page_title: George Lansbury
section_title: Social Democratic Federation
hierarchical_section_title: George Lansbury / Socialist reformer / Social Democratic Federation
caption_attribution_description: English: Henry Mayers Hyndman (1842–1921) was an English writer and politician, and the founder of the Social Democratic Federation and the National Socialist Party.
context_page_description: George Lansbury was a British politician and social reformer who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Apart from a brief period of ministerial office during the Labour government of 1929–31, he spent his political life campaigning against established authority and vested interests, his main causes being the promotion of social justice, women's rights and world disarmament.
  Originally a radical Liberal, Lansbury became a socialist in the early 1890s, and thereafter served his local community in the East End of London in numerous elective offices. His activities were underpinned by his Christian beliefs which, except for a short period of doubt, sustained him through his life. Elected to Parliament in 1910, he resigned his seat in 1912 to campaign for women's suffrage, and was briefly imprisoned after publicly supporting militant action.
  In 1912, Lansbury helped to establish the Daily Herald newspaper, and became its editor. Throughout the First World War the paper maintained a strongly pacifist stance, and supported the October 1917 Russian Revolution. These positions contributed to Lansbury's failure to be elected to Parliament in 1918.
context_section_description: Lansbury's choice of the SDF, from several socialist organisations, reflected  his admiration for  Hyndman,  whom he considered  "one of the truly great ones".   Lansbury quickly became the federation's most tireless propagandist, travelling throughout Britain to address meetings or to demonstrate solidarity with workers involved in industrial disputes. Around this time, Lansbury temporarily set aside his Christian beliefs and became a member of the East London Ethical Society. One factor in his disillusion with the Church was the local clergy's unsympathetic approach to poor relief, and their opposition to collective political action.
  In 1895 Lansbury fought two parliamentary elections for the SDF in Walworth,  first a by-election on 14 May, then  the 1895 general election  two months later. Despite his energetic campaigning he was heavily defeated on each occasion, with tiny proportions of the vote. After these dismal results,   Lansbury was persuaded by Hyndman to give up his job at the sawmill and become the SDF's full-time salaried national organiser. He  preached a straightforward revolutionary doctrine: "The time has arrived", he informed an audience at Todmorden in Lancashire, "for the working classes to seize political power and use it to overthrow the competitive system and establish in its place state cooperation".  Lansbury's  time  as SDF national organiser did not last long;  in 1896, when Isaac Brine died suddenly, Lansbury thought that his family duty required him to take charge of the sawmill, and he returned home to Bow.
  In the general election of 1900 a pact with the Liberals in the Bow and Bromley constituency gave Lansbury, the SDF candidate, a straight fight against the Conservative incumbent, William Guthrie. Lansbury's cause was hindered by his public opposition to the Boer War at a time when war fever was strong, while  Guthrie, a former soldier, stressed  his military credentials.   Lansbury lost the election, though his total of 2,258 votes against Guthrie's 4,403 was considered creditable by the press. This campaign was  Lansbury's last major effort on behalf of the SDF. He became disenchanted by Hyndman's inability to work with other socialist groups, and  in about 1903 resigned from the SDF to join the Independent Labour Party (ILP).  At around this time, Lansbury rediscovered his Christian faith and rejoined the Anglican Church.
caption: Henry Hyndman, founder of the SDF, was a key influence in Lansbury's early career.
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