William Paisley Earsman (1884–1965) was a metalworker and one of the founding members of the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...

and its first

general secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

. Refused re-entry to Australia after attending the Fourth Congress of the Comintern in Moscow in May 1922, Earsman remained in the United Kingdom where he was placed under surveillance by MI5. He was also a “self-educated trades worker who by his own admission had studied very few of the Marxist classics,” and a strong advocate for

Independent working class education Independent working class education is an approach to education, particularly adult education, developed by labour activists, whereby the education of working-class people is seen as a specifically political process linked to other aspects of class ...

, arguing that “if we want education, let us have it and manage it for ourselves.” He became a local councillor in Edinburgh and later ran as the Labour candidate for the Edinburgh South division at the 1945 and 1950 General Elections. He was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in 1950 for his work with the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Earsman, William Councillors in Edinburgh Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates 1884 births 1965 deaths Communist Party of Australia members British emigrants to Australia