The South Wales Socialist Society was a federation of communist groups in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, with many of its members being coal miners. It was a founder constituent of the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPG ...

. It was formed as the Rhondda Socialist Society in 1911 by participants in the Miners Reform Movement, which opposed right-wing

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

leaders. The group had little central organisation, being based on largely autonomous local clubs. It enthusiastically supported 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 entered into unity negotiations, with the aim of forming a

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. The group was opposed to participation in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and so sided with the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) and the

Workers Socialist Federation The Workers' Socialist Federation was a socialist political party in the United Kingdom, led by Sylvia Pankhurst. Under many different names, it gradually broadened its politics from a focus on women's suffrage to eventually become a left comm ...

(WSF) in the discussions. In March 1920, after the

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

suggested that its British section should attempt to affiliate to the Labour Party, the majority of the group became a branch of the SLP, and a small section formed the

Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England The Communist Party of South Wales and the West of England was a political party in Britain, formed in September 1920. The group was formed by a minority within the South Wales Socialist Society, that did not support merging into the Communist Part ...

with the same programme as the WSF. In April, eight remaining local clubs formed the "South Wales Communist Council", and concluded negotiations. Although the group no longer had the resources to hold a ballot, it became part of the new

, on whose Central Committee they were represented by W. J. Hewlett.

References

Defunct political parties in Wales Political parties established in 1911 Communist parties in Wales Defunct communist parties in the United Kingdom Socialist parties in Wales 1911 establishments in Wales Locally based political parties in Wales {{Wales-stub