British Socialist Party ( BSP )
Which political party did Albert Inkpin belong to from 1911 to 1920?
Albert Inkpin Albert Samuel Inkpin ( 16 June 1884 – 29 March 1944 ) was a British communist and the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain ( CPGB ) . He served several terms in prison for political offences . In 1929 he was replaced as head of the CPGB and made head of the partys Friends of Soviet Russia organisation , a position he retained until his death . Biography . Early years . Albert Inkpin was born on 16 June 1884 in Haggerston , an area of London . He was employed as a clerk and joined the National Union of Clerks , becoming its assistant secretary in 1907 . In 1904 , he joined the Marxist Social Democratic Federation ( SDF ) , and became one of its Assistant Secretaries in 1907 . He followed the SDF into the new British Socialist Party ( BSP ) in 1911 , continuing in an Assistant Secretary capacity in that new organization . In 1913 Inkpin was elected General Secretary of the BSP . He was a committed internationalist and anti-militarist , an opponent of World War I , and a delegate to the Zimmerwald Conference . This placed him at odds with former SDF leader H . M . Hyndmans support of British participation in the conflict . This tension between the Left and Right the BSP ended in 1916 with Hyndman and his co-thinkers departing the group . Inkpin assumed editorship of the BSPs weekly newspaper , The Call , at this time . Inkpins application in 1917 as a conscientious objector for exemption from military service was rejected by the Hornsey military service tribunal and the Middlesex Appeal Tribunal , but he was temporarily exempted as he was a leading figure in a political party and did not ultimately serve . Inkpin and the more radical elements were thus in a position of firm control of the BSP organisation after 1916 . He represented the organisation at the foundation of the Hands Off Russia movement , in 1919 . He supported the unity discussions which led to the formation of the Communist Party of Great Britain , in 1920 . Communist leader . Albert Inkpin was Secretary of the Joint Provisional Committee of the Communist Party , the group of representatives of member organisations who set the agenda for the upcoming founding congress . This convention was held in London over the weekend 31 July to 1 August 1920 and was attended by 160 delegates , presenting 211 mandates . These delegates included his wife , Julia , and brother , Harry . Inkpin delivered the keynote address to the gathering and was elected to the governing Central Committee of the new political organisation , becoming General Secretary . Inkpin was named a member of the honorary presidium of the 3rd World Congress of the Communist International , held in Moscow during the summer of 1921 . He returned from Soviet Russia to face more legal difficulties with British authorities . He was charged and convicted for printing and circulating Communist literature , serving a six-month term from January to June 1922 . While in prison Inkpin stood as a candidate for London County Council . Inkpin emerged from jail to become the CPGBs National Organiser , but reverted to being General Secretary the following year . As was the case with top leaders of the early American Communist movement , such as C . E . Ruthenberg and Charles Dirba , Inkpins background in clerical work no doubt served him well in many of the administrative tasks necessary to run a political organization on a day-to-day basis . In 1925 Inkpin was again imprisoned , this time as one of 12 prominent Communists charged under the Incitement to Mutiny Act 1797 . He was sentenced to six months in prison and remained inside until just prior to the eruption of the British General Strike of May 1926 . Inkpin stood down as General Secretary in 1929 , to be replaced by Harry Pollitt , following his opposition to the class against class policy , and criticism of his leadership from internal opponents and the Comintern . He was dropped from the partys secretariat , and sent to Birmingham as an organiser . While the Comintern sought to end his employment , Pollitt made the case for retaining Inkpin , in particular because of his knowledge of the partys secrets . Early in 1930 , he was appointed as secretary of the CPGB offshoot , the Friends of the Soviet Union , based in Berlin , then from 1933 in Amsterdam . He remained loyal to the Soviet Union , and during the early stages of World War II became a popular speaker on the possibility of British-Soviet collaboration . In September 1942 , Inkpin became ill with cancer , and although he continued working and remained secretary of the British offshoot of the Friends of the Soviet Union , the Russia Today Society , he did not recover , and died in March 1944 . Publications by Albert Inkpin . - Re-Establishing the Second International : The Communist Party of Great Britain Replies to a Letter of Appeal Signed by Arthur Henderson ( for the British Labour Party ) , J.H . Thomas and Harry Gosling ( for the Trades Union Congress ) , and J . Ramsay MacDonald ( for the Second International ) . London : Communist Party of Great Britain , n.d . [ c . 1921 ] . - The Glory of Stalingrad . London : Russia Today Society , 1942 . - Friends of the USSR : The Story of the Russia Today Society . London : Russia Today Society , n.d . [ 1942 ] . External links . - Inkpin Archive , Marxists Internet Archive , www.marxists.org . - Graham Stevenson , Albert Inkpin , Compendium of Communist Biography . - Steve Reynolds , The Early Years of the Communist Party of Great Britain - 1922-1925 , In Defense of Marxism website , www.marxist.com