Today is International Workers’ Day – a commemoration of labour movement struggles past and present, and a celebration of the internationalism, solidarity, and sacrifice of the class fighters who came before us.
This year’s ‘May Day’ is particularly special, because this month marks the centenary of the 1926 General Strike, a truly seismic event in the history of the British workers’ movement.
The history of the General Strike has been obscured and buried by the ideologues of the ruling class.
If it isn’t completely ignored, it’s dismissed as an aberration in an otherwise peaceable country. And if it isn’t dismissed, it’s treated in an aloof, scholarly way – as the subject-matter for dry, jargon-ridden academic articles.
But for revolutionary communists, history isn’t an idle pastime. The General Strike – like all the struggles of the international working class – is part of the DNA of our movement.
The lessons that the strikers learned were paid for with boundless courage and initiative, but also hardship, penury, and repression. We have a duty to keep this tradition alive, and use these hard-won lessons as a guide for our struggles today.
That’s why the Revolutionary Communist Party’s publishing wing, Wellred Books Britain, has released A Communist History of the British General Strike, written by RCP general secretary Ben Gliniecki.
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This one-of-a-kind Marxist analysis of the Strike – which covers everything from the decline of British capitalism and the rise of the labour aristocracy, to the strategy and tactics of the Communist Party – has been one of our best-sellers, with over 750 copies sold already.
The RCP has organised launch events, day schools, and reading groups across the country based around the book. We are keeping the flame of 1926 alive, and handing down those lessons to a new generation of revolutionary workers and young people.
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We are now continuing this educational campaign, with the launch of a two-week series following the events of the Strike day by day, as well as how this struggle unfolded in Wales, Scotland, and London. Sign up to receive updates of our latest articles.
What’s more, as party members across Britain and beyond gather for the Third Congress of the RCP this weekend, we will be taking stock of this momentous anniversary. The event will include an exhibition of photographs, posters, and newspapers from the Strike, as well as the screening of an exclusive documentary with Ben Gliniecki and Rob Sewell – watch this space!
Most importantly, however, we will be building a monument to this historic struggle – not a statue of bronze or stone, but a living, breathing monument: a party of well-trained, well-organised class fighters.
We are continuing where the generation of ‘26 left off, by fighting for a world free from exploitation and oppression; for a society without money-grubbing bosses, truncheon-wielding policemen, and two-faced politicians and labour bureaucrats.
As Ben Gliniecki wrote in the concluding chapter of his book: “The story of 1926 shows both what is possible, and what lessons we must learn. When it comes to our own history, the pages ahead have not yet been written. It falls to us to fill them with the story of victory.”
Help us write the story of victory: join the RCP today!
Happy International Workers’ Day!
Read the first article of the series on the build-up to the General Strike.
