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Material from the 1945 General Election campaign

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  • Metadata Key Metadata Values
    Title Agitation and the Internal Politics of British Communism, 1907–1977
    Rights Content © Archive Trust of the Communist Party; images © Microform Academic Publishers, 2021. All rights reserved.
    Description

    This collection is derived from the personal papers of one of the titans of British communism, Harry Pollitt. Born in 1890, Pollitt embraced communism after witnessing the hardships inflicted on his family by poverty. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in 1920, before going on to assume the crucial role of General Secretary in 1929. 

    His role as leader of the CPGB is remembered for his unwavering support of Stalin and the Soviet Union, as well as overseeing the CPGB’s most successful years in terms of influence and mass appeal around the time of the Second World War. As such, this collection offers a vivid insight into Pollitt’s personal and political thought, and the complex machinations of being premier of the CPGB.

    This collection is accompanied by three contextual essays written by Professor Kevin Morgan.
    ISBN 9781851171965
    Contributor Archive Trust of the Communist Party of Great Britain
    Type collection
    Format jpg
    Identifier https://britishonlinearchives.com/collections/110/agitation-and-the-internal-politics-of-british-communism-1907-1977
    Source
    Creator Archive Trust of the Communist Party of Great Britain
    Language
    Publisher Microform Academic Publishers
    Coverage 1907-1977
    Created On 9th June, 2022 - 1:45pm
    Last Updated 2nd February, 2026 - 4:03pm
  • Metadata Key Metadata Values
    Title Pollitt on the election campaign trail, 1929-1955
    Rights Content © Archive Trust of the Communist Party; images © Microform Academic Publishers, 2021. All rights reserved.
    Description

    Documents offering a look at Pollitt’s activities during various election campaigns, from his early days as General Secretary to running as a prominent candidate in the post-war years.
    ISBN cp-ind-poll-27
    Contributor
    Type
    Format jpg
    Identifier https://britishonlinearchives.com/collections/23383/volumes/876/pollitt-on-the-election-campaign-trail-1929-1955
    Source
    Creator Archive Trust of the Communist Party of Great Britain
    Language
    Publisher Microform Academic Publishers
    Coverage 1929-1955
    Created On 21st June, 2022 - 10:37am
    Last Updated 25th July, 2022 - 1:26pm
  • Metadata Key Metadata Values
    Title Material from the 1945 General Election campaign
    Rights Content © Archive Trust of the Communist Party; images © Microform Academic Publishers, 2021. All rights reserved.
    Archive Reference
    Shelfmark
    Description

    Contains a typescript of an election broadcast by Pollitt, a report on the election campaign from East Rhondda, transcripts of speeches from the campaign trail, and handwritten prompts for a speech by Pollitt.
    ISBN cp-ind-poll-26-05
    Contributor
    Type
    Format jpg
    Identifier https://britishonlinearchives.com/documents/23383/material-from-the-1945-general-election-campaign
    Source
    Creator Archive Trust of the Communist Party of Great Britain
    Language
    Publisher Microform Academic Publishers
    Coverage 1945-1945
    Created On 21st June, 2022 - 10:43am
    Last Updated 28th July, 2022 - 1:37pm
  • Metadata Key Metadata Values
    Title img 1:
    Rights Content © Archive Trust of the Communist Party; images © Microform Academic Publishers, 2021. All rights reserved.
    Archive Reference
    Shelfmark
    Description

    Contains a typescript of an election broadcast by Pollitt, a report on the election campaign from East Rhondda, transcripts of speeches from the campaign trail, and handwritten prompts for a speech by Pollitt.
    text Breadonst by Harry Pollitt, 28th June 1945 During the waz 1 in e Londou shipgerá as a One day a destgayor to be repaired. A terpedo hnd pasved right through the arew's quarters. when the ship was azy-docked we vent down below to see what was needed to be regaixed. We found a terrible wass of twisted ateel and shattered humen bodies. Bodies of Too young to have known muola of life. Yet A ma Buze that som of them et may rate, hnd death in the belief that by doing so, they were giving their fathers and their mothers, their steethearts and their childwen a change of a better life than they had ever had bafore. then they wore still children, in the years between the ware, agne of these young anilora had satched their fathers and mothers atand in the long queues of mesployed. Before the country clained them for its service, their parents not bem able to give them the food and the care for their bedics thet we gave thes when we meeded theiz strength to man our ships, In thet destroyer - and in sany athezs - those young salloro gave sll they had - for all of ns ** they gate theix lives and in losing then, we have lost all they could have brought to the tast of building pesde. Most of those young melle and millique of those vio. havo these five and a half years of war. no for the governuent which bezilt Mitler, ancompages betrayeu Osochoskovaida Anú Spain, refusaú au with the Soviet Unien, and finally plunged us, isto Sotal WRF. But sone of you listening to ne now mey have vated for that Goverment - adsleú by their prenises and proprigania. Anyhow - here's another alection, and now all of us, those who have voted before, and those whe vote for tha first time, have the chance to do the job properly. got the das co to malo sure onee and for all that the people who talit to other in our name. will see to it that Brituin'a friendship, and all her resources are on the eide or those who vork for and co-operatic between the mations. We Ive got the chance to sure that if theze are to be queues outside Labour Exchanges, it will be boonase thero are so many jobe to do that employezs will be looling for you to do the We have the chance to maice sure that the lada comlug home will see building on the job, building houses for then, und not have to take an: excuzsion train to Londen to look at a model house that's never going to be built. That's what this olection. is about. You're being asked to choose between the peaple sho had unli mited power for eighteen years in the perica betwaen the two ways, that is, the Conservatives, and the paople whom they had to estl in to save Britien in the dark amys of 1940. thas of the Labour Movement. The Conaorvatives ure at thair old They're asking you to vote "national". They'ze stunging the country as if enly one and had von the wart as if the Union Jaok was their exclusiva groperty. And those of you vho have seen what the besses get ap to than it's a contract based on 10p plus cost of 2ubouz and naterials, know how shamelessly unpatriotic most private interests can be. They've even had the cheek to iesue leaflets to tell ve that Mulbezry Barbour, one of Britain's most audacious achievemauts, thas built by private enterprise. that a rotten conjuring trick this is: It vas State enterprise that planned mulborry, that ovganised the melle natezials and all the resouress of the country, and then simply ashed that privste contractors ahould carry out state directives.
    ISBN cp-ind-poll-26-05
    Contributor
    Type
    Format jpg
    Identifier https://britishonlinearchives.com/documents/23383/material-from-the-1945-general-election-campaign
    Source
    Creator Archive Trust of the Communist Party of Great Britain
    Language
    Publisher Microform Academic Publishers
    Coverage 1945-1945
    Created On 21st June, 2022 - 10:43am
    Last Updated 28th July, 2022 - 1:37pm
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Documents in this VolumeView all

Licensed to access Material from the 1929 General Election and subsequent by-elections, 1929-1931

1929   1931
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Licensed to access Material from the Clay Cross by-election, 1933

1933   1933
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Licensed to access Material from the 1935 General Election and Pollitt’s candidature in East Rhondda

1935   1935
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Licensed to access Material from the Silvertown by-election, 1940

1940   1940
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Volumes in this CollectionView all

Licensed to access Pollitt's miscellaneous personalia, 1907-1959

1907   1959
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Licensed to access Miscellaneous historical definitions and writings, circa. 1910s

1910   1919
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Licensed to access Notebook on international politics from a Marxist perspective, circa. 1920s

1920   1929
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Licensed to access Material from the British Socialist Party, 1909-1913

1909   1913
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