Noah Ablett | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1883-10-04)4 October 1883 Porth, Rhondda, Wales |
| Died | 31 October 1935(1935-10-31) (aged 52) |
| Education | Ruskin College, Oxford |
| Occupations | Coal miner,Trade unionist, Political theorist, Educator |
| Organisation | |
| Known for | Co-author ofThe Miners' Next Step Founding member ofPlebs' League |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 (one son, one daughter) |
| Parent(s) | John Ablett (father) Jane Ablett (mother) |
Noah Ablett (4 October 1883 – 31 October 1935) was aWelshtrade unionist and political theorist. He is noted as a key contributor toThe Miners' Next Step, asyndicalist treatise which Ablett described as "scientific trade unionism". A prominent figure in Welsh labour education, he was instrumental in establishingMarxist educational programmes in theRhondda valleys and played a significant role in thePlebs' League, an independent working-class educational movement.[1]
Ablett was born in 1883 inPorth,Rhondda to John and Jane Ablett; he was the tenth child of eleven.[2] He left school at age 12 to work in the coal mines. Originally intending to join the ministry, Ablett was a lay preacher with theBaptists during the Wales religious revival.[3][4]
Ablett suffered a serious work accident that caused compound fractures to his leg bones. He had been studying for civil service examinations as a means of escaping underground work, but since the civil service did not employ people with physical disabilities at the time, his dreams of alternative employment were ended and he remained in the coal mines.[4] At age 16, Ablett participated in the 1898 South Wales miners' strike, which led to the workers' defeat through a six-month lockout. Following this lockout, the miners formed theSouth Wales Miners' Federation. The strike and formation of the Federation had a major influence on Ablett's political attitudes.[4]
However, he became concerned with the poor pay and working conditions of the Rhondda coal miners and joined theIndependent Labour Party. A keen learner, he won a scholarship toRuskin College, Oxford in 1907. Ablett was dissatisfied with the education he received at Ruskin, feeling that the college's connection toOxford University was an example of the establishment attempting to control working-class knowledge and opinion.[5] He organised alternative lectures on Marxist economics and history for his fellow students to promote different ideas from the college's more traditional offerings.[5] While at Ruskin, Ablett was significantly influenced by the ideas of American socialist writerDaniel De Leon, whose theories onindustrial unionism and workers' control would later shape Ablett's syndicalist philosophy.[6] In March 1909, when the college authorities dismissed PrincipalDennis Hird for supporting student Marxist activities, Ablett organised a student strike in protest.[7]
On returning to the valleys he established Marxist educational classes and took part in campaigns for a minimum wage.
In 1910, Ablett became acheckweighman atMardy Colliery inMaerdy and the following year was one of the founders of the Unofficial Reform Committee.[8] Ablett played a central role in the Cambrian Combine strike of 1910-11, a major industrial dispute that involved over 30,000 miners and led to theTonypandy riots.[9] In 1912 he married Annie Howells, with whom he had one son and one daughter.[10] In 1912 he was the main author ofThe Miners' Next Step, a pamphlet demanding a minimum wage for miners and advocating for workers' control of the mines. The pamphlet opposed nationalisation of the coal mines, instead favouring direct worker control of mining operations.[4] By 1919 Ablett was an executive of theSouth Wales Miners' Federation and was chairman of the board of governors of theCentral Labour College, where he had served on the board of management representing the Rhondda district from 1911 to 1915.[7] He also represented South Wales miners at theLeeds Convention of 1917, a significant socialist gathering that expressed solidarity with theRussian Revolution.[11]
In 1919 Ablett was approached by theLabour Party to contest thePembrokeshire constituency ahead of the 1922 general election. Ablett turned down the invitation, citing the demands of his other responsibilities.[12] Also in 1919, Ablett's sole bookEasy Outline of Economics was published through the Plebs' League. Between 1921 and 1926 he served as an executive member of theMiners' Federation of Great Britain.[8]
Twice in the early 1920s, Ablett narrowly failed to win nominations in South Wales that could have led to him becoming General Secretary of theMiners' Federation of Great Britain, positions that could have provided the different step he needed to allow his considerable talents and energy to develop further.[4]
The period after the war proved difficult for the mining areas, and the Merthyr area suffered severely in the 1920s. When the miners were locked out by employers in 1921 and 1926, things went from bad to worse. At the end of the 1926 lockout, Ablett made a deal with the managers to try to keep the Plymouth Hill pits open, contrary to his lifelong belief of not yielding an inch to employers. This caused him to be mocked by radical elements of the union and labour movement.[4]
In addition to his industrial, political and cultural difficulties, Ablett had also developed a close relationship with alcohol that was having a detrimental effect on his work. He was fined in 1927 for being drunk and disorderly in London when he was supposed to be attending a committee meeting.[13] Between all these issues, he lost his influence on the Labour movement and lost his seats on the executive committee of the South Wales Miners' Federation, the management committee of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and the board of governors of the Central Labour College.[4]
In later life Ablett struggled with alcoholism. He died of cancer in 1935, at home inMerthyr Tydfil.[14]
Aneurin Bevan, Labour politician and founder of theNational Health Service, described Ablett as "a leader of great intellectual power and immense influence."[15]Will Lawther, a prominent miners' union leader, referred to Ablett as "the greatest pre-war Marxist."[16]Ablett's most significant contribution,The Miners' Next Step, became a landmark document in British labour history.[17]
His educational philosophy, embodied through thePlebs' League, helped establish independent working-class education programmes that countered mainstream liberal educational approaches.[18] His textbookEasy Outline of Economics became an important resource for popularisingMarxist economics within the labour movement.[10]
Ablett played the major role in the political education ofArthur Horner, who later served as Secretary General of theNational Union of Mineworkers.[19]
| Trade union offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Checkweighman atMardy Colliery 1910–1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by John Williams | Agent for the Merthyr District of theSouth Wales Miners' Federation 1915–1933 | Succeeded by Position abolished |
| Preceded by New position | Agent for the Merthyr, Aberdare and Dowlais District of theSouth Wales Miners' Federation 1934–1935 With: Owen Powell | Succeeded by Emlyn Thomas |
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