alternatehistory.com

The SDF Consolidates, 1884-1885
In the aftermath of the abdication of Hyndman the SDF had begun to expand into the industrial heartlands of the Midlands and the North, with two branches established in Birmingham and Liverpool in mid-1884. The new leadership, in contrast to Hyndman’s “closed fist” approach pursued a cooperative approach with the other burgeoning socialist movements including what became known as the “Socialist Speeches” held in prominent locations such as Trafalgar Square. [1] This would prove to be controversial, as the Metropolitan Police regarded them as a menace to public order, and the speakers were often detained halfway through a rhetorical flourish. The police’s tactics would soon see the SDF become active in campaigning against “the suppression of socialism”, particularly as the Salvation Army were able to proselytize on the streets without official harassment.

While the committee began to debate their method of protest and agitation against the police, the more intellectual wing of the party led by H.H. Champion expanded upon the organisation’s original manifesto. Producing a pamphlet, The Socialist Ownership of Gas and Water in late 1884 Champion argued that the organisation should commit itself to the government ownership of municipal utilities, as well as municipalisation and nationalisation of land and many industries, canals, railways, water and gas companies, tramways, docks, hospitals, markets, libraries and even lodging houses. [2]

The decision to work closely with the burgeoning trade unionists saw the SDF become affiliated to the newly established Union of Dockers [3] in January 1885 following extensive talks between the SDF and the loose coalition of workers groups that represented the dockers of London. The SDF’s union affiliations saw its membership expand rapidly, with five new branches established and its number of registered members rising to sit around 1100. The shift to a more union oriented programme was not without dissension however, and at a particularly raucous meeting in March 1885 the anarchists Frank Kitz and Johann Most who had been founding members in 1881 were expelled from the organisation following reports that they had harassed non-anarchist members. Their expulsion saw the majority of the anarchist faction resign in solidarity, leaving the SDF a more homogenous movement though it was still comprised of ethical socialists, “gradualists” [4] and Marxists.

The SDF following the expulsion of Hyndman in 1883 had remained steadfast in its refusal to campaign in parliamentary elections, preferring instead to commit itself to steadily build up its organisation and build alliances with the emerging unions. That said it watched the 1885 election with interest, particularly as several candidates sympathetic to the cause of labour stood for election. The most notorious of these campaigns was the election of the young Irish born playwright Oscar Wilde to the newly created seat of Islington East in a campaign characterised by his witty and flamboyant speeches. [5] While the Liberals lost seats, the “Lib-Lab” alliance which had seen labour interests campaign for sympathetic Liberals picked up several seats in industrial areas. While the Liberals were hamstrung by their failure to win a majority, the election demonstrated the rise of the labour movement as a burgeoning political force. Would its time soon come?

BRIEF NOTES

[1] Whereas religious organisations such as the Salvation Army were allowed to preach in the streets, the Metropolitan Police banned the Socialists from similar activities. Members of the SDF simply continued to speak and to incur fines, attracting public attention to the movement.

[2] The platform was inspired by both Georgism and the land nationalisation movements of the early 1880s, and was seen as a shift from highly doctrinal Marxism to a more heterogeneous platform.

[3] The forerunner of OTL Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Labourers’ Union.

[4] The Fabians

[5] Wilde came into the world of politics entirely through happenstance. Considering casting Henrietta Hodson in the lead role in The Duchess of Padua he came into contact and became friendly with her lover Henry Labouchère, the Radical MP and theatre producer. Wilde gradually became more involved in the local politics eventually standing and winning in Islington East as a Liberal candidate, bringing one of the great wits of the age into the House of Commons.

Top