The South Wales Socialist Society was a federation of communist groups in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, with many of its members being coal miners. It was formed as the Rhondda Socialist Society in 1911 by participants in the Miners Reform Movement, which opposed right-wing trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 leaders.http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/History/Mines.html,http://www.sinistra.net/lib/upt/comlef/coso/cosoecibee.html It enthusiastically supported the October Revolution

October Revolution

The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

 and entered into unity negotiations, with the aim of forming a Communist Party

Communist party

A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...

.

The group was opposed to participation in Parliament

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

 and so sided with the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) and the Workers Socialist Federation

Workers Socialist Federation

The Workers' Socialist Federation was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom, led by Sylvia Pankhurst. Under many different names, it gradually broadened its politics from a focus on women's suffrage to eventually become a left communist grouping....

 (WSF) in the discussions. In March 1920, after the Comintern

Comintern

The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...

 suggested that its British section should attempt to affiliate to 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...

, the majority of the group became a branch of the SLP. Most of the remaining members joined 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:...

, on whose Central Committee they were represented by W. J. Hewlett.http://www.oneparty.co.uk/index.html?http%3A//www.oneparty.co.uk/html/wilfcpgb.html A small minority formed the Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England

Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England

The Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England was a political party in Britain, formed in September 1920. The group was formed by a minority with the South Wales Socialist Society, that did not support merging into the Communist Party of Great Britain.The group was sympathetic to the...

with the same programme as the WSF.