Peter Edward Carter (8 July 1938 – 11 October 2011) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

trade unionist 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 (s ...

History

Born in

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

, Carter left school at fifteen and worked as a bricklayer while still illiterate. Graham Stevenson claims that Carter was briefly involved with fascist street gangs, possibly the

Union Movement The Union Movement (UM) was a far-right political party founded in the United Kingdom by Oswald Mosley. Before the Second World War, Mosley's British Union of Fascists (BUF) had wanted to concentrate trade within the British Empire, but the Uni ...

,Graham Stevenson,
Carter Pete
, ''Compendium of Communist Biography'' but he met Norma Harris in 1958, marrying her in 1962, and she influenced him to join the

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX (name of country) originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of Y ...

. Carter was the organiser of the Young Communists from 1963 until 1969, in which role he was responsible for its "The Trend is Communism" campaign. and was increasingly prominent in the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). He opposed the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, but this did not halt his rise in the party, and he stood in the 1970 general election against

Enoch Powell John Enoch Powell, (16 June 1912 – 8 February 1998) was a British politician, classical scholar, author, linguist, soldier, philologist, and poet. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950–1974) and was Minister of Health (1 ...

Wolverhampton South West Wolverhampton South West is a constituency created in 1950 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Stuart Anderson of the Conservative Party. It was represented by the Conservative Party for 47 years after its ...

. During the 1970s, Carter was a leading activist in the

Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT) was a British and Irish trade union, operating in the construction industry. It was founded in 1971, and merged into Unite on 1 January 2017. It was affiliated to the Trades U ...

(UCATT). In

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, he led a successful campaign to abolish casual labour on Bryant Estates sites, and to improve wages, drawing attention by occupying The Rotunda. He also led the campaign against the demolition of

the post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

Victoria Square, Birmingham Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square. It is named in honour of Queen Victoria. The square is often co ...

. From 1980, he was UCATT's organiser for the Midlands, in which post he co-ordinated the People's March for Jobs. In 1982, the CPGB appointed Carter as its National Industrial Organiser, but conflict between him and

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the UK miners' strike (1984–85), a major event in the history of ...

meant work was difficult during the UK miners' strike. He remained in post until the party dissolved in 1991, then returned to building work. In later life, Carter lived on a canal boat and was involved in environmental campaigns.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Pete 1938 births 2011 deaths British trade unionists Communist Party of Great Britain members People from Tipton