If war should come
Daily Worker, Monday, August 28, 1939
"The Communist Party, with the help of the sound core of the Labour movement must now rouse people to bring about the immediate downfall of Chamberlain.
This is the essence of the present crisis, whether the crisis is settled by negotiation or by war. The defeat of Chamberlain is the central task before the British people.
I now come to a question which I know is also uppermost, which is naturally uppermost in all your thoughts. That is, what if war should come.
The Communist Party has always declared its support for a peace front in which Britain would play its full part, against fascist aggression.
If Britain takes its place in any common front, with no open or secret imperialist aims or intentions, against the fascist attack then the Communist party will do everything in its power to bring about the defeat of fascism.
Must have democracy
But the Communist Party openly declares that it is not possible to do it with any guarantee of success so long as the Chamberlain government is in power. Neither in peace nor walk and Chamberlain be trusted to stop Chamberlain is not the enemy of fascism but it's friend
You cannot fight the town minutes of fascism in order involved in that struggle if your country is led by a man whose sympathies are with the fascist enemy. You cannot fight fascism in fact the head of the country is a man who propose at the very start of the war with fascism to himself and post-fascist methods on the British people. You cannot find it if you yourselves are going to be placed in chain
Fascism can only be fought on the basis of complete democracy, and every tiny democratic rights and liberties which helped to strengthen all the power and organisations needed to defeat the fascist enemy
Civil rights for the workers in the Armed Forces participating organisation, meetings and to read the newspapers and publications of their choice
Free and unfettered right promotion from the ranks to all officer positions."
Pollitt then showed that in every crisis that Labour leaders have lined up behind Chamberlain was so in Abyssinia, Spain and over Munich and they refused unity with opponents of Chamberlain.
They appealed to the German people to unite against Hitler and paralyse united action of the British people against Chamberlain
With a few honourable exceptions they united last week with Chamberlain in Parliament.
The working-class is getting sick and tired of these Labour leaders who have forgotten the class to which they belong. Not all the MacDonald's had been cleared out by a long chalk.
The habits of some of their principal leaders shamed the splendid ideals that gave birth to the labour movement and inspire the work of the rank and file. But the Labour leaders are not the only ones responsible, the rank and file of the trade unions the Labour and co-operative movement have to bear their share of responsibility for not repudiating and fighting energetically against the policy of their leaders all members of the working class must understand that no one can save them but themselves.
We are sick and tired of fascism and imperialism we have no use for any of those who uphold these systems.
We represent the moon not the decadent. We represent the forces that can solve all the problems that the ruling class can never solve we represent the use of the country.
We call upon all who are not yet members of the Communist party but are anxious to help bring all this about take their place in the ranks in the Communist party. We call upon them to help secure to the daily worker the greatest possible circulation in these days when history has placed upon as the responsibility that we will under any circumstances fulfil"
Note: Edited version of the article
