Tom Bell (politician)
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tom" Bell was a Scottish
socialist politician
and trade unionist. He is best remembered as a founding member of both the Socialist Labour Party
and the Communist Party of Great Britain
and as the editor of Communist Review, the official monthly magazine of the latter.
on the east end of Glasgow
, Scotland
, which was at that time still a semi-rural village. His father was a stonemason who was frequently unemployed, while his mother came from a family of coal miners and worked at home spinning cotton and silk
. Young Tom enrolled in school in the spring of 1889 and left in the spring of 1894, at the age of 11, going to work first as a milk delivery boy and then as an employee at a soft drink bottling plant to help support his impoverished family.
While an employee at the bottling shop, Bell became interested in atheism
and labour politics. He read rationalist works by Ernst Haeckel
and Thomas Huxley as well as works on evolution
by Charles Darwin
and gradually became acquainted with socialist
ideas. Together with two companions, Bell joined the Independent Labour Party
(ILP) in 1900.
The young "socialist idealist and enthusiast" Bell found the rather mild and ameliorative program of the ILP insufficient and in 1902 he began to attend economics classes conducted by the Social Democratic Federation
(SDF), headed by Henry Hyndman
, which introduced Bell to the literature of Marxism
. In February 1903, Bell left the ILP and enrolled as a member of the SDF.
Some of the SDF classes which Bell attended were led by George Yates
, an engineer by trade who impressed the young Bell with his skill as an orator and knowledge of economics, history, and politics. In the spring of 1903, Bell would follow Yates and the group of revolutionary socialist
impossiblists
around him out of the SDF and join in the foundation of the Socialist Labour Party
, a rival organization.
Bell began a seven-year apprenticeship as an iron moulder, but left after nine months to another foundry, where he exaggerated the duration of his previous experience and gained a job on somewhat more favorable terms. After two years there, he went to another foundry that made gas engines, completing his seven-year apprenticeship and joining the Associated Ironmoulders of Scotland in August 1904.
Committed to educating himself, he attended Andersonian College
and the Academy of Literature, and soon lectured for the Plebs' League
.
in 1900, then moved in 1903 to the Marxist Social Democratic Federation
. However, within months, he joined with other dissident members to form the Glasgow Socialist Society, soon renamed the Socialist Labour Party
(SLP). He became a leading figure in the party, but was expelled in 1907 for arguing that the SLP should not favour the Industrial Workers of the World
. He was able to rejoin the following year, convincing the majority of the party to form the Advocates of Industrial Unionism.
Generally continuing to work in the metal trades, Bell briefly joined the Singer Company to organise for the Industrial Workers of Great Britain
, but was sacked following the failure of a strike in 1911.
In 1916, Bell was elected to the Clyde Workers Committee, within which he promoted the SLP's policy of industrial unionism
. In 1917, he led a successful national strike of engineers and foundry
workers. Again prominent in 1919, he was elected President of the Scottish Ironmoulders Union, Secretary of the SLP and editor of its newspaper, The Socialist
. He sat on a unity committee, intending to negotiate for a single communist party
with leaders of the British Socialist Party
, Workers Socialist Federation
and other socialist groups, but their proposals were repudiated by the SLP. Resigning as Secretary, he helped found the Communist Unity Group
, which became an original constituent of the Communist Party of Great Britain
(CPGB).
Employed by the CPGB, he was initially National Organiser. He then attended the Third World Congress of the Communist International, visiting Moscow
for five months, despite the British Government denying him a visa
. He was elected as the CPGB's representative to the Comintern's Executive Committee
. He returned to Soviet Russia for the 4th World Congress, remaining in the city as a CPGB representative and reporter, until the end of 1922.
Bell held various posts within the party, including the editorship of Communist Review. In 1925, he was one of twelve CPGB leaders gaoled for seditious libel
and incitement to mutiny
, spending six months inside.
The next few years were spent between Britain and Russia. In 1930, Bell became the Secretary of the Friends of the Soviet Union
, and in 1937 he wrote a history of the CPGB.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
socialist politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and trade unionist. He is best remembered as a founding member of both the Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)
The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
and 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:...
and as the editor of Communist Review, the official monthly magazine of the latter.
Early years
Thomas "Tom" Bell was born in ParkheadParkhead
Parkhead is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road and Westmuir Street. Duke Street and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five-way junction at Parkhead Cross...
on the east end of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, which was at that time still a semi-rural village. His father was a stonemason who was frequently unemployed, while his mother came from a family of coal miners and worked at home spinning cotton and silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
. Young Tom enrolled in school in the spring of 1889 and left in the spring of 1894, at the age of 11, going to work first as a milk delivery boy and then as an employee at a soft drink bottling plant to help support his impoverished family.
While an employee at the bottling shop, Bell became interested in atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and labour politics. He read rationalist works by Ernst Haeckel
Ernst Haeckel
The "European War" became known as "The Great War", and it was not until 1920, in the book "The First World War 1914-1918" by Charles à Court Repington, that the term "First World War" was used as the official name for the conflict.-Research:...
and Thomas Huxley as well as works on evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
by Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
and gradually became acquainted with socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
ideas. Together with two companions, Bell joined the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
(ILP) in 1900.
The young "socialist idealist and enthusiast" Bell found the rather mild and ameliorative program of the ILP insufficient and in 1902 he began to attend economics classes conducted by the Social Democratic Federation
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
(SDF), headed by Henry Hyndman
Henry Hyndman
Henry Mayers Hyndman was an English writer and politician, and the founder of the Social Democratic Federation and the National Socialist Party.-Early years:...
, which introduced Bell to the literature of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
. In February 1903, Bell left the ILP and enrolled as a member of the SDF.
Some of the SDF classes which Bell attended were led by George Yates
George Yates (politician)
-Biography:An engineering draughtsperson, Yates became an active trade unionist in Leith, Scotland, and joined the Social Democratic Federation...
, an engineer by trade who impressed the young Bell with his skill as an orator and knowledge of economics, history, and politics. In the spring of 1903, Bell would follow Yates and the group of revolutionary socialist
Revolutionary socialism
The term revolutionary socialism refers to Socialist tendencies that advocate the need for fundamental social change through revolution by mass movements of the working class, as a strategy to achieve a socialist society...
impossiblists
Impossibilism
Impossibilism is an interpretation of Marxism. It emphasizes the limited value of reforms in overturning capitalism and insists on revolutionary political action as the only reliable method of bringing about socialism.-Origins of the concept:...
around him out of the SDF and join in the foundation of the Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)
The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
, a rival organization.
Bell began a seven-year apprenticeship as an iron moulder, but left after nine months to another foundry, where he exaggerated the duration of his previous experience and gained a job on somewhat more favorable terms. After two years there, he went to another foundry that made gas engines, completing his seven-year apprenticeship and joining the Associated Ironmoulders of Scotland in August 1904.
Committed to educating himself, he attended Andersonian College
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
and the Academy of Literature, and soon lectured for the Plebs' League
Plebs' League
The Plebs' League was a British educational and political organisation which originated around Marxist ideals.Central to the formation of the League was Noah Ablett, a miner from the Rhondda who was at the core of a group at Ruskin College, Oxford who opposed the lecturers' opposition to Marxism...
.
Political career
Bell joined the Independent Labour PartyIndependent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
in 1900, then moved in 1903 to the Marxist Social Democratic Federation
Social Democratic Federation
The Social Democratic Federation was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on June 7, 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury and Eleanor Marx. However, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx's long-term...
. However, within months, he joined with other dissident members to form the Glasgow Socialist Society, soon renamed the Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)
The Socialist Labour Party was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1903 as a splinter from the Social Democratic Federation by James Connolly, Neil Maclean and SDF members impressed with the politics of the American socialist Daniel De Leon, a Marxist...
(SLP). He became a leading figure in the party, but was expelled in 1907 for arguing that the SLP should not favour the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
. He was able to rejoin the following year, convincing the majority of the party to form the Advocates of Industrial Unionism.
Generally continuing to work in the metal trades, Bell briefly joined the Singer Company to organise for the Industrial Workers of Great Britain
Industrial Workers of Great Britain
The Industrial Workers of Great Britain was a group which promoted industrial unionism in the early 20th century.The Industrial Workers of the World was founded in Chicago in 1905. It called for industrial unionism and aimed to organise workers in all industries, and many of its activists were...
, but was sacked following the failure of a strike in 1911.
In 1916, Bell was elected to the Clyde Workers Committee, within which he promoted the SLP's policy of industrial unionism
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
. In 1917, he led a successful national strike of engineers and foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
workers. Again prominent in 1919, he was elected President of the Scottish Ironmoulders Union, Secretary of the SLP and editor of its newspaper, The Socialist
The Socialist (SLP newspaper)
The Socialist was the newspaper of the Socialist Labour Party , a De Leonist organisation in Britain founded in 1903.The newspaper was set up by James Connolly in 1901. He was its first editor, after which George Yates took over. During Yates' editorship, it was the focus of the De Leonists...
. He sat on a unity committee, intending to negotiate for a single 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...
with leaders of the British Socialist Party
British Socialist Party
The British Socialist Party was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw the defection of its pro-war Right Wing...
, 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....
and other socialist groups, but their proposals were repudiated by the SLP. Resigning as Secretary, he helped found the Communist Unity Group
Communist Unity Group
The Communist Unity Group was a small communist organisation in the United Kingdom.The origins of the group lay in the Socialist Labour Party...
, which became an original constituent of 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:...
(CPGB).
Employed by the CPGB, he was initially National Organiser. He then attended the Third World Congress of the Communist International, visiting Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
for five months, despite the British Government denying him a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
. He was elected as the CPGB's representative to the Comintern's Executive Committee
Executive Committee of the Communist International
The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI, was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body...
. He returned to Soviet Russia for the 4th World Congress, remaining in the city as a CPGB representative and reporter, until the end of 1922.
Bell held various posts within the party, including the editorship of Communist Review. In 1925, he was one of twelve CPGB leaders gaoled for seditious libel
Seditious libel
Seditious libel was a criminal offence under English common law. Sedition is the offence of speaking seditious words with seditious intent: if the statement is in writing or some other permanent form it is seditious libel...
and incitement to mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
, spending six months inside.
The next few years were spent between Britain and Russia. In 1930, Bell became the Secretary of the Friends of the Soviet Union
Friends of the Soviet Union
Friends of the Soviet Union was an organization formed on the initiative of the Communist International in 1927, with the purpose of coordinating solidarity efforts with the Soviet Union around the world...
, and in 1937 he wrote a history of the CPGB.
Sources consulted
External links
- Thomas Bell Archive Marxists Internet Archive