Pat Wall
Encyclopedia
Charles Patrick Wall (6 May 1933 – 6 August 1990) was an English
Trotskyist political figure and Labour Party
Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bradford North
from 1987 to 1990. Wall was a longstanding supporter of the Militant tendency
.
working class
family on 6 May 1933, he began political activity when he was picked up on a canvass
by a local activist in 1950. Wall adopted a Trotskyist
outlook and joined the Deane
-Grant
group, the remnant of the Revolutionary Socialist League
which later became the Militant tendency
- he became Garston
Constituency Labour Party Secretary in 1952. http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/militant/mil2frame.htm?intro.htm
As a young activist, Wall played a role in moving the Liverpool Labour Party to the left in the late 1950s as a member of the then joint Liverpool Trades Council and Labour Party executive member, he had also been one of the youngest Liverpool
councillor in the 1950s. http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/polltax/p2frame.htm?ch40.htm
newspaper and before that on the editorial board of Socialist Fight of 1958-63.
His role in the production of the youth journal Rally, organ of the Walton Labour Youth League in the 1950s deserves particular mention. This journal, for which he was a leading figure joined the editorial board after returning from a period in the army http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/liverpool/index.html?l3.htm, gained a wide circulation despite its duplicated production. Terry Harrison, described how when he joined the Labour Party Young Socialists in 1958, it was Wall and Rally which
According to Ian Hunter, Wall was also a reader of the Revolutionary History
journal.
Wall's job as a mail-order company buyer eventually took him away from Liverpool to Market Harborough
, and then to Bingley
in Bradford. It also took him abroad, and he established political contacts on his foreign travels: in Sri Lanka
, Hong Kong, South Korea and even the United States. The strong links he established with the Asian community in his Bradford constituency had led him to promise to speak in Pakistani Kashmir
and Lahore
on the fiftieth anniversary of Trotsky's death, had his own health allowed. His assistance to Trotskyists in Sri Lanka in 1979 was still remembered in tributes sent in memoriam.
by 35 votes to 28.
Selected as Labour candidate for Bradford North in 1983, he faced press criticism for his Trotskyist views, particularly in The Sunday Times
which portrayed Wall as wanting "civil war" and "bloodshed", whereas a Militant editorial statement said:
He was even disowned by the then Labour Party leader Michael Foot
.http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/polltax/p2frame.htm?ch40.htm
When he stood again in 1987 in the same constituency, he was featured in the Conservative election broadcast of 27 May 1987, which attacked his candidature because he was a Marxist. He was quoted as saying: "A Marxist Labour government would mean the abolition of the monarchy, the house of lords, the sacking of the generals, the admirals, the air marshals, the senior civil servants, the police chiefs and in particular the judges". The Sun
also featured a photograph demanding Wall be defeated on the day of the election. Wall's campaign cut across this by holding mass public meetings and also 17 workplace meetings. Wall won the seat, recording a 9.9% swing from the Social Democratic Party
.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
Trotskyist political figure and 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...
Member of Parliament
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,...
(MP) for Bradford North
Bradford North (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford North was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Until it was abolished for the 2010 general election, it elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
from 1987 to 1990. Wall was a longstanding supporter of the Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
.
Background
Born into a LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
family on 6 May 1933, he began political activity when he was picked up on a canvass
Canvassing
Canvassing is the systematic initiation of direct contact with a target group of individuals commonly used during political campaigns. A campaign team will knock on doors of private residences within a particular geographic area, engaging in face-to-face personal interaction with voters...
by a local activist in 1950. Wall adopted a Trotskyist
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...
outlook and joined the Deane
Jimmy Deane
Jimmy Deane was a British Trotskyist who played a significant role in building the Revolutionary Socialist League...
-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...
group, the remnant of the Revolutionary Socialist League
Revolutionary Socialist League (UK, 1957)
The Revolutionary Socialist League was a Trotskyist group in Britain which existed from 1956 to 1964.-Formation:After the dissolution of the Revolutionary Communist Party, Ted Grant and his supporters were expelled from the RCP's successor The Club in 1950 and formed the International Socialist...
which later became the Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
- he became Garston
Garston, Merseyside
Garston is a district of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is bordered by Aigburth, Allerton, and Speke.-History:Gaerstun, meaning 'grazing settlement' or 'grazing farm' in Old English, is one possible root of the name....
Constituency Labour Party Secretary in 1952. http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/militant/mil2frame.htm?intro.htm
As a young activist, Wall played a role in moving the Liverpool Labour Party to the left in the late 1950s as a member of the then joint Liverpool Trades Council and Labour Party executive member, he had also been one of the youngest Liverpool
Liverpool City Council
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Joe Anderson.-Domain:...
councillor in the 1950s. http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/polltax/p2frame.htm?ch40.htm
Involvement with revolutionary journals
Pat Wall was associated with a series of journals aimed at leading and widening the influence of Trotskyism, and popularising without compromising or diluting it. Latterly, this was manifest in the roles he played in launching and establishing the MilitantMilitant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
newspaper and before that on the editorial board of Socialist Fight of 1958-63.
His role in the production of the youth journal Rally, organ of the Walton Labour Youth League in the 1950s deserves particular mention. This journal, for which he was a leading figure joined the editorial board after returning from a period in the army http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/liverpool/index.html?l3.htm, gained a wide circulation despite its duplicated production. Terry Harrison, described how when he joined the Labour Party Young Socialists in 1958, it was Wall and Rally which
- "invited me to make a real commitment to the ideas of Marxism, and made me realise what this meant"
According to Ian Hunter, Wall was also a reader of the Revolutionary History
Revolutionary History
Revolutionary History is a British journal dedicated to the history of the far left. It was founded in 1988 by Sam Bornstein and Al Richardson and has maintained an editorial board representing many strands of British Trotskyism. In its articles, it also covers other anti-Stalinist communist...
journal.
Wall's job as a mail-order company buyer eventually took him away from Liverpool to Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
, and then to Bingley
Bingley
Bingley is a market town in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the River Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal...
in Bradford. It also took him abroad, and he established political contacts on his foreign travels: in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Hong Kong, South Korea and even the United States. The strong links he established with the Asian community in his Bradford constituency had led him to promise to speak in Pakistani Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
on the fiftieth anniversary of Trotsky's death, had his own health allowed. His assistance to Trotskyists in Sri Lanka in 1979 was still remembered in tributes sent in memoriam.
Bradford North
Wall had been President of Bradford Trades Council since 1973 and in 1981 won a reselection battle against sitting MP Ben FordBen Ford
Benjamin Cooper Ford is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, and Milwaukee Brewers....
by 35 votes to 28.
Selected as Labour candidate for Bradford North in 1983, he faced press criticism for his Trotskyist views, particularly in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
which portrayed Wall as wanting "civil war" and "bloodshed", whereas a Militant editorial statement said:
- "Pat explained that the Militant was in favour of a peaceful transformation of society. No supporter of Militant would ever advocate or encourage 'bloodshed' or 'civil war'... Pat was explaining that if there was any threat to a peaceful transformation of society, that threat would come from the capitalist class itself".
He was even disowned by the then Labour Party leader Michael Foot
Michael Foot
Michael Mackintosh Foot, FRSL, PC was a British Labour Party politician, journalist and author, who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1955 and from 1960 until 1992...
.http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/polltax/p2frame.htm?ch40.htm
When he stood again in 1987 in the same constituency, he was featured in the Conservative election broadcast of 27 May 1987, which attacked his candidature because he was a Marxist. He was quoted as saying: "A Marxist Labour government would mean the abolition of the monarchy, the house of lords, the sacking of the generals, the admirals, the air marshals, the senior civil servants, the police chiefs and in particular the judges". The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
also featured a photograph demanding Wall be defeated on the day of the election. Wall's campaign cut across this by holding mass public meetings and also 17 workplace meetings. Wall won the seat, recording a 9.9% swing from 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...
.