Henry W. Lee, often known as H. W. Lee (10 July 1865 – 5 March 1932) was a prominent British

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. Born in London, Lee worked in the printing industry, then joined the

Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James Con ...

(SDF) soon after its foundation. He became the full-time Assistant Secretary of the party in 1885 and soon after became its General Secretary."Obituary: Mr Harry W. Lee", ''Manchester Guardian'', 7 March 1932 He held this position until the organisation dissolved itself into the new

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of factional struggle, in 1916 the party's anti-war forces gained decisive control of the party and saw t ...

. Again appointed the Secretary, he held the post for only two years, in 1913 taking over from

Harry Quelch Henry Quelch (30 January, 1858 – 17 September, 1913) was one of the first Marxists and founders of the social democratic movement in Great Britain. He was a socialist activist, journalist and trade unionist. His brother, Lorenzo "Len" Quelc ...

as editor of ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. Lee supported British involvement

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, alongside such prominent party members as

H. M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's '' Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing ...

and

Will Thorne William James Thorne CBE (4 October 1857 – 2 January 1946) was a British trade unionist, activist and one of the first Labour Members of Parliament. Early years Thorne was born in Hockley, Birmingham, on 8 October 1857. His father and other ...

. However, this proved to be a minority position in the party, and Lee was a member of the right-wing split of 1916 which founded the National Socialist Party. This group opposed the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

, and Lee wrote a pamphlet entitled "Bolshevism: A Curse and Danger to the Workers". Lee stepped down from his editorial post in 1923, but remained on the national executive of the associated group, now again known as the "Social Democratic Federation".Nesta Helen Webster, ''The Socialist Network'' He spent his last years working at the headquarters of the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...

. In 1935, Lee's ''Social-Democracy in Britain'', a history of the movement to date, was published.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Henry W. 1865 births 1932 deaths British Socialist Party members British socialists Social Democratic Federation members Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom