The ILP Guild of Youth was a 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 ...
youth organization, the youth wing of the
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse working-class candidates ...
. The ILP Guild of Youth was founded in 1924. A year after its founding, the ILP Guild of Youth had 171 branches. The launching of the ILP Guild of Youth provoked the
Labour Party to found its
League of Youth
The Labour League of Youth was the youth organisation of the British Labour Party from 1926 to the 1960s.Barberis, Peter; McHugh, John; Tyldesley, Mike. ''Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations: Parties, Groups and Movements ...
. By the end of 1927 the organization had 182 branches, with a combined membership of around 9,000. The ILP Guild of Youth published the organ ''Flame''.
Like the Labour League of Youth, the ILP Guild of Youth had a complicated relationship with its mother party. The National Committee of the ILP Guild of Youth decided to apply for 'sympathetic affiliation' to the
Young Communist International
The Young Communist International was the parallel international youth organization affiliated with the Communist International (Comintern).
History
International socialist youth organization before World War I
After failed efforts to form an i ...
, a decision that was ratified by the 1934
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
conference of the Guild of Youth (the decision was passed by 18 votes against 12). In response, the ILP leadership declared that the Guild of Youth no longer could remain as the youth wing of the party. A special conference of the ILP Guild of Youth was assembled in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
in November 1934. At that conference, the application to the Communist Youth International was withdrawn in a move to retain the unity with ILP.
[Jupp, James. ]
The Radical Left in Britain, 1931-1941
'. London: Cass, 1982. p. 52
In 1935 the ILP annual party conference decided to reduce the age limit for party membership to 21, a move that undercut the organizational capacity of the ILP Guild of Youth.
At the onset of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
the ILP leadership resolved to dissolve the ILP Guild of Youth, calling on its activists to integrate into the party.
[Jupp, James. ]
The Radical Left in Britain, 1931-1941
'. London: Cass, 1982. p. 101
References
{{reflist
Youth wings of political parties in the United Kingdom
Independent Labour Party