This is the report of the proceedings of the Leeds Convention of 3 June, 1917, convened by the Independent Labour Party and the British Socialist Party following the "February Revolution" in Russia. Attended by 1150 delegates from trade unions, trades councils and local labour parties, socialist parties, women's and other organisations, it was chaired by Robert Smillie of the Miners Federation and the broad range of speakers included J. Ramsay MacDonald, Philip Snowden, Ernest Bevin, Mrs Despard, Bertrand Russell, W.C. Anderson, William Gallacher and Sylvia Pankhurst.
Resolutions were passed congratulating the Russians, calling for an end to the war, supporting a charter of liberties and, most contentiously, the setting up of Local Councils of Workmen and Soldiers' Delegates or Soviets. After the Convention, some local conferences were held, but no lasting organisation was established. The movement failed when the October Revolution in Russia split its uneasy alliance of pacifists and revolutionaries.
| Title |
"What Happened at Leeds", 1917 |
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| Maker |
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| Production Date |
1917 |
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| Format |
Document |
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| Copyright |
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| Holding Institution |
TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University |
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