist Federation of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) – CFB(ML)

The CFB(ML) was a small grouping of Communists who grew out of the Anti-Revisionist movement in Britain following the betrayal of the Communist Party of Great Britain to the principles of Marxism-Leninism. It ceased to exist in, about, 1977. They took control of the theoretical magazine, The Marxist, which was first published in 1966 by British anti-revisionists ‘in search of a Party’.

They also produced a more substantial magazine called The Marxist-Leninist Quarterly. Eleven issues were published between 1972 and 1976. From some of the articles in Nos 10 and 11 you can see how the organisation was destroying itself from the inside.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 1, Spring 1972, CFB(ML), London, 35 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 2, Summer 1972, CFB(ML), London, 46 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 3, Winter 1972-3, CFB(ML), London, 60 pages.

Marxist Leninist Quarterly, No 4, Spring 1973, CFB(ML), London, 44 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 5, Summer 1973, CFB(ML), London, 38 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 6, Spring 1974, CFB(ML), London, 53 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 7, Summer 1974, CFB(ML), London, 51 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, Nos 8-9, double issue, Autumn-Winter 1974-5, CFB(ML), London, 79 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 10, 1975, CFB(ML), London, 48 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Quarterly, No 11, 1976, CFB(ML), London, 79 pages.

Next, being an indication of internal disputes and splits, the National Committee (this time) brings out, for just five issues, a ‘Theoretical Journal’ called Revolution. Here it is obvious how they were degenerating into opportunism as well as falling back on sectarian attacks on other Marxist-Leninists, whilst at the same time calling for unity.

Revolution, No 1, June 1976, National Committee of the CFB(ML), London, 43 pages.

Revolution, No 2, October 1976, National Committee of the CFB(ML), London, 40 pages.

Revolution, No 3, January 1977, National Committee of the CFB(ML), London, 42 pages.

Revolution, No 4, April 1977, National Committee of the CFB(ML), London, 28 pages.

Revolution, No 5, May 1977, National Committee of the CFB(ML), London, 42 pages.

Irish Communist Organisation (ICO)

The ICO was a group of Marxist-Leninists who operated in Ireland and developed from the Committee to Defeat Revisionism for Communist Unity (CDRCU) in the mid-1960s. It produced regular magazines (although only a few here) as well as commentaries on International issues and some articles by JV Stalin and Frederick Engels. In later years they went slightly haywire.

The Communist, No 23, 1969, 22 pages.

The Irish Communist, No 55, July 1970, Belfast, 38 pages.

On Stalin’s ‘Economic Problems’ – Part 1, (Dublin, ICO, 1969), 40 pages. Irish Communist Organisation Pamphlet.

Marxism and Market Socialism – On Stalin’s ‘Economic Problems’ – Part 2, (Dublin, ICO, 1969), 92 pages. Irish Communist Organisation Pamphlet No 16.

Notes and corrections to Marxism and Market Socialism.

Dialectical and Historical Materialism, (Dublin, Irish Communist Organisation, 1970), 44 pages.

On Lenin, (Dublin, ICO, 1970), 28 pages. 4 articles. The organiser and leader of the Russian Communist Party (On the Fiftieth Anniversary of Lenin’s Birth). Sketches (Comrade Lenin’s Convalescence). On the Death of Lenin (Speech delivered at the Second Congress of Soviets of the USSR, 26th January, 1924). On Lenin (Speech delivered at a Memorial Evening of Kremlin Military Students, 28th January, 1924). Irish Communist Organisation.

The Communist Party of China and the 20th Congress of the CPSU, Policy Statement No 3, ICO, Dublin, November 1970, 20 pages.

History of Ireland (to 1014), Frederick Engels, Irish Communist Organisation, Dublin, 1970, 68 pages.

On an Article by Engels, (Dublin, ICO, 1971), 23 pages.

On the Personality Cult, (Dublin, ICO, 1971), 12 pages.

Critique of the Erfurt Programme, Frederick Engels, British and Irish Communist Organisation, Glasgow, 1971, 20 pages.

Marxist-Leninist Organisation of Britain (MLOB)

I must admit I can’t remember anything about this organisation – and have only come across one document of theirs which tell you nothing about its formation.

On the origins of Modern Revisionism, report of the Central Committee of the MLOB, Red Vanguard 2, London, 1972, 40 pages.

Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)

A party originally called the Communist Party of England (Marxist-Leninist) when it was formed in 1972. In 1979 it changed its name. Can’t remember much else about it.

Marxist-Leninist Journal, Theoretical Journal of the RCPB(ML).

Volume 3 No 2, Workers’ Publishing House, London, July 1990, 99 pages.

Revolutionary Communist Maoists

Conquer the World was the quarterly journal issued by the supporters of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM) in Britain. Issue No 16 onward was issued by the Revolutionary Communist Maoists (RCM) in Britain.

Conquer the World, Issue 17, July 1993, Revolutionary Communist Maoists in Britain, London, 1993, 28 pages.

International Leninist Workers Party

‘The International Leninist Workers Party started in 1979 due to sectarian, reformist, or anti-communist political bankruptcy of the entire ‘left’ of the labour movement’. From the Bulletin, p8.

[Not too sure if it belongs here but can’t think where else to place it.]

Workers Party Bulletin, No 217, December 1983, International Leninist Workers Party, 1983, 12 pages.

More on Britain …

View of the world

Ukraine – what you’re not told

The pandemic forgotten as the Buffoon scrambles to ensure his political future

Posted on 10/02/2022 by Michael

The pandemic forgotten as the Buffoon scrambles to ensure his political future

As each day goes by, in Britain, there’s less and less evidence that there’s still a worldwide pandemic. On public transport and in stores, where the ‘guidance’ is still to wear a mask, fewer people do so as they follow what is the ‘norm’.

That doesn’t mean to say things are getting back to even the ‘new normal’. The number of people travelling on public transport is still way down from what it was two years ago – partly because there are still people afraid to mix and will use their own transport if they have it and many people are still ‘working from home’ – those that can do so.

If you get infected or end up dying with the virus you’re not really even counted now as the figures that used to come out on a daily basis are now only released when someone has a point to make – either in favour of less or more restrictions.

The Buffoon and his Government, who (despite all their protestations to the contrary) have made a pig’s ear of dealing with the pandemic from the start (many of the U-turns and confusions being documented on this blog) are using the various non-pandemic crises that are cropping up to divert attention away from the fact that they were quite happy to carry on in a way that they were saying was too dangerous for the majority of the population to follow – the so-called ‘partygate’.

They are hoping the longer it all drags out the more people will forget their hypocrisy (not an entirely impossible scenario) and that the Tory Members of Parliament who might consider the whole issue an embarrassment will start to think of their own futures and hold back from pressuring the Buffoon to resign. After all a couple more years on the gravy train is better than facing an election where they might all be sent into the wilderness.

The Buffoon makes announcement that are aimed at ‘buying’ votes – a tactic which Thatcher used, with not inconsiderable success in the 1980s – but whether he will be successful in buying votes so cheaply has yet to be seen.

More seriously the Buffoon is following in the wake of the failed and failing Biden administration and banging the drums of war against Russia over the Ukraine accompanied by the embarrassing spectacle of both Johnson and Truss playing at being diplomats – which amuses the Russians if no one else. So after a ‘war’ against a virus we might see a war in the real sense.

Wars have historically been good at diverting attention away from domestic problems, in Britain the most recent example of that was the war against Argentina in Las Malvinas in 1982. And even when millions go on the streets that doesn’t stop the warmongers from carrying out their plans – as could be seen in 2003 prior to the invasion and destruction of Iraq. If all the weapons are just allowed to lie in storage how can the military-industrial complex increase their profits?

But the virus hasn’t gone away. If the vaccination programme was the way out of it there are still only a very small percentage of the world’s poorest people who have yet to receive even one dose. Britain, together with most of the other ‘industrialised’ and wealthiest countries in the world are still holding out against patent waivers and promises of ‘donations’ of vaccines are falling way short of the numbers needed.

But then if there was a patent waiver this would have the effect of reducing the profits of ‘Big Pharma’ – and that will never do.

In all ‘wars’ there are winners and losers. What capitalism has been very successful in achieving is maintaining a grip on society where the losers are the poor and the winners are those who already have many times more than they need. Indeed, that is what capitalism is all about.

It always comes down to how long working people are prepared to accept this. However much they might have suffered in the last two years (with problems over and above those they might have had for years) there still isn’t a groundswell that looks like changing the situation any time soon.

The vaccination programme in the UK ….

Cash incentives for vaccination could be an effective long-term strategy.

The Covid-19 vaccination programme: trials, tribulations and successes, the Summary, the Full Report.

AstraZeneca vaccine: Did nationalism spoil UK’s ‘gift to the world’?

…. and the rest of the world

Scientists argue for the sharing of technology so that vaccines can be produced in other parts o0f the world.

Cuba leads the world in vaccinating children as young as two against covid.

Covid vaccines may be getting worse at stopping new variants emerging – but they’re still lowering the risk.

Novavax under delivers on covid vaccine promises.

Who’s making billions from the pandemic?

Pfizer profits

Vaccine mandates

Vaccine mandates for healthcare workers should be scrapped – omicron has changed the game.

Is this the end of the road for vaccine mandates in healthcare?

Treatment other than vaccines

WHO recommends two new treatments – here’s how they work.

Gut bacteria could help protect against covid and even lead to a new drug.

Mask wearing

Have you stopped wearing reusable fabric masks? Here’s how to cut down waste without compromising your health.

Understanding the statistics

The cognitive bias that tripped us up during the pandemic.

‘Collateral damage’

Measles warning for children as jab rate falls in England.

How the pandemic could make poverty levels among ethnic minorities even worse.

The Mental Health Experiences of Older People During the Pandemic. The Full Report.

The pandemic made period poverty worse in the UK – but also led to new ways to combat it.

Plan to tackle England’s NHS backlog delayed.

Energy prices: how covid helped them to surge – and why they won’t go down any time soon.

Testing

Why some people with symptoms don’t get tested.

The omicron variant …

Two thirds of people who catch omicron have already had covid.

Omicron reinfection rate dwarfs last 18 months of covid.

South African scientists on the inside story of discovering omicron – and what their experience offers the world about future variants. A link to a Podcast.

…. and the variant’s variant

BA.2 is like Omicron’s sister. Here’s what we know about it so far.

The nationalists’ record

Covid in Scotland: ‘Lack of planning’ has put NHS in crisis.

Covid mortality

Don’t believe the claim that only 17,371 people have died from covid in England and Wales.

U.S. coronavirus deaths surpass 900,000, driven in part by Omicron surge.

The next pandemic

Failure to prevent pandemics at source is ‘greatest folly’. Protecting wildlife to stop viruses jumping to humans would save far more than it costs, analysis shows.

Covid restrictions

England’s plan B restrictions are lifting – but are some measures here to stay?

Covid fraud

Treasury minister quits over covid loan fraud: what we know so far about the unfolding scandal.

Government writes off £8.7 billion of pandemic PPE.

Owen Paterson’s private messages about Randox testing released.

Poverty in Britain ….

Consumption inequality in the digital age.

Government inaction on energy bills ‘will cause an increase in deaths’ in Scotland.

Energy poverty is linked to physical and mental health.

Labour market effects of the increase in the state pension age from 65 to 66. The Full Report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Extra 1.3 million workers on universal credit since pandemic began.

Interest Rate hikes are Class War.

Inequality and the covid crisis in the United Kingdom – and Institute for Fiscal Studies report.

…. and poverty throughout the world

Private sector debt and coronavirus in developing countries. A number of anti-poverty NGOs came together in 2020 to produce a report entitled Under the radar (don’t know why this is the first time I’ve come across it).

Oxfam International have just released a report entitled ‘Inequality Kills: The unparalleled action needed to combat unprecedented inequality in the wake of covid-19’. The Summary and the Full Report.

Effects of covid on the rest of health care

Warwick University have produced a report, entitled Pandemic Pressures and Public Health care – evidence from England, looking at the impact of covid on general health care.

Blaming someone else

How the psychology of blame can explain covid-19 responses.

To shield or not to shield

More than 1.5 million people were wrongly told to shield from covid-19.

Problems in the NHS

The NHS is having its worst winter ever – and the reasons run much deeper than covid.

Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) – CPB(ML)

Posted on 06/02/2022 by Michael

Election Fraud – 1970 General Election

More on Britain …

View of the world

Ukraine – what you’re not told

Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) – CPB(ML)

However, come 1982 the Party had started to lose direction (principally in relation to the Labour Party/elections and the attitude towards the Soviet Union). It still maintains a somewhat confusing stance on international issues and now treats the issues surrounding Britain’s departure from the European Union almost as an obsession.

From the beginning of 1969 the Party published its newspaper, The Worker. This began as a monthly and then progressed to a fortnightly before becoming weekly towards the end of 1977.

Most of the documents below come from the period of the 1970s and early 1980s. Many were not dated and so the dates given are (sometimes) an approximation. The originals of these documents have been deposited in the Labour History Archive of the People’s History Museum in Manchester. Also to be found in the Archive are most of the issues of The Worker, the Party’s newspaper, for the first 13 or 14 years of the Party’s existence. Some other copies of The Worker can also be found in the Working Class Movement Library in Salford.

Finally, also included below are some documents that are (or have been) available on the Party’s website.

Fundamental documents

Bulletin of the CPB(ML), No. 4, 8 pages. Announcement of the formation of the Party.

Burning Questions for our Party, 1971, 5 pages.

The British Working Class and its Party, 1971, adopted at the Second Party Congress April 9-12 1971, 10 pages, duplicated version.

The British Working Class and its Party, the Party Programme, 1971, 13 pages. Adopted at the Second Party Congress April 9-12 1971.

Constitution of the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), with Application Form and Candidate Letter, adopted at the Second Party Congress April 9-12 1971. 11 pages.

The Definitive Statement on the Internal Polemic 1972-74, 1974, 16 pages.

Party structure and organisation

Branch Formation and Conduct, 1970?, 3 pages.

Discussion Documents, the Central Committee, Branch Functioning, 197?, 4 pages.

Party Building; organisation and Party building, Party building – practice and theory, Party building and work in industry, the role of the Party in the current situation, the Party in the present situation. Pre-Congress documents – but not sure which, probably 1976, 20 pages.

Discussion Documents

Draft action programme and analysis of the student movement, 1970, 25 pages.

Writing for The Worker, 1970, 5 pages.

Worker Distribution Committee, 1970, 2 pages.

Student National Advisory Committee, 1971, 8 pages.

Teachers Committee, Orientation of our work, 1971?, 2 pages.

The Struggle for Wages and the Current Situation, 1970?, 6 pages.

The Struggle of Ideas, 197?, 6 pages.

The Working Class, Past, Present and Future, 197?, 11 pages.

Student National Committee; Launch an offensive against ruling class repression, housing – the collective battle, EEC – a question of class, grants and education cuts, executive elections, 1971-1981, 14 pages.

Facts about the Industrial Revolution, 197?, 7 pages.

Internationalism, 197?, 3 pages.

Graduate Unemployment, discussion document for weekend school on students, October 28 and 29th 1972, 1972, 8 pages.

Dialectics, 1973?, 3 pages.

Motor Industry School, 1974?, 7 pages.

The Struggle for Ideas, 1974, 6 pages.

Revolution, Social Democracy, Class and Party, 197?, 6 pages.

Class in Britain, 197?, 9 pages.

Pre-Fourth Congress 1976, notes on organisation and Party growth, propaganda report, report on the Worker, Teachers Committee, world crisis of capitalism, economic situation, 1975, 31 pages.

Pre-5 th Congress documents; the Worker (the Party newspaper), the question of discipline in a Marxist-Leninist Party, organisation, propaganda, the conduct of the Party under more difficult conditions, Soviet Revisionism, British Imperialism, 1979, 10 pages.

Draft 5 th Congress Report, 1979, 13 pages.

Pre-1982 (Sixth) Congress Papers; Further and Higher Education Committee, Health Committee, National Teachers Committee, Media Committee, Workers in Public Service Sub-Committee, Civil Service Sub-Committee, Professional and Technical Sub-Committee, Revolution and the Soviet Union, Britain, Worker Distribution, Worker Editorial, The Party, 1981, 19 pages.

Party and Central Committee Statements

Central Committee statement on War and Peace, 1980?, 1 page.

Education Courses

The Bolshevik Revolution 1905-1953, 197?, 6 pages.

Study List and Bibliography, Liverpool, 1971?, 3 pages.

Study Programme, 1974, 15 pages.

Study Programme, 1975, Trade Unions, the Labour Movement, the struggle of the British Working Class, 12 pages.

Education courses; Party Study Syllabus 1976-77, Back to basics: Party education and the present situation, Education Syllabus: Revisionism and Social Democracy, Marxism – what it it? 1976-79, 10 pages.

Party Study Document, 1977-78, the need for study in the Party, Branch study, Syllabus 1 – 3, reading list, a study course for contacts. 7 pages.

Party Study Syllabus, 1978, 2 pages.