William Paul (1884–1958) 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 e ...

politician. Born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Paul became an active socialist and joined the Socialist Labour Party (SLP) soon after it was founded. In 1911, he moved to

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 gai ...

, where he ran a market stall selling

hosiery Hosiery, also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically as h ...

and

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...

. Moving his stall from city to city, he was able to link members across northern England and the Midlands, and surreptitiously distribute radical literature. Paul fully endorsed the 's opposition to

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 ...

, and he supported Derby anti-war activist

Alice Wheeldon Alice Ann Wheeldon (27 January 1866 – 21 February 1919) was a British supporter of universal and women's suffrage and anti-war campaigner. She was convicted in 1917, along with her daughter, Winnie, and son-in-law, Alfred Mason, of conspiracy ...

. In 1917, he authored ''The State: its Origin and Functions'', in which he developed the Marxist theory of the state. He became co-editor of the 's newspaper, '' The Socialist'', and its national organiser. He stood for the party in the 1918 general election in

Ince Ince may refer to: *Ince, Cheshire, a village in Cheshire, UK *Ince-in-Makerfield in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, UK *Ince (UK Parliament constituency), a former constituency covering Ince-in-Makerfield *Ince (ward), an electoral ward covering ...

, taking 13% of the votes cast. Within the , he was a proponent of communist unity, and after this was rejected by the majority of the party, he became a founder member of the

Communist Unity Group The Communist Unity Group (CUG) was a small communist organisation in the United Kingdom. The origins of the group lay in the Socialist Labour Party (1903-1980), Socialist Labour Party (SLP). The SLP was a De Leonist group, but in support of the ...

. This group joined 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 ...

(CPGB) at its founding conference, where Paul put the case against affiliation to the Labour Party. Although the new party voted to affiliate, the Labour Party refused to accept this. In 1921, Paul became the editor of the 's publication ''

Communist Review The '' Communist Review '' is a defunct Australian magazine that was published in varying frequencies and formats from 1934 to 1966, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History The ''Communist Review'' was first published on 13 March 1934, ...

'', and he stood for Parliament in Manchester Rusholme at the 1923 and 1924 general elections. His candidacies were supported by the local Labour Party. Paul then became the editor of the ''Sunday Worker'', published by the National Left-Wing Movement. Removed from his posts during the period of

Bolshevisation Bolshevization was the process starting in the mid-1920s by which the pluralistic Communist International (Comintern) and its constituent communist parties were increasingly subject to pressure by the Kremlin in Moscow to follow Marxism–Leninism ...

, he remained active in the local peace and Anglo-Soviet friendship movements. HandsOffRussia

Bibliography

*''Compulsory Military Service-Should the working class support it? A debate between

G. G. Coulton George Gordon Coulton (15 October 1858 – 4 March 1947) was a British historian, known for numerous works on medieval history. He was known also as a keen controversialist. Coulton was born in King's Lynn and educated at King's Lynn Grammar S ...

and W. Paul'', 1912. *''The State: Its Origin and Function''. 1917. Reprinted in 1974 by the Communist Organisation in the British Isles. *''Labour and Empire: A Study in Imperialism'', 1917. *''Scientific Socialism: Its Revolutionary Aims and Methods'', 1918. *''The Irish Crisis: The British Communist Stand on Self-Determination'', 1921. Reprinted in 1976 by the Cork Workers' Club. *''Communism and Society'', 1922. *''The Path to Power: The Communist Party on Trial'', (No Date) . *''Atomic Energy and Social Progress'', 1946.

References

*Graham Stevenson,
Compendium of Communist Biography
'

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, William 1884 births 1958 deaths Communist Party of Great Britain members Scottish communists Scottish trade unionists Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903) members