The ongoing fight for social justice

My interest in political history sometimes finds me searching the used sections of the Amazon website for cheap second hand books.

A recent discovery was a fascinating autobiography of Victor Grayson by Reg Groves.

Grayson a working class lad from Lancashire was elected as an MP in the 1907 Colne Valley byelection at the tender age of 25.

He was by all accounts a brilliant orator and passionate about socialism.

This was before the Russian revolution when socialist ideas were rapidly gaining popularity amongst the working classes seeking a fairer system than the one they were living under.

Grayson is particularly interesting because he fought for a seat in parliament independent of  senior Labour figures suspicious and fearful of him.

He was successful but found his time in the House of Commons frustrating, as a lone voice he was isolated and became increaingly aware of the Labour leaderships desire to destroy him.

Suspension from the chamber came when he attempted to force a debate on unemployment and defeat in the 1910 General Election followed.

He returned to speaking, drawing big crowds, but began to drink heavily and his health suffered.

Two attempts at a return to the commons failed, a trip Down Under for more speaking engagements led to service in the trenches as a private in the New Zealand army and then oblivion.

Grayson returned to Britain after the Armistice and became aware of what he believed was a cash for honours scheme.

He threathened to expose it, then disappeared in mysterious circumcumstances.

There are various theories on what happened to him but none have been verified.

What we do know is that his life was wracked by tragedy, his wife died in childbirth and the movement he believed in shunned him.

However his courage and commitment to social justice remain an inspiration to all radicals in politics.

What hasn’t changed is a Labour establishment who are still pretty much as conservative as they were back then.

Those who think that Corbyn and his allies will change that are mistaken.

I like to think that if Grayson were around now he would find his voice in a different party,

* David is a member of Horsham and Crawley Liberal Democrats

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7 Comments

  • Some of my youth was spent in the Colne Valley (when Richard Wainwright was the Liberal MP) so I have a local interest in Victor Grayson. There have been five biographies of Grayson, by far the best, and recently revised, by David Clark, a former M.P. for Colne Valley and South Shields, and the Labour Cabinet member responsible for the Freedom of Information Act.

    Victor Grayson: The Man and the Mystery Hardcover – 15 Jun 2016
    by David Clark (Author)

    Grayson’s drink problem got him into all sorts of scrapes including associating with the fraudster Horatio Bottomley (of John Bull fame, and one time Liberal M.P. for Hackney), and Maundy Gregory (Lloyd George’s go between for the sale of peerages). Gregory was later imprisoned for selling peerages – (and suspected of murdering his female mistress after embezzling money from her). It is perfectly possible that Gregory may have disposed of Grayson – though there is no proof. It may be Grayson’s liver gave up or he may have committed suicide in the Thames.

    Gregory was involved in the fraudulent Zinoviev letter which brought down the 1923 Macdonald Labour Government for the Tory Party. He retired to France with a pension from the Tory Party and died in a German internment camp in 1941.

    A murky tale – and I doubt if Victor would have been either happy or welcome in the modern Lib Dems. Still, never mind, any old excuse to have a go at Comrade Corbyn.

  • PS. Reg Groves is also an interesting character. Look him up on wiki.

  • David Warren 28th Jan '18 - 12:16pm

    If the young Grayson or someone like him had been around at almost anytime in the last 100 years or so they wouldn’t have got very far in the Labour party.

    One of the many interesting things about Groves book is the picture it paints of the Labour establishment in what were then the very early days of the party.

    That hasn’t changed and even with Corbyn as leader I don’t think it will.

    Jeremy may not even want to change it, he has been in the party a long time and has already shifted his position on a number of issues presumably to remain in office.

    If he ever gets to number 10 who knows what somersaults might be performed.

    He could turn out to be a 21st century Ramsey McDonald!

  • What does “social justice” mean? Is there a clear definition?

  • Steve Trevethan 28th Jan '18 - 5:57pm

    Kath Duncan is another under-sung political heroine from the past.

  • Peter Martin 29th Jan '18 - 9:18pm

    @ David,

    a Labour establishment who are still pretty much as conservative as they were back then

    Presumably you try to persuade wavering voters on the doorstep to vote LibDem? ie for a party led by Vince Cable. You argue they shouldn’t vote Labour because Jeremy Corbyn’s party is too conservative?

    That might take a fair bit of explaining!

  • David Warren 30th Jan '18 - 3:48pm

    @Peter Martin

    You are missing the point.

    What I was attempting to do was draw attention to the fact that Labour is a body that progressives or radicals should not put any faith in.

    I spent years doing that and it was a mistake.

    Corbyn has not reformed its internal structures something I believe he will pay for in the long run.

    He is a temporary phenomenon and eventually the party will revert to type.

    As for persuading voters on the doorstep to vote Lib Dem my poor state of health precludes that at present.

    However Vince Cable has not been a candidate in my area, nor do I expect him to be in the future.

    The ones who do have been Lib Dem candidates are people of principle, with progressive politics.

    Something I cannot say about the people Labour put up for election, their actions on the local council show them up for what they are.

    P.S. I used the word conservative in the article which is different to Conservative.

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