Leiston Communist Party Explained

The Leiston Communist Party was a branch of the Communist Party of Great Britain^[1] founded in 1933 and included members such as Paxton Chadwick^{[2] [3]} and A. L. Morton^[4]

One of their first actions took place in February 1934 when they organised for the Norwich to London Hunger March.

They also took part in the Burston Strike School.

From 1935 the Leiston Communist Party organised a Popular front where they managed to defeat the well entrenched Conservative majority on the local council. This unity continued for many years, and together they produced their own radical publication the ‘Leiston Leader’ with a circulation of 300-500 copies, and raising aid together for a variety of causes, but most importantly for the Spanish Civil War.^[5] Due to its popularity in the area Leiston was nicknamed "Little Moscow".

Notes and References

1. Web site: admin . History CP early 50s early 60s – Page 17 – Graham Stevenson . 2024-09-24 . en-GB.
2. Web site: Suffolk Artists - CHADWICK, Albert Paxton . 2024-09-24 . suffolkartists.co.uk.
3. Web site: Babylon . Hoarder of . 2017-04-11 . Common People (objects 157-159) . 2024-09-24 . The Usmeum of Ordiments: A history of my family in 200 objects (plus) . en.
4. Web site: Ralph Dumain: "The Autodidact Project": Maurice Cornforth: "A. L. Morton—Portrait of a Marxist Historian" . 2024-09-24 . www.autodidactproject.org.
5. Web site: East of England YCL: a proud past and a bright future . 2024-09-24 . YCL . en-GB.