Newsletter
October2022
THE NDLHS AGM Saturday 19 November
1.30 – 2 pm at The Mechanics, 3 North Sherwood Street, Nottingham. To be followed at 2 pm by a talk on “Lib-Labism in Nottingham.” by Phil Henshaw
Culture and Politics: Class, Writing, Socialism by Raymond Williams, (edited with an introduction by Phil O’Brien), London: Verso 2022
Raymond Williams ‘To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing’
TenessaysbyRaymondWilliamsdatingfrom1958to1987,fiveofwhicharepublished forthefirsttime,therestbeingrelativelydifficulttoaccess,marksthisasasignificant centenarycollection.TheintroductionbyPhilO’Brienaddsimportantpublishing contextaswellashelpfulbiographicalandpoliticalbackground.
Thebiggerquestion,Isuppose,iswhetherafurthercollectionofWilliams’essayscanbe justifiedforanyaudiencewiderthanRWcompletists?Myanswer,afterreadingthese piecesismostcertainlyyes.
Acceptingforthemomentapossibledeclineininterestforaperiodimmediately followingWilliams’prematureandunexpecteddeathin1988,ournewcenturyhasseen unmistakablesignsofanupswinginthoserecognizingthecentralimportanceofhis writingsacrossanumberoffields.
Theessayscollectedhere,demonstratehiscontinuingintellectualrelevanceaswellas theongoinganalyticalpowerofhiscentralconcerns.AsIunderstandthem,Williams’ keyconceptshavetheadvantageofbeingpreeminentlypractical,theycanbeused, specifiedandtestedinresponsetoactual,materialdevelopmentsacrossmanyareasof study.ThecentraltenetsofWilliams’culturalmaterialism: structure of feeling; dominant/ residual/ emergent features; multiple and complex determinations between base and superstructure; mobile privatization; media ‘flow’ arenotasetoffree floating culturalconstructionsordescriptors,rathertheyarepracticalconceptsthatcanbeput towork,good,effectivework politicalwork.Tomymindtheyalsohaveacontinuing relevancetoanycontemporarystudyoflabourhistory.
Suchconceptsdon’tjustanalyzeorexplaincertainculturalphenomenainhelpfulways. Whenusedeffectively,theyhavethepotentialtopointtowardsaseriesofpractical solutionsthroughtheadoptionofcertainpracticesandactionsgroundedinanethicof cooperationandcommonresponsibility inshorttheyhavethecapacitytoactas vectorsforahumane,democraticsocialism.
Williams’keyconceptsarerelativelyfewinnumberbuttheirpresenceand developmentcanbeidentifiedthroughoutthetenessaysinthisimportantnew collectionfromVerso.
Firstoffisthe‘missing’chapterfrom Culture and Society Herbert Read: Freud, Art, and Industry (1958).Herecultureisdiscussedalongsideideasfromthesocial anthropologistRuthBenedictas‘awholewayoflife’andRead’sviewsonartand societyareconsideredagainstthoseofFreud,WilliamMorrisandEricGill. Other ‘EnglishFreudians’areconspicuousbytheirabsenceperhapsbutIcan’thelpthinking thattheworkofCharlesRycroftmightbeofsomerelevancehere,withhisuniquefocus onpsychotherapyasabiologicallyinformed‘searchformeaning’andhisexplicit overlapintoliterarymattersthrough Psychoanalysis and the Literary Imagination (1975).
Next,afurther‘lost’work’,Williams’indirectresponsetoEPThompson’sreviewof The Long Revolution. The Future of Marxism (1961),wasonlyresurrectedbytheNewLeft Reviewteamin2018.Thisisafascinatingtextofwhatmighthavebeen,hadamore extendedexchangebetweenthosedeeplycontrastingcharacterstakenplaceatthat time.Especiallyinterestingforitscuriouspublishingbackground,foritsexplicitMarxist referencepointsandforitsunambiguousendorsementofabroaderinternational socialisminvolving‘Thepeacemovementandthesupportofcolonialliberation’ in organizationalterms,CNDandtheemergingAnti Apartheidmovement.
The Meanings of Work (1968)happenedtooverlapwithmyfirstjobasapart time lecturerinaNottinghamFECollege.Teachingmainlyday releaseapprentices,these resonantshortpiecesbydifferentauthorswerecollectedinthetwovolumedPelican Originalseries Work, Twenty Personal Accounts editedbyRonaldFraser(1968)and wentdownwell,atleastwiththisrookieteacher!TheWilliamspieceactedasa concludingessaytovolumeoneandwaspublishedthesameyearasthe May Day Manifesto (1968).Bothofthesepublicationscoincidedwithandtoanextent,echoed politicallyothersignificanttextsofthetime,especially: The Incompatibles: Trade Union Militancy and the Consensus (1967),aPenguinSpecialeditedbyRobinBlackburnand
AlexCockburn,and Can The Workers Run Industry (1968)editedbyKenCoatesforthe NottinghambasedInstituteforWorkers’Control.
Muchcouldbemadeof Marxist Cultural Theory (1973)aWilliams’lecturedeliveredin April1973,firstpublishedas Base and Superstructure in Marxist Cultural Theory forNLR inDecember1973andthecentrepieceof Marxism and Literature soontobepublished byOxfordin1975.Iwaitedforthepaperbacktoappearacoupleofyearslaterina MarxistIntroductionsserieseditedbyWilliamsandStephenLukes theseriesalso included Marxism and Politics (1977)byRalphMiliband,othertextswerepromisedbut neverappeared.Itshouldgowithoutsayingthat Marxist Cultural Theory issimplyan outstandingintervention,ofmajorhistoricalsignificance.
Popular Culture: History and Theory (1978)isanothertalkdeliveredthistimeatThe OpenUniversityandaimedsquarelyatthenewPopularCulturemodulewhichwas beingplannedatthetime.Aware ofapervasive‘anti theoretical culture’inEngland,witha dismissiveattitudetowards popularculture,Williamsstates hisrequirementsunapologetically asthe: ‘production and conditions of production, within a historically identifiable body of practices and cultural relations that is what, I think, a popular culture course now needs to be.’
British Working Class Literature after 1945 (1979)isalecturegivenatAarhus University,Denmark,September1979,firstpublishedinKeyWords2020.Thisstarts withsomeoftheissuessurroundingthewritingofWilliams’firstnovel Border Country (1960)beforemovingontoaconsiderationofotherworking classwritersfromthelate 1950searly1960s,withaspecialfocusontheworkofAlanSillitoeandDavidStorey. Unfortunately,thenextlectureinthisseries‘Women’sStudiesasanAcademic Discipline’nolongerexists agreatpityasWilliamshasoftenbeenaccusedoffailingto placeenoughemphasisontheexperienceofwomen.
Pierre Bourdieu and the Sociology of Culture (1980).Afterbeingintroducedtothework ofBourdieubyEPThompson,Williamsbecameparticularlyinterestedinhisworkon educationandmorebroadly,hisattempttoestablishasociologyofculture.Writtenin collaborationwiththetelevisiondirectorNicholasGarnhamthisessayappearedina specialeditionofthejournalMedia,CultureandSocietywhichhighlightedthe developingworkofBourdieu.
Popular Forms of Writing (1982)wasatalkgivenatCenterprise,Hackney,Jan1982.As guestspeakerfortheHackneyWEA,WilliamshadbeeninvitedtospeakbyKen Worpole,whohasrecentlywrittenanendearing,retrospectivepieceabouthostingthis eventonableak,snowstrucknightinJanuary: ‘Starting on time, Williams spoke for exactly an hour without notes to a wet, bedraggled but intent audience, creating one of those evenings you remember for the rest of your life.’ ThepiecebyWorpolecanbe
foundinfullat:https://thenewenglishlandscape.wordpress.com/2022/02/25/if on a winters night raymond williams in hackney/
The Future of Socialism (1985)wasatalkgivenaspartofaNewSocialistpanelin Bournemouth,September1985.TonyBennwasonthesamepanel.Williamsbeginsby specifyinganumberofidentifiable‘anti capitalist’campaigns,essentiallythosegrouped aroundecology,peaceandwomen’srights,whichcansometimeshaveatendencyto ‘hesitatebeforesocialism’.Hethenmovesontoconsiderhowsocialistsmightaddress theseissuesmoreeffectively.QuestionssuchastheseweretoremainwithWilliamsfor therestofhislifeashegrappledwithwaysofcoalescingsuchconcernsintoaradically newkindofleftpolitics.
When was Modernism (1987)wasatalkattheUniversityofBristol,March1987.This transcriptionrepresentsamajoradvanceoverthepreviouslypublishedandmuch shorterversionreconstructedbyFredInglisfromhisownnotestakenatthelecture.It isclearthatinWilliams’view,culturalformsandconventionsalwayshaveahistorical foundation.However,hewaskeentostressthatgreatcareshouldbetakenin constructingsuchbroadtranshistoricalgeneralizations,because ‘The more precisely and specifically they are named the more likely we are to understand them beyond the hasty generalizations through which they have been interpreted.’ Also,andcrucially, ‘The one thing which must not be conceded is the property of the modern, because then that is conceding to a particular kind of life and a particular interpretation of it: our sense of ‘just now’, our sense of what is modern.’
IhavelivedalongsidetheworkofRaymondWilliamsallmylife.Radicalizinginthe 1960sIwasabletoreadmostofhisworkasitemergedandtakenasawhole,hiswork representsacrucialpartofmypoliticalandmoralformation.
InasensitiverecentassessmentofWilliams’workLolaSeaton(NewStatesman,Long Read.August2021),identifiedacertain‘fatherly’aspecttoWilliams’presencein lecturesandindeedwithinbroadersocialsettings.Icanassociatewiththis.Williams wasbornintoaworking classfamilyatroughlythesametimeasmyownfather,they bothservedinWW2,landingontheNormandybeachesonlydaysapart.That generationoftendisplayedadegreeofsocialreticence,perhapsbecauseofthose formativewarexperiences?Myfather,asadispatchriderwasoneofthefirstinto BergenBelsenafteritsliberationandhealwaysrefusedtotalkaboutit,hesaidsimply thathedidn’thavethewords.Someofthissocialreticencewasalsoperhapspresentin Williams?Ionlymethimacoupleoftimesintheearly1980sthroughsomejointwork withtheSocialistSociety,butsimilaritiesoftypewereclear.Hewasconfidentand groundedinhisownpersona,heknewwhathestoodfor,hewasaserious,practically mindedpersonwhospokeashewrote.Hehadlittletimefordisplayorunnecessary formalityandalongwithmyownfather,heleftusfartoosoon.
Thesecentenaryessays,spanninghisentireworkinglife,demonstratetheclosenessof thinking,reading,speakingandwritingforWilliams.Hissignificanceissecureand continuestogrow.Ihavelearntmuchfromhisworkandmyrespectforhimasa socialistthinkerhasonlyincreasedthroughthesetextualre engagements.Irecommend themtootherswithouthesitation.
(An extended version of this review can be found in Key Words 20, published by the Raymond Williams Society, 2022.)
Mike HamlinSome Personal Recollections of Chesterfield Woodcraft Folk in the 1960s
“In nineteen hundred and sixty five The Moorlanders’ group they came alive Under the shade of the crooked spire Keeping alive the Woodcraft fire.”
SoranthethirdverseofthesongoftheWillowTreeThing(“Thing”wastheWoodcraftFolk termforanumberofgroupsinanarea. TheWillowTreeThingcomprisedgroupsinthesouth ofSheffieldandChesterfield.)
TheWoodcraftFolk,althoughitwasanautonomousorganisation,waspartoftheCo operative Movementandin1965KathWestacott,whowasontheEducationCommitteeofChesterfield Co operativeSociety,togetherwithBettyHeathfieldandBrendaStrafford,andwiththesupport oftheChesterfieldCo op,setupaWoodcraftFolkgroup. Initially theGroupmetinthemeetingroomoftheCo opWomen’sGuild, abovetheCo opshoponWhittingtonMoor(hencethename ‘Moorlanders’). Afterashorttimetheyswitchedtousinglocal schools(BelleinfantschoolandPeterWebster)whichweremore suitablefortheboisterousgamesandfolkdancingwhichformed partoftheprogrammeattheweeklymeetings.
WhittingtonMoorwassomedistancefromHaslandwhereBetty Heathfieldwasthenlivingandsoasecondgroupwasformedatthe otherendoftown. Eventuallythetwogroupsmergedunderthe leadershipofRayJacksonandmetinacentrallocationintheYouth CentreonSpringBankRoad.
Memberswererecruitedinitiallyfromleftwingfamilies,butsoontherewasamixofchildren, someofwhoseparentswereassociatedwiththeLabourMovementandsomewhohadnosuch connection. InvolvementintheFolk,withitsmessagesofpeace,internationalfriendship, democracy,socialjusticeandthehistoryoftheLabourandCo operativeMovements,was particularlyimpactfulonthosewhosefamilieswerealreadypoliticallyactiveinsomewayor other reinforcingtheeducationtheywerealreadyexposedtointhehome.
Campsgavedirectexperienceofaco operativeanddemocraticwayofliving. Allagesand gendersworkedandplayedtogether. TheyoungestElfin(age7 9inthatperiod)totheoldest ‘Helper’(anyoneoversixteen)didchoresandweregivenresponsibilitiesappropriatetotheir age. Morningandeveningcouncilswereheldatwhichtherunningofthecampwasdiscussed andeveryoneparticipated.
ChesterfieldWoodcraftFolkheldweek endcampsatChanderHillfarmnearHolymoorsideand atBarlow. InadditiontheyfrequentlywentovertojointheTrailbreakersandDelawaresat theircampsiteatRobinsbrookontheSheffield/DerbyshireborderneartheDerbyshirevillage ofFord. TheyalsojoinedinwithWillowTreeThingWhitCampsintheDerbyshirelocationsof Winster,CastletonandAldwark,summercampsinWales,ScotlandandEngland,aswellas InternationalCampswithWoodcraftFolkgroupsfromotherregionsoftheUK.
Summercampswouldofteninvolvehostingaforeigndelegation. Unusuallyfortheperiodthis wasfrequentlyadelegationfromEasternEurope. ThemottooftheFolkwas“SpantheWorld withFriendship”andinternationalfriendshipwasanimportantpartoftheWoodcraftFolk experience. VisitingPioneersfromeasternEuropeorFalconsfromtheWestwouldstaywith Chesterfieldchildrenandyoungpeopleintheirhomesaswellasattendingthecamps. Many friendshipsweremade.
OneparticularactivityIrecall ChesterfieldFolkbeinginvolvedin wasthatofsendingpresentsand messagesofsolidaritytochildren inHanoi,viaaDerbyshireNUM visittoNorthVietnamattheheight oftheVietnamwar.
Thecampsandhikeswerenotonly greatfunbutinstilledaloveofthe outdoorsandnaturewhilstthe songsofsolidarityandfreedom engenderedaspiritofoptimism andavisionofabetterworldto workfor. Therewasagreatdealof poetryandartisticcreativity. IcanstillrecitetheWoodcraftFolkenvoitothisday:
“And this shall be for a bond between us, that we are of one blood you and I That we have cried peace to all men and claimed kinship with every living thing That we hate war and sloth and greed, and love fellowship And that we shall go singing to the fashioning of a new world”
ThereisnodoubtthatforquiteafewchildrenandyoungpeoplemembershipoftheWoodcraft FolkinChesterfieldinthe1960swasanexperiencewhichaffectedthemfortherestoftheir lives,wherevertheyendedupliving.
Gwyneth Francis
George Powe and ‘Don’t Blame the Blacks’
WewelcometherepublicationbyFiveLeavesPress,ofGeorge Powe’spamphlet ‘Don’t Blame the Blacks’ withitshelpful introductionbyPanyaBanjokogivinganexplanationofthe contextinwhichGeorgePoweandtheAfro WestIndianUnion (AWIU)producedthisimportantpieceofwork.
Written‘foractivetradeunionists,co operatorsandsocialists’as fearofrisingunemploymentwasfuellinggrowingprejudice againstAfro CaribbeanandAsianworkers,thepamphletalerted thelabourmovementtothedangerofthefarright,the ‘sensational press’ or ‘some responsible official’ callingfor ‘control of immigrants’. Thiswasthebackgroundtotheracist riotingofAugust1958inNottingham.
Thepamphletexplainswhyworkerswereemigratingfrom Jamaica,stillacolonyoftheBritishCrownyettoachieve
independence,andits ‘deplorable conditions’… deliberately created by the ruling class’. Unemployment,itargued,wasnotcausedby ‘coloured people’, butbythe ‘Capitalist system’, andthe ‘economic policy of the present Tory Government’. Byblamingmigrantworkersthe rulingclasshopesto ‘divide and conquer’.
‘The English workers should help us in our battle for equal rights. In doing so, they will help the coloured workers to realise that they must not fall for the reactionary propaganda which is constantly whispered in their ears.’
‘Our struggle is the same’ and ‘can only be achieved by a joint struggle of the white workers and the coloured workers’, bothinBritainandintheColonies.
The Afro West Indian Union (AWIU)
WhenGeorgePowecametotheNottinghamareain1950.Heimmediatelytookanactivepartin thelabourmovementandcommunitytoopposecolourbarandracism.Hisexperiencesofliving inJamaicaasaBritishcolony,intheR.A.F.andatCausewayGreenHostelduringthe1949racist riotingthere,hadclearlyhelpedtomouldhispoliticalviews. ‘The thing which brought me to Nottingham wasn’t employment. It was more because I had friends who were politically minded like myself, and so we tended to follow each other.’ (p.384/4 Ruth I. Johns “St Ann’s, Nottingham: inner city voices” (2006)). ‘In the 1940s he had experienced widespread racial discrimination …… and fought against it, joining the Communist Party, probably the most active group promoting the rights of disadvantaged and exploited people at that time.’ (Jill Westby, Guardian on line obituary 4th November 2013)
WithotherJamaicanslikeGeorgeLeighwhohadalsoservedintheRAF,hehelpedsetup communityorganisationstosupportandrepresentotherJamaicansinthearea,butPowealso wantedtosetupapoliticalorganisationwhichwould campaignandtakealeadagainstcolour barandracialdiscrimination theAfro WestIndianUnion(AWIU),wasestablishedin1956.
DickSkyers,whobecameChairmanofAWIU,withGeorgePoweasitsSecretary,remembers
‘...in 1957 when I worked at Chilwell... George was instrumental in collecting together a number of black people in Nottingham. Although George lived in Long Eaton his social life was in Nottingham. I might have first met him, at a house party or something like that. He said we must join the union. We were disgruntled about how we were treated and he said there was a Communist Party that was disgorging a lot of people after the Hungarian Rising and we were not supporting the people collecting money for the Hungarians. We were saying what the hell about us. You are collecting money for Hungarians. What about treating us equal. And out of that just developed something ... I was in the Afro West Indian Union. We linked up, that's George Powe, me, Ray Whittingham.’ (Interview with Dick Skyers by Roger Tanner, 2018)
Asthepamphletwastoargue,allAWIUsupportersweretotakeanactivepartinthebroader labourmovement,withintheLabourPartyandtradeunions.From1954Georgehadalready takenupissuesofracismandthecolourbaratNottinghamTradesCouncil,andAWIUcontinued inhisfootstepstakingupthefightagainstthecolourbaronNottinghamCityTransportand Raleigh. (see previous articles in the NDLHS Newsletter, November 2020, March 2021.)
Thestatementof“AimsandObjectives”ofAWIU,laterasAAWIU,remainedconsistentthrough the1950sand1960s:
“As a result of the imperialist oppression undermining the whole political and economic well being of the colonial people, migration to Britain in search of a livelihood has taken
place. Even in Britain colonial peoples find it tremendously difficult to overcome problems of housing, employment and racial discrimination. Only by organising can we overcome the imperialist oppression in the colonies, and our own difficulties here in Britain”.
Aims and Objectives of the AAWIU
1. TheAAWIUaimstoorganiseallcolouredworkersinBritainonademocraticbasis.
2. TheAAWIUfightsthecolourbarinanyformanddefendstherightsofcoloured minoritiesinBritain.
3. TheAAWIUstandsforthecompleteunitywiththetradeunions,co-operativesand labourmovements.
4. TheAAWIUseekstoenlightenthepublicofthiscountryaboutthepolitical,socialand economiccausesofemigration.
5. TheAAWIUseekstoprovidetheclosestpossiblesocialandeducationalcontactwith membersofthecolouredcommunityinthiscountry.”
‘We decided at some point that we were going to call the organisation the Afro Asian West Indian Union’, remembersDickSkyers, ‘The idea was to attract people from Jamaica who were not Africans.’ ThiscameoutofthemeetingsheldwiththegroupinLondonwho joinedtheAAWIU.
A matter of dates
FiveLeaveshasgiventheoriginalyearofpublicationas1956. Ithinkitmayhavebeenlater.
Itisclearthatthepamphletreferstofiguresfromthe1956GovernmentReportonJamaica.But SylviaRileyremembersthepamphlet,writtenbyGeorgePowe‘ontheNottinghamraceriots’, beingpublishedin1958’,anditbeingthemostcalledfororderbypost,includingfromAfrica andAmerica,fromJordan’sInternationalBookshopinStAnn’s. BothGeorgeandPatJordanhad beeninCPGBbeforeleavingin1956overtheeventsinHungary.SylviaRileywrotethat ‘George was a long established comrade who had been in the IG since the beginning.’ (“Winter at the Bookshop” 2019))
(‘IG’ refers to the International Group the precursor to the International Marxist Group.)
DickSkyersalsothinksitwaswrittenaftertheriots.HeremembersPatJordansayingtoGeorge andhimselfthat ‘we should get a pamphlet out’. Heremembersitcomingfromawider discussionofAWIUmembers.
Otherindicationscanbefoundinthetext.ReferencetounemploymentintheUnitedStatesand Britain,andprojectionsofrisingjoblessexpectedinthewinterof1958 9doesmeanitwas writtenbeforewinterof1958/9. AnotherreferencepointstoafterApril1958; ‘a well-known M.P. has had swastikas and similar slogans painted on his house as a punishment for introducing a Bill in the House of Commons to make colour discrimination illegal in public places.’ (p.17)ThiswillrefertotheM.P.FennerBrockwaywhohadheadedagroupof LabourM.P.sinsponsoringaPrivateMembersBill ‘to make illegal discrimination to the detriment to any person on grounds of colour, race and religion in the United Kingdom.’ TheBilldidnotgetasecondreading. (p.213, R.Ramdin ‘The Making of the Black Working Class in Britain’, 2017)
Thepamphletcouldhavebeenconceivedbeforetheriots,asitsargumentshadalreadybeen developedoveryearsofGeorge’sactivismandinthediscussionsintheAWIU,butitsfinalform wasafterApril1958.Thiswouldexplainthereferencestothewinterof1958/9.
However,whatismostimportantisthatthepamphletreceivedsuchawidespreaddistribution afterthe1958riots,afteritspublication,anditsimpactwithinthelabourmovementaswellas inBlackandAsiancommunities.
Itdeservesanotherreadingasitsmessageremainsasrelevanttoday.
(‘Don’tBlametheBlacks’was republishedintimefortheunveilingof aplaquetoGeorgePoweathis NottinghamhouseinAugust2022. NottinghamCityTransporthavealso namedaNo.45busafterGeorge.Look outforaNo.45withregistration numberYN18SVW,leavingfromQueen Street,Nottingham)
Roger TannerW J Douse: From Riots to Social Peace
WilliamJohnDouse,usuallyknownasWJDouse,wasbornin1842anddiedin1927. Hewas notamajorfigureoftheBritishLabourMovement,butthearcofhispoliticalinvolvement echoesthestageddevelopmentofpoliticsinNottinghamfromstreetprotesttosupportof Liberalism.DousearrivedinNottinghamin1873.Startingasastreetradicalwithareputation asaskilledorator,hewentontobecomeamajorfigureintheRegionalandNationalCo operativemovement,astaunchLiberalandeventuallyreachedonlyaverypartial accommodationwiththegrowingLabourParty.
HesetupaconfectionarybusinessonMansfieldRoadsoonafterhisarrivalinNottingham.By 1893heranatobacconistshoponSt.Ann’sWellRd.HeregularlyspokeinNottinghamand Lentonmarketplaces,thelatterbeingthefavouredmeetingplaceforRepublicans.Inan interviewwithalocaljournalistonhis84th birthdayheexplainedthathehadaddressedhisfirst publicmeetingattheageof16.(Nottingham Journal, 9January1926)
HebecameamemberoftheLentonandNottinghamCooperativeSocietyin1876,waselectedto theCommitteetwoyearslaterandbecamethepaidsecretaryoftheSocietyin1901.(John Rowley“Douse”,editorsBellamyandSaville Dictionary of Labour Biography VolumeVII,London, 1984pp.70/71)
DousesoonmadeanimpactonNottinghampolitics.Hewasassociatedwithasmallgroupof Republicansandwasasecularist.Inlaterlifehedistancedhimselffromhisanti clericalismand freethinking.Hedid,however,writeletterstothepapersinpraiseofHolyoakeandtheatheist Bradlaugh.(NJ, 14and20Januaryand28February1876)Healsoopposedsciencetoreligion. (Nottingham and Midland Counties Daily Express, 18February1876)Douseclaimedhisviews werebasedontheunlikelypairingofJohnStuartMillandtheproto MarxistErnestJones (NMCDE, 1March1875)
DousewasenthusiasticallyinvolvedintheLiberalPartyandworkedhardatgrassrootslevelfor theParty.TheleadershipoftheNottinghamLiberalsseemednottoreciprocatethatenthusiasm. PerhapstheyhadlearnedthehardwaythatinvolvingradicalssuchastheoldlocalChartist leadersJamesSweet,WilliamHemmandDavidHeathintheCouncilandtownpoliticsgenerally broughtmorepainthangain.
Dousewasawidelyreadmanand,despitehavingmoderatetalent,wasapersistentand recidivistpoet.HewentontothecommitteeoftheLiterarySectionoftheNottinghamand CountyLiberalClubandaddressedtheClubonmanyoccasionsandmixedpoliticswith aesthetics.Hespokeon“EnglandPast,PresentandFuture”andwasdescribedasaworking man.HesupportedworkingmentakingtheirplacesintheHouseofCommons.“Ifpeople wantedgoverningproperlytheymustgovernthemselves”HeopposedSeptennialParliaments andwasforpayingMPs.(NMCDE, 5March1875)
Hisreputationasveryaccomplishedspeakerrapidlygrew. DousespoketotheRadford HouseholdSuffrageLeaguewhenhetracedtheextensionofsuffragesince1832.(NMCDE, 1 May1875)InAugustheaddressedalargemeetingontheMarketSquareonthecausesof poverty.Hesawthatdependingonemigrationwasuselessand“delicatelyexplainedthetheory ofMalthusandMrandMrsFawcett.”(NMCDE, 2August1875)Thispairingsuggeststhathe advocatedbirthcontrol.Theenergyofthemanwasprodigiousandprogressivecausessuchas antislavery,protectingmarinersbythePlimsollBill,IrishHomeRuleandtheSundayopeningof museumsandlibrarieswereallvigorouslyendorsed.(NMCDE, 5February,8June,2July,12July 1875)
Dousehadacontinuinginterestinpreservingcommonlandagainsttheencroachmentsof enclosureandafairerdistributionofland.TheenclosureofSelstonCommonin NottinghamshirebyEarlCowperfoundDouseinvolvedinacampaignagainsttheenclosureof 1,000acresofpreviouslycommonland.In1877sixmilesoffencingwaserectedaroundSelston Common.ThevillagerswereoutragedanddecidedtoaskforhelpfromtheCommons ProtectionLeague.ThiswaslednationallybyJohndeMorganwhilsttheNottinghamgroupwas spearheadedbyDouse.ThecommonersofSelstoninviteddeMorgantothevillage.InApril 1877DeMorganheldameetingofSelstoninhabitantswho“brokedownthegatesandfences andmarchedacrosstheallegedvillagegreenandcommonlands,doingconsiderabledamageto growingcrops.”(Derby Mercury, 13March1878)DeMorganwassenttoprisonforcontempt and26villagerswerefoundguiltyofrioting.
WhilstdeMorganwasinprison,Dousetookoverthe campaign.HespokeatseveralmeetingsaroundNottingham ontheSelstonissueandbuiltupsupportfordeMorgan.In January1878DousevisitedSelstonCommonandaddressed alargeaudience.Hesupportedthe“noblestrugglethe peopleweremaking.”Closeon1000acreshadbeen enclosedchieflybyEarlCowper.“The26menwhohadbeen triedforrioting…hadbeengoadedintosuchactsby tyrannyonthepartofafewaristocrats.”(NMCDE, 1January 1878,3January, Derbyshire Courier 19January1878)
AttheendofFebruarydeMorganhadpurgedhiscontempt andspokeatameetinginUnderwoodwithDouseinthe chair.(DC, 2March1878)DousewasbackagaininJuneand spoketoalargeaudienceonSelstonCommonon“ThePeopleandtheirRights”Hesaidthatthe legalagentofEarlCowperandMr.Musters(anotherlargelocallandowner)had“sentaspecial messengertohimwarninghimagainstappearingonthecommon,andinforminghimthatthey shouldholdhimresponsibleforanydamagecausedbythemeeting.”Hesawthatasanactof
intimidationbutadvisedtheaudiencetokeepwithinthelaw.Thelandshouldbe“heldbythe Governmentfortheuseandbenefitofthewholenation”.Heendedbyurgingthemtoagitatefor thevote.ThemeetingthenaskedDousetorenewhisvisit,whichindicatedthathisradical messagehadnotputoffthevillagers. (Mansfield Reporter, 7June1878)
Someofthelandhadbeenre fencedsincetheearlierriots;nowpostsandrailswereremoved and40sheepand25cattlewereallowedintothefield.Theanimalswereimpounded.Whenthe villagepoundwasfulltheexcessanimalsweretakentoHaggsfarmnearBrinsley.Over100 villagersdemandedtheiranimalsback.Theyhadbeenaskedtopayafineofashillingaheadfor cattleandfourpenceeachsheep.Theyrefusedandbrokeopenthegate.Theanimalswere takenaway.“Allthetimetheywerehootingandshouting,andpushedthecomplainantsintoa ditch.”NinemenwerechargedattheShireHallNottinghamwithillegallyreleasingthecows andsheepwhichhadbeenlegallyimpounded.Thedefendantswerefoundguiltyofunlawfully releasingcattleandwerechargedtwoguineaseachoronemonth’simprisonment.(Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal, 16August1878)ThiseffectivelyendedtheSelstoncampaign.
In1880afurtherenclosureissueeruptedinBulwell.ThelordofthemanorPercyCooper wantedtobuildoncommonlandsknownasBulwellBogswhichhehadenclosed.The NottinghamCouncilwastoconsiderwhethertobuyBulwellbogsfromCoopersincetherehad beenrightsofaccessfor60years.Therewas,however,aworryaboutgettingintoalawsuitand theissuewaspassedtothePublicWalkscommitteetoconsider.(Nottinghamshire Guardian, 26 March1880)
Douseandothersdecidednottowait.FivehundredmetintheMarketPlaceinBulwellto protest.Dousespoketothemeeting:“Workingmenshouldbecautiousbeforegettinginvolved inlegalproceedings.QuestionsshouldbeposedtoCooper’ssolicitorMr.Martin.Hewasready tobreakdownfencesifsucharesolutionwerepassed.HehadwrittentosolicitorMartinasking whenCooperhadboughttheBogs,hadhetheassentoftheEnclosureCommissionersandwas compensationgiventothepeople?MartinrepliedthatthelandwasownedbyCooperandhad beenlegallyenclosed.Dousearguedthatthepeoplehadarighttothelandandshouldnot‘be riddendownbypriestsandlargelandowners.’Theironfencingaroundthebogswas demolishedinseveralplacesandoneofthenoticeboardsthathadbeenerectedwasthrown down.”(Mansfield Reporter, 30April1880)
Thepolicewereunabletostopfencesbeingremoved. Afterthiswasdone“theparty…headed byMr.Dousereturnedtotheirtemporaryplatform,wherefurtherspeechesweremade…” Thereweresomearrests.(Nottingham Evening Post, 28April1880) Publicopinionwasonthe sideoftheprotestors.ApublicmeetingintheTownHallofratepayersagreed“thatcertain trespassersonBulwellbogsshouldbedefendedattheexpenseoftheratepayers.”TheLiberal majority,againststrongToryoppositiontookanapparentlyradicalstep.ThePublicParks CommitteerecommendedthatthetrespassersbedefendedbytheCorporation.Therewasa clearreasonforthis.LegaladvicehadbeentakenanddiscussionswithCooper’ssolicitorsand therewashopeofcomingtoterms.Ifthemenwerenotdefendedthelandwouldbelosttothe Council.ShortlyafterwardsNottinghamCorporationsteppedinandboughttheBogswhich remainapublicopenspacetoday.(Nottingham Evening Post, 4and7June1880, NG, 11June 1880)
Dousecontinuedtoraisetheissueoflandrightsbuthisstreetradicalismhadnotrecommended himintheeyesofthelocalLiberalhierarchy.DousehadaddressedalargemeetinginIlkeston againsttheGameLawsandcalledfortheirrepeal.(NMCDE, 21May1879)TherightsofIrish tenantswereraisedbyhimonmanyoccasionsovertheyears.DousegaveatalktotheKettering LiberalAssociationwhereheopposedpresentlandlawswhichgavetoomuchpowertothe
landownerandurgedthatthepeopleofIrelandbesupported. (NMCDE, 8December1880) WhentheLandActof1881amelioratedthepositionofIrishtenants,Dousewrotealetter pointingoutitsdeficiencies:it“doesnotpreventevictionsandneedsentirelyrecastingina Parliamentwheretenantandlandlordareonequalterms.(NMCDE, 11January1887)
Farlater,whenhehadestablishedapositionofprominencenotmerelyinNottinghambutin thenationalCo operativemovement,hereturnedtotheissueoftheland.Headdressedthe 1895AnnualCooperativeCongress:hebelievedthatagriculturalworkersshouldowntheland theyworked.“TheydidnotwantarevolutionlikethatinFrancein1789,orlikethatin Germanyin1848,buttheymusthaveabloodlessone,andwipeoutentirelythefeudalsystem inthiscountry.”(Huddersfield Chronicle, 8June1895)Bynowhehadlearnedtherhetoricof moderationandhisfuturepoliticalevolutionwasmorecareful.
DousecontinuedtohavegreatrespectfortheoldChartistleadersofNottingham.WhenJames Sweet,FergusO’Connor’slittlegeneral,died,themourningoftheLiberalestablishmentwas muted.ItwaslefttoDousetoorganisethemostappropriatecommemoration:amassmeeting intheMarketSquare.DouseeulogisedSweetwhowas“theadvocateofthePeople’sCharter,the indefatigableexponentofRadicalism,theswornfoetotyranny,andtheuncompromising adversaryofeverykindofdespotism…letthempledgethemselvesinthepresenceoftheirdear departedfriendtostruggleonforthecompletionofwhatwouldbeagloriousheritagefortheir children”.(NMCDE, 9May1879)ItwashisfriendshipwithanotheroldChartistWPHemmthat drewhimintotheCo operativemovementandthenextstageofhiscareer.
DousesincerelyadmiredHemm,who“hadsplendidqualities.Hispersonalintegritywassuch thatwhateverhesaidthewholeworldcouldrelythathebelievedittobetrue…”(Hucknall Star and Advertiser, 4October1889)HemmhadbecomealoyaladherentoftheLiberalPartyanda majorfigureintheCooperativemovementandblazedthetrailforDouse.TheLiberalPartywas contenttohavethetwoashardworkingsubalternsbuttheywereneverallowedtostandfor NottinghamCouncil.ThelocalLiberalhierarchyhadlearnedtoitscostwhathappenedwhen radicaloldChartistssuchasJamesSweetandDavidHeathwereonthecouncil.Theywerenot trustworthyfollowersoftheorthodoxpoliticalline.Both HemmandDousehadlearnedtheirpoliticaltradeinstreet politicswhichwasviewedwithdisfavourbythelocal Liberalleaders
Hemmaslateas1885,whenhewasamature65yearsold, couldstillcreatearuckus.TheNottinghamChurchDefence SocietyheldameetingagainstthecandidacyofMrCarvell WilliamstheprospectiveLiberalcandidatefortheSouth Nottinghamparliamentaryconstituency.Hemmstoodup anddemandedthechairshouldbetakenbyaworkingman. Thiswasrejectedandthepolicewerecalled.Hemmwas electedtothechairbythemeeting.Hemm’swaytothepodiumwasblockedbytheTory organiseraMrBishop.Hemm“withoutmoreadohurledMrBishopfromtheplatform.”Hemm wasthenthrownoffbutclimbedbackup.Thepolicetriedtoremovehimbutfailed.Aresolution waspassedsupportingMrWilliamstheLiberalandtheaudiencesang“Britonsnever,never shallbeslaves.”Hemmthankedtheaudienceandendedthemeeting.(NG, 11September1885) ItwasreminiscentofthetacticsoftakingovertheAnti CornLawmeetingsandpassinga motioninfavouroftheCharterthathadsoplaguedthepredecessorsofthepresentCouncil.
Dousealsofailedtobesupportedforelectoralofficealthoughhewaspermittedtotakeupa seriesofinternalPartypositionsthatenabledhimtodothedonkeyworkforcouncillorsand MPs.Thenearesthegottosuchhighpositionswaswhenhewasnominatedforthemundane roleofcandidateforthePoorLawBoardofGuardiansbutsomehowthePartydidnotmanage
tomobilisesupportforDousewhocamebottomofthepoll.(NG, 18February1876)This mysteriousfailurewasrepeatedinotherelectionswhentradeunionnomineesstoodfor election.
HemmbecamealeadingfigureintheNottinghamCooperativeSocietyandwaselectedtothe managementcommitteein1869andlatertotheMidlandSectionoftheCooperativeCentral Board.DousebecameamemberoftheCoopin1876andwaselectedtothecommitteetwo yearslaterwhereheworkedcloselywithHemm.FollowingthedeathofHemmin1889Douse replacedhimontheMidlandSection.(JohnRowley,loc.cit.)
In1885hebecameeditoroftheNottinghamSociety’s“MonthlyRecord” anditssuccessorpublicationswhichhemadeintoajournaldealingwith civicaffairsandsocialproblems.Italsoservedasavehicleforhisefforts atpoetry.In1889hebecametreasurerandfrom1901to1920the secretary.(FWLeeman, Cooperation in Nottingham,Nottingham,1963 pp.31 41)ForthewholeofthisprolongedperiodDousewasinconstant demandashewasrecognisedasanoutstandingspeaker.Theenergyhe showedinaddressingCooperativeSocietymeetingaftermeeting throughouttheEastMidlandswasphenomenal.
Asthedecadesrolledon,Dousechangedfromthestreetradicaltoamainstreampoliticalfigure intheCooperativeMovementandaloyalmiddlerankerintheLiberalParty.Thisshiftreflectsa similarchangeintheNottinghamlabourmovement.Inthe1870’shehadclaimedtobasehis viewsonthequasi MarxistErnestJones.By1914hehadbecomeasuperpatriot.
Douseheldtosomepoliticalideasthroughouthislife.Hissupportfortradeunionswas constant.Hewasregularlyinvolvedwiththerailwayworkers’union,evenchairingtheirpublic meetings.(NMCDE, 19April1884, NG,28December1889, NDE, 24February1890, NG, 21July 1900) HoweverheremainedthroughouthislifeafirmadvocatefortheConciliationand ArbitrationideaspushedbyMundellaandSamuelMorley.Ashislifewascomingneartoitsend, hereaffirmedthesebeliefsinaninterviewwithajournalist:“Heisopposedtostrikesand prefersconciliation.Heconsidersthebestimmediateremedyforunemploymentisareduction ofworkinghours,sayfromeighttosevenperdayforthetimebeing,andasubstantialincrease ofwageswithaconsequentincreaseinpurchasingpower.”(NJ,9January1926)Itmightbe arguedthatDousewaslookingaheadandnotbackwards.Afterthe1926GeneralStriketheTUC heldaseriesofconferenceswiththeemployerorganisationsintheMond Turnertalksto achieveindustrialcooperation.
Sometimeshecouldbesurprisinglyradical,aswhenheproposedthenationalisationofmines andminerals.(Staffordshire Chronicle, 31August1895)Dousesuccessfullymovedamotionto thenationalCooperativeCongressonextendingfactorylegislationtoallplacesofworkandthat theyshouldbesubjecttoinspection. Hewentevenfurther:employers’dutiesshouldalsoapply tocontractorsortakersoutofwork.(Manchester Courier, 5June1895)Thispointwouldbe musictotheearsofthosepresentlyincasualisedemployment.
Douseretainedaninterestinlandreformwellbeyondhisdirectactionsagainstenclosurein SelstonandBulwell.HeaddressedajointconferenceoftheNottinghamandDerbyCooperative AssociationswhichwasheldinCodnorwith200presentandreadapaperforreformofthe inequalitiesinwealth.Centraltothiswasademandthatthesevenandahalfmillionacresofthe peoples’landthathadbeenenclosedshouldbereclaimedbytheState.(Long Eaton Advertiser, 20July1895)ThesamemessagewastakentothenationalCooperativeAnnualCongressbut givenasoftenedreformingedge.Hebelievedthatagriculturalworkersshouldowntheland theyworkedDousewasloudlyapplaudedandelectedontothenationalCentralBoardofthe Cooperativemovement.(Huddersfield Chronicle, 8June1895)Therewasevenahintofinfluence
fromtheoldChartistLandPlanwhenin1910hewasabletopersuadetheCooperative CongresstobackaresolutioncallingupontheSocietiestoobtainallotmentsformembers. (Banbury Guardian, 19May1910)
DousewasaconsistentandactivepartisanforIrishHomeRule.Heregularlyheldpublic meetingsonthistopic(NMCDE, 12July1875and1June1882, Manchester Review, 22June 1888).TheissueofIrelandandtenants’rightsoftenintersected.Gladstonehadsucceededin reducingsomeIrishrentsbutDousefeltthathehadnotgonefarenoughandevictionsweretoo easilydone.ThereturnofaToryGovernmentturnedthescrewontheIrishtenantsand,when theyfoughtback,theGovernmentbroughtinacoercionBilltostoptenantopposition.This causedDousetomakepointsthathisyoungerselfhadmadeduringtheSelstonriots.InIreland “thousandsarerackrentedandtheirpropertyconfiscated.”Thereshouldbesympathy“with thepoortenant,whointhecrowningagonyofdespair,flingsabrickattheheadofthe miscreantwhowreckshisdwelling.”(NMCDE, 20April1887)
TherewasaconsiderablechangeinthereligiousviewsofDouse.Inthe1870’shewasaleading lightinthe“SneintonMarket”Republicanssonamedfromwheretheyheldtheirpublic meetings.DousehadfullysupportedatheistssuchasHolyoakeandCharlesBradlaugh.Hewrote letterstothelocalpapersopposingtheclaimsofreligionwiththoseofsecularismandscience. (NJ, 14January,20January,28February1876and NMCDE, 18February,8June1876)Aslateas 1882DouseattendedtheAnnualConferenceoftheBritishSecularUnion.(NMCDE, 9August 1882)HeattackedSamuelMorleyfornotsupportingtheMPBradlaughwhenherefusedtotake thereligiousoathandwas,inconsequence,ejectedfromtheHouseofCommons.Bradlaughdied in1891andDousewroteapoemonblackborderedpaperthathegavetocustomersofhiscigar stores.(NMCDE, 20September1886, NEP, 11February1891)
LaterDousechangedhisviewsandmayevenhavebeguntorememberthingsdifferently.An AnglicanToryaccusedhimofbeinganatheistwhohadsupportedtheNationalSecularSociety andtheSneintonRepublicanstogetherwithaMrHooper.Dousewentontotheattack:“This statementisflagrantlyandwickedlyuntrue.Ididattimespresideatalectureonpoliticsor socialeconomicsasIhadaperfectrighttodo,butwhenhe(Hooper) lecturedonTheismand Atheism,Ialwaysopposedhimindebate,evenasIdidMrC.Bradlaugh.”(NDE, 31October 1900)HistorymighthavebeenmisrememberedbutthereisnodoubtthatDousebecamean activeUnitarianandhepreachedinanumberofchapelsintheEastMidlands.(NDE, 18 February1907, Melton Mowbray Mercury, 24November1910, Leicester Daily Post ,28June 1915)
TheconstantinthepoliticalopinionsofDousewassupportfortheCooperativeMovement, TradeUnionsandtheLiberalParty.Hewasstronglyopposedtothesocialistsandan independentLabourPartythatwouldbeacompetitortotheLiberals.Thiswasawidely supportedviewinNottingham.JohnSavilleinhisintroductiontoPeterWyncoll’sbookonthe periodexplained:“ThesocialandpoliticalphilosophyofAJMundellawhichlookedtowardsa workingpartnershipbetweencapitalandlabourexercisedlastingeffectsuponthesocial consciousnessof…theskilledworkersinthetown…Theminers’leaders,andtheled,were staunchlyLiberalintheirpoliticalaffiliationsinthehalfcenturybefore1914;andtheyjoined withthesimilarlyLiberalleadershipsofthelaceandhosieryworkersinNottinghamitself.” Wyncollamplifiedthepoint:in1873“Nottinghamwasreferredtoasa“Bannertown,alwaysat ornearthefrontofReformMovements,whilstby1918itwasconsideredbymanytobethe ‘DespairofLabourPoliticians’”.(PeterWyncoll, The Nottingham Labour Movement, 1880 1939, London,1985pp.12,19)WWIsawadriftofworkingclassvotersawayfromtheLiberals.What Liberalresiliencetherewaswas“largelybasedupontheoldratherthannewLiberalism… and...wealthyNonconformistfamilies…”(KeithLaybournandJackReynolds, Liberalism and the Rise of Labour, 1890 1918 London1984pp.10/11)
DousebelievedthatCooperationandLiberalismwerenaturalallies.Thiswasnottheviewof thesocialists.TomMannoftheDockers’UnionspokeataNottinghamCooperativeconference whereDousepresided.Mannargued:“Cooperationwasacaseofsupersedingtheentire capitalisticsystemofthecountry.(Cheers)”Hecalledforthecooperativemovementandthe unionstoworkjointlyfor“thedemocraticcontrolofindustryinthecommoninterest.”(NDE,25 September1893)ThedebatebetweenDouseandtheSocialistscarriedonoverdecades.In 1911ajointmeetingofStaffordCooperativeSocietyandtheILPwasheldtodebate “CooperationvSocialism:whichwillbestmeetsocialneeds?”JWKneeshawofBirmingham spokefortheSocialists:“SocialismwasnomoreanalternativetoCooperationthanfootballwas tosport.Toagreatextenttherewasthesameprincipleunderlyingboth.Socialismwasforthe abolitionofpoverty…Theonlyremedy…wasforthepeopletosaythatthewealththatthey createdshouldbetheirown.Thatcouldonlybedonebysecuringthelandandcapitalofthe country”.Dousereplied:”TheultimateaimofSocialismwasthattheStateitselfshouldownnot onlytheland,labourandcapital,butallthepeopleintheland inotherwordstheyshouldown eachother,theco operatorshadneveraskedforStateprops.Theyhadputtheirhandsintheir ownpocketsandbuiltupnoblebusinessesthroughoutthecountry…Lasttheyearthe Cooperatorshadmade13millionsinprofitandhadsweatednobody…cooperationcoveredall thatwaspracticableinSocialism.(The Stafford Newsletter, 27May1911)
DousesawCooperationasaformofselfhelp.Heevenwentasfarasseeingselfhelpasthe answertotheissueofoldagepoverty.“Iftheywantedtoappreciatethegloryofanold age pension,headvisedthemtosaveitthroughtheirstores(applause).Themovementheldoutthe handoffellowship.Letthemgraspit,andthushelptointroduceauniversalbrotherhood.”He madethisargumentonanumberofoccasions.(The Rugby Advertiser, 23February1907, Alcester Chronicle, 15February1908)Thismightbeconsideredasalmostbeinginoppositionto theLiberalGovernment’sOldAgePensionActof1908.However,thatAct,wasverylimitedin itsaimsandgavetothoseover70onanincomeoflessthan£31peryear,whohadbeeninthe country20years,notbeeninprisonoverthelast10years,werenotdrunkardsandhad workedtotheir“fullpotential”theprincelysumof5shillingsperweek.Thismightallowmere subsistencetoafewbutwouldnotunderminethegoldenprincipleofhelpingoneself.This fittedexactlywiththeideasofDouseandmanyotherworkingclassLiberals.Dousesaw LiberalismascarryingoutpracticablereformsasopposedtothepipedreamsoftheSocialists. DousebelievedthatLiberalismcould“dealwithoursocialulcersoneatatime.”(NDE, 27March 1908)SocialistssawaverydifferentfuturefortheCooperativemovementwhich“isnolonger thedocilefollowingthatwaswonttoapplaudaviciousformofindividualismunderthecloakof pseudoco operation…theincreasingnumberofsocialistsnowconnectedwiththeco operative movement,aretransformingit…Againstthisgrowththemajorityofthe‘OldGuard’,withtheir following,offerastrongresistance.”(Justice, 11June1914)Dousewasverymuchoneoftheold guardwhostoodforindividualismandselfhelp.
TheLiberalpartyconsolidatedworkingclasssupportbyallowingLib Labcandidatestoberun inchosenconstituenciesandwards.TheLib Labcandidatewouldreceivethesupportofthe Liberalsandwouldbeallowedacertainlatitudeonlabourmovementissues.HenryBroadhurst waselectedinWestNottinghamin1886.Intherunuptothe1890TownCouncilelectionsthe LiberalsofferedtheTradesCouncilseveralcandidateswiththeirsupport.TheTradesCouncil alsochoseJohnSkerrittforWollatonwardwithoutLiberalsupport.Twodirectlabour candidateswithLiberalsupportwon.Skerrittlost.In1891SkerrittwonStAnnswithLiberal support.(PhilipHenshaw, Lib Labism in Nottingham, 1880 1914,pp13/14,17/18)
Thearrangementwasoverwhelminglypopularwiththeleadersofthelocallabourmovement. ThiswasparticularlythecasewiththeNottinghamMiners’Unionwhichhadcloserelationships withsomeLiberalmineownerssuchasCharlesSeeleywhoownedtheBabingtonworkingsbut thearrangementwasnotwithoutitsdifficulties.ThemorestaidLiberalvoterswouldnot supportradicalslikeDouse.(NG, 18February1876, NG 9April1898)
DousehelpedJohnSkerritt“thechampionofLabour”and“directLabourrepresentative”with theslogan“VoteforSkerrittandbetterwages.”towinStAnn’sWard.AnotherLib Lab candidateBowersaidthathehadnotbeensupportedbythe“aristocracyoftheLiberalParty… HedidexpectmorehelpfromtheLiberals ifmatterswerenottakenupwithmoreheartin thefuture,thenperhapstheLabourpartywouldhavetostrikeoutonanewline.”TheTrades CouncilhadalsonominatedTCheethamtogetherwiththeLiberalAssociationinanunwinnable TorywardofForestandtheLiberalvoteonlypartiallyturnedout.(NDE, 3November1891)
ThesupportersofLib LabismwereveryhostiletosocialistsandtheemergenceofaLabour Partywhichwereseenascompetitorsfortheirvoters.Dousewonaseriesofbattlesagainstthe supportersofaLabourParty,buthewastolosethewar.Dousehadbecomerecognisedasa majorfigureatCooperativeNationalCongresseswheretheissueofanindependentworking classpartywasdebatedovermanyyears.In1905attheCoopCongressapaperwasintroduced callingfor“anewpartyrepresentativeoftheneedsandaspirationsoftheworkingpeople. Such apartywasinthecourseofformationundertheauspicesoftheLabourRepresentation Committee.” Aresolution“thatthetimehasarrivedwhenitisnecessary,inthebestinterestsof theco operativemovement,thatco operators,inandthroughtheirownorganisation,should takealargershareinthelegislativeandadministrativegovernmentofthecountry”wascarried byalargemajority. Dousearguedagainstasecondresolutionthatproposedjoiningtheirforces withtheLabourRepresentationCommittee.Thiswasrejectedby801votesto135.(The Scotsman, 15June1905)ThefollowingyearCongressrejectedaproposalthattheBoardshould considerhow“tosecureatleastonedirectrepresentativeinParliament”by769votesto327.
(Derby Daily Telegraph, 6June1906)
Atthe1913CongressDouseledtheanti Labourforces.TheformidableWillieGallacher,alater leaderoftheCommunistParty,saidthattheycouldnotavoidpoliticalactionwhichcouldonly leadtoaffiliationwiththeLabourParty.“Thedaywouldcomewhenthathadtobedone,and theymightaswelltrytokeeptheAtlanticbackwithabroomastrytopreventit.”Douseurged cautionsincetheyhadbeen“safeguardingtherightoftheindividualfor50years”andthe amendmentforneutralitywascarriedby1368votesto580.(The Scotsman, 14May1913, Justice 24May1913)Dousehadwonatemporaryvictory.InJunetheUnitedBoardofthe CooperativeUnionsaidthatthedecisionofCongresshadmadeit“inadvisabletocontinuethe negotiationsforcloseractionbetweentheCooperative,TradeUnionandLabourmovements.” (Labour Leader, 19June1913)The1914Congresssawtheissuedebatedagainbutamidst scenesofdisorder.AresolutionwasputtojoinotherLabourforcesinestablishingaLabour Board.Adelayingamendmenttoputtheresolutiontothenextcongressaftersubmittingitto thememberswas,aftersomedisorder,largelycarried.(Dundee Evening Telegraph, 2June1914) Thesocialistsscentedeventualvictory.Thecooperativecongressshowsthatthecooperative movement“isnolonger(a)docilefollowing…,theincreasingnumberofsocialistsnow connectedwiththeco operativemovement,aretransformingit.”(Justice, 11June1914)
TheonsetofWarbroughtaboutlargechangesintheLabourMovement.Dousewasresolutely prowarandhadattendedtheCo operativeCongressnearLiegeand“managedtogetawayfrom thedangerzone‘justintime’tousehisownwords”.(NDE,26August1914)In1915Dousewas chosentodelivertheinauguraladdresstotheCoopCongress:“…manyofthemhadtheirhearts laceratedbythelossesinflictedinthewarbythefiendishferocityoftheKaiserandhis murderousHuns…Theyhatedwar,buttheyhatedmoretreason,chicanery,blasphemyandthe cold,callous,calculatingmurderofmen,womenandchildren…”(Dublin Daily Express, 25May 1915)Ifonlyalliterationcouldkill,theGermanarmieswouldhavebeendefeated.Noteveryone wasimpressed.“ThemostuninspiringinauguraladdressthatCongresshaseverlistenedto, deliveredbyWJDouseofNottingham,wouldhavegiventheimpressionthattheCo operative movementwascommittedtoapolicyofhopelessJingoism…”(Labour Leader,27May1915) RegardlessofhissuperchargedpatriotismDouseremainedacommittedsupporterofunions andensuredthatCoopemployeeswerepaidabovethemarketrate.
TheCooperativeMovementmadehesitantandcautiousmovestorepresentationinParliament. The1917CoopNationalCongressvotedoverwhelminglyfordirectpoliticalrepresentationof Cooperators,butbyanevenlargermarginrejectednegotiationswiththeLabourParty.(Dublin Daily Express, 30May1917)
ThetrendtowardstheLabourPartycontinuedeveninNottingham,previouslyabastionofLib Labism.ThepresidentoftheNottinghamCoopwasWalterHallswhowasanationalexecutive memberoftheNationalUnionofRailwaymen.HewasalsoasupporteroftheLabourParty.The NottinghamSocietysupportedthe1917decisionsandWalterHallssuccessfullymovedarule changethatallowedtheSocietytoallowspendingonpoliticalactivity.Douseeditedthepaperof theSocietyandinJuly1918hewrote:“Wearegravelywarnedofthedangerofflirtingwiththe LabourParty…wemustkeepcompanywiththeLiberalParty…wehavenofriendsoradmirers inthatdirection.”Laterin1918theSocietyaffiliatedtotheNottinghamCentralLabourParty.In January1921theSocietymembersvotedtoapprovethepaymentof£50affiliationtotheLPby 1054to819.(ChristopherRichardson, The Cooperative Movement of Greater Nottingham: a journey towards political representation,Nottingham2007pp.24,35,36,37)In1921Hallswon aseatinParliamentforLabourinaLancashireconstituency(Northampton Daily Echo, 9June 1921)Dousewaspulledtwoways:theLiberalwasbottomofthepollbutatradeunionistand cooperativememberhadwon.SotheunionsandcoopswonandDouse,yetagain,dignifieda significantoccasionwithhisdoggerel.
“Good Luck, dear Halls, we say to thee As champion of our glorious cause: Support the right, but sternly fight Against unjust unequal laws.”
(FWLeeman, Cooperation in Nottingham,Nottingham1963p.58)
DousecontinuedtosupporttheLiberalParty,whilstregrettingitslackofenthusiasmfortrade unions.HediedsuddenlyinDecember1927whilstwalking.HewasrushedtotheNottingham GeneralHospital.Thiswasentirelyappropriateashehadservedonitscommitteeformany yearsbuthewasdeadonarrival(NEP, 6December1927)Dousespansavastperiodof Nottinghamlabourhistory.HewasinfluencedbylateChartism,ledtumultuousprotestsagainst enclosure,alwaysstoodupfortheunionsandthecoops,supportedLib Labismbutremained stuckasaLiberalasthemovementwentontosupportLabour.Healsocontinuedtopressthe valueofconciliationandarbitrationinemploymentdisputes.Thisdidharkbacktotheold viewsofMundella,butitmightalsobeargued,prefigurethesamelaterstanceoftheTUCand theemployers’organisationsintheMond Turnerconferences.Hislifereflectsthehistoryof Nottinghamworkingpeopleovernearlysixdecades.
Julian AtkinsonPamphlets published by NDLHS
1. “VolunteersforLiberty:NottsandDerbysVolunteersintheSpanishCivilWar”
2. “WhoDipsintheTin?TheButtySysteminNottsCoalfield”,BarryJohnson,£2.50
3. “WomeninBritishCoalMining”,ChrisWrigley,£2.00
4. “BraveryandDeception:ThePentrichRevoltof1817”,JulianAtkinson,£2.00
5. “LuddismintheEastMidlands”,JulianAtkinsonandRogerTanner,£3.00
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7. “ChartisminNottingham”,JulianAtkinsonandRogerTanner,£5.00
NDLHS Members and Supporters books/pamphlets from other publishers:
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3. “TheCo operativeMovementinNottingham”,ChristopherRichardson,£3
4. “Rememberingthe1968Revolts:VoicesfromNottingham”,Various,£4.99
5. “NineDaysThatShookMansfield”,BarryJohnson,£3
6. “NottinghamMinersDoStrike”,KeithStanley,£7
7. “TheLostMissionary”,ChrisRichardson,£2
8. “NottinghamandthePentrichRisingof1817”,RogerTanner,£5
9. “PentrichtoPeterloo”,Ed.RichardGaunt,£8
10.“KettlingtheUnions”,AlanTuckman,£14.99
11.“HowGlossopSupportedtheMiners”,GwynethFrancis,£3
12.“ChangingDerbyshireNUM”,MalcolmBall,£5
13.“TheAirofFreedom:thestoryofthestrikingbootandshoemakersinEyamand StoneyMiddleton 1918 1920” SteveBondandPhilipTaylor £6
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