Labour Independent Group | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Denis Pritt |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Dissolved | 1950 |
| Split from | Labour |
| Ideology | Socialism pro-Communism Anti-NATO |
TheLabour Independent Group was an organisation of five formerLabour PartyMembers of Parliament (MPs) in theUnited Kingdom.
In April 1948, the MPJohn Platts-Mills organised a petition in support ofPietro Nenni and theItalian Socialist Party, who were in alliance with theItalian Communist Party, counter to Labour Party policy. He was expelled from the party.[1] In May 1949, six Labour MPs voted against signing theNorth Atlantic Treaty, and of them,Lester Hutchinson,Leslie Solley andKonni Zilliacus were expelled.[2]
All these MPs were known for theircommunist sympathies, and the four joined with another independent MP,Denis Pritt, who had been expelled from the Labour Party in 1940 for supporting theSoviet Union in theWinter War, to form the Labour Independent Group.[2] Pritt was appointed the group's Chairman.[3]
The group regarded Soviet foreign policy as essentially defensive, and criticized the United States and the United Kingdom as bearing the greatest responsibility for theCold War.
Zilliacus developed a negative impression of Stalin when the two met, and so he resigned from the group later in 1949, instead adopting a position of support forJosip Broz Tito, who he had also met.[2] Both Zilliacus and the four remaining members stood as "Independent Labour" candidates in the1950 general election, but all lost their seats, thus dissolving the group.[3]
| Constituency | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammersmith North | D. N. Pritt | 6,457 | 25.2 | 3 |
| Shoreditch and Finsbury | John Platts-Mills | 7,602 | 18.0 | 3 |
| Thurrock | Leslie Solley | 4,250 | 9.8 | 3 |
| Walthamstow West | Lester Hutchinson | 704 | 2.0 | 4 |
Konni Zilliacus stood inGateshead East as an independent Labour candidate, winning 5,001 votes (14.8%) and coming 3rd.