Minority Movement

(National Minority Movement), mass movement in Great Britain’s trade unions and cooperative organizations that opposed the reformist policies of the right-wing trade union leaders. The Minority Movement originated in the 1920’s at a time of rising revolutionary sentiment in Great Britain. It was officially organized at a constituent conference in London in August 1924. Tom Mann was elected honorary president of the movement, and H. Pollitt was elected secretary general. (In 1929, Pollitt was replaced by A. Horner.) In 1926, 956,000 workers belonged to the movement.

During the General Strike of 1926, the members of the Minority Movement consistently championed the interests of the British proletariat. A section of the Red International of Trade Unions, the Minority Movement made a significant contribution to the education of the workers in the spirit of proletarian internationalism. In the early 1930’s the Minority Movement virtually ceased to exist as a mass movement.