Kmflett's Blog

Radical ideas can lie dormant for decades, defeated by the deafening propaganda of the status quo; but if circumstances change in such a way as to signal a new opportunity, if there is some reason for hope -they may suddenly flourish on every side

‘Reflections on Jacoby and All That’: An Unpublished Essay by E. P. Thompson | History Workshop

The Executive Committee of Your Party determined on 12^th April that those who are members of a list of proscribed organisations are not eligible to be members. It has a whiff of ‘are you now or have you ever been’ but it also ignores the history of how the British left came to be just that.

The current period post the 2008 crash and Brexit is one of political turmoil in Britain but that is reflected across Europe and beyond in terms of the impact on the left.

The years from 1890 to 1930 saw a similar turmoil in Britain, though for different reasons. By 1918 most men and women had the right to vote. The great industrial unrest of 1910-12 saw the development of a new militant working class. The imperialist war of 1914-19 impacted on that and new left emerged with the foundation of the Communist Party in 1920, the first Labour Government in 1924 and the 1926 General Strike.

Politically the Independent Labour Party founded in 1893 did not include the Marxist Social Democratic Federation or the Fabians, both of whom had been involved in the discussions but withdrew. The SDF did then look at uniting with the ILP but it was determined this would not work. The two organisations did however at least try to avoid electoral conflicts.

The question changed just seven years later when the issue was finding a way to protect unions and union officials from employers legal attacks.

The Labour Representation Committee was formed at a conference held in Farringdon St, central London, on 26 & 27th February 1900. Its aim was to secure Parliamentary representation for the interests of working people, that is ‘labour’ but in practice union HQs. It was not to obtain a majority Labour Government. Such a matter was un-thought of at the time.

It included the ILP, the SDF, the Fabians and union officials who had in the main been Liberals, hence the term Lib-Lab was used.

The building still stands (much modernised)and the Memorial Hall is marked by a plaque. I covered the offices it now accommodates as a union officer for many years.

In 1906 29 MPs were elected under the LRC banner and the Parliamentary Labour Party was formed. The vote for who should lead it was tied on the first round and on a subsequent vote Independent Labour Party member Keir Hardie just edged ahead.

Naturally there was a good deal of interest in who the 29 Labour members were.

Many were from Lancashire- where the Liberal vote had been weak but anti-Tory feeling still strong. There were also trade union officials and leaders with a minority being ILP socialists like Keir Hardie, Ramsay MacDonald and Philip Snowden,

There were no women- female suffrage did not yet exist. The split between moustaches and beards in the ranks of the LRC MPs was more or less even with Philip Snowden clean shaven.

There is a lot of detailed labour history here, which is not the purpose of this post. The SDF largely absented itself from the LRC and became the British Socialist Party.

The Labour Party as we now know it did not exist until 1918 when Sidney Webb wrote the Constitution which mostly still stands (Clause 4 was amended in the New Labour years). Until then it was not possible to be an individual member. Much of the electoral work was organised by the ILP which remained an affiliated organisation until the early 1930s.

After the formation of the Communist Party in 1920-a key impetus being the 1917 Russian Revolution- the question of how broad Labour was remained open. While applications from the CPGB to join Labour were rebuffed there were on occasions joint Labour and Communist candidates at elections. Saklatvala was elected as an MP for Battersea on this basis in 1922. However by the late 1920s the possibility of Communists being part of a Labour Broad Church was closed off.

The point I am making here, I hope, was the political turmoil of the 40 years from 1890 to 1930 (more turmoil was of course to come after that) saw left-wing organisations formed, reconfigured and founded to fit the political needs of the time. It was unavoidably messy and sharp arguments and differences existed (for example on opposition to the First World War, and whether Parliament was an effective vehicle for socialist advance- see Lenin, Left Wing Communism). However the kind of administrative measures seen on 12^th April were not central to how matters played out.

Why? Because the left politics did have a considerable sometimes mass working class constituency who were looking for ways to improve and change the world. That acted as corrective on sectarian squabbles, even though they certainly existed.

Of course within this was a constant interplay between reformist and revolutionary politics. The formation of the CPGB marked a distinctive break except that for almost ten years from 1920 the theory and sometimes the practice was to work also within the wider reformist current.

I should perhaps underline that the above is schematic and designed in part to provide context to discussion about dual membership in Your Party. There is a lot of history here. Walter Kendall’s book on the period before the formation of the CPGB, long out of print, has recently been republished. I didn’t agree and still don’t with some of the key points but as a lengthy introduction to the complexities of left politics in a key period in British labour history it is well worth reading.

The Roger Scruton Restaurants in Budapest, Orban & Matthew Goodwin.

The defeat of Viktor Orban in the Hungarian Election on 12^th April brings into focus a wider layer of hard and far right political networks

The right-wing philosopher Roger Scruton (1944-2020) is perhaps best known as a wine critic (in the New Statesman). Boris Johnson noted on his death that ‘we have lost the greatest modern Conservative thinker’.

References to Scruton’s favourite foods (clearly matched with wine) are limited but judging by a chain of three Roger Scruton restaurants that have opened in Budapest foie gras may have been one.

The restaurant’s menu changes weekly and Scruton’s name is associated with one dish each week. It is reported that memorabilia from Scruton decorates the walls. The general idea seems to be that as Hungary has a hard right Government then Budapest is the ideal location for Scruton themed restaurants.

Scruton was honoured by Orban before his death in 2019.

Meanwhile Matthew Goodwin, Reform candidate in Gorton and Denton, has been associated with the MMC think tank funded by the Orban Government.

After MCC’s 2024 summer festival, Goodwin tweeted: “I just spent 4 days in Hungary, a conservative country criticised by elites across the West. I saw no crime. No homeless people. No riots. No unrest. No drugs. No mass immigration. No broken borders. No self-loathing. No chaos. And now I’ve just landed back in the UK.”.

Goodwin also manages an apparently made up quote from Scruton in his latest self-published book. Why it was necessary to make one up, when actual Scruton quotes are freely available from his thoughts on the Archers to a dispute with E P Thompson about how much wealth the historian had.

With Orban out of office Goodwin may end up out of pocket on fees for speaking at Orban funded events.

Viktor Orban has conceded defeat in the Hungarian election after 16 years in Office. His opponent Peter Magyar is also on the right. However Orban is a key figure in the international far right and his removal will be a welcome setback not least for a key ally the Italian fascist PM Meloni.

Its a setback for Trump too after JD Vance appeared on one of Orban’s election platforms this week, while of course complaining about outside interference in the Election.

Meanwhile the political mood that saw Hungarian voters eject Orban will need to continue. Magyar’s politics are not so different, even if without Orban’s extensive far right links for the moment

Before the Augusta golf. Eric Hobsbawm on golf & class

As far as I can ascertain Eric Hobsbawm was not a golfer. He was however interested in golf as an indicator of class and gives a number of examples in the Age of Empire

Golf clubs were to play an equally important role in the (Anglo Saxon)masculine world of middle-class professional men and businessmen. The social potential of this game played on large, expensively constructed and maintained pieces of real estate by members of clubs designed to exclude socially and financially unacceptable outsiders struck the new middle classes like a sudden revelation

The late miners leader Mick McGahey described golf as a waste of time. At his election victory party in November 2024 Trump had as the guest of honour Bryson DeChambeau. He is a championship winning golfer, aside from being extremely annoying, which no doubt endears him to Trump. There was a certain element of Karma on Friday when DeChambeau failed to make the cut for the final weekend rounds.

The class divide is clear from a historical perspective too. Eric Hobsbawm noted in Labouring Men that in the late nineteenth century as the male working class was identifying itself by wearing a cap, the middle class turned to golf courses. Twenty-nine golf courses were laid out in Yorkshire between 1890-95. Before 1890 there had been just two.

For a good while Nigel Farage has been a cheer leader for Donald Trump. He has offered to be the go between with the President and the UK Government and has made a number of trips to the US to meet Trump. Actual meetings have been less common. Those with better memories than Farage may recall a recent visit to Mar-a-Lago where he planned to have dinner with the President. Trump was not there.

Of course Trump and Trump’s war with Iran is very unpopular and its hitting Reform’s voting numbers. So Farage seeing that Trump is bad for business in every sense is trying to distance himself. Even Starmer has played his Trump cards better than this…

• reported in the Financial Times 12th April 2026

The Ambridge Socialist

12^th April

Springtime for Ambridge

A bit of Grade 11 listed St Stephens Church has collapsed, clearly an omen for where Ambridge is going. Chris and George have cleared up the rubble with the latter making some suitably acerbic comments to Alan the Vicar about religion (George should be a Methodist btw). Meanwhile the Easter Promises still seem to be carrying on helped by Carol Tregorran….

Budgies

Norman Stanley (and definitely not Derek) Fletcher has been relocated after Khalil thoughtfully gifted the bird to Lynda and Robert. However Fletcher was then later relocated to Azra and after advice from Alistair the Vet that is exactly where he is going to stay…

Pip

Pip has told Daveed about the lump she has found in her breast but tbh he seems more interested in the impact this might have on him. Later she also told Roooth who some years ago recovered from breast cancer. An important storyline

The Editor was to be found glancing at an old episode of In The Thick of It this week and noticed one David Archer appearing as a Government Minister….

Brian

Is Brian Ok? No one knows but the fact that he proposes to entrust the future of Home Farm to Adam suggests not…

Tim Martin appeared on GBNews on 10th April 2026. I don’t watch it so I can’t reveal what he was going on about. Possibly ordering at the bar rather than by App which he has been vocal about (Wetherspoons has at your seat App ordering but you can also order at the bar).

The answer to the question above however is ‘no’. Whatever Tim Martin’s personal views the clientele in most Wetherspoons pub is far more diverse than many other pubs. The big sellers are the breakfasts, the coffee and Pepsi. The cask beer is usually well kept.

Guardian/PA

The Met Police are institutionally racist and corrupt and have been for a while. Strangely action to deal with this never quite seems to happen.

The Met are also specialists at wasting police time and public money.

When Home Secretary Yvette Cooper decreed that Palestine Action was a banned organisation. In due course in February 2026 a Court found that it should not have been banned. Many hundreds of people had previously been arrested for holding signs mentioning the forbidden words. In most cases trials are on hold as the latest Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is appealing the decision (on April 28/9th). Originally the Met Police said they would make no further arrests pending the appeal. Then without any reason they decided they would. The Met often claim that they act without fear or favour but that may not be quite the whole truth here.

This has led to the Met arresting another five hundred people in Trafalgar Square on 11th April again for mentioning the forbidden words.

The aim of course is to restrict the right to protest particularly on Palestine. It is not working as pictures of old age pensioners, clearly not terrorists, being carried away by police underline. The police of course are only following orders but the person who gave the orders, one presumes the Met Police Commissioner, deserves to be called to account and dismissed.