December 29 2005: the British Marxist Historians and 1956

The start of a new year is a good time for retrospectives. 2006 will bring up the 50th anniversary of Khrushchev's secret speech, the British defeat at Suez, the entry of Soviet tanks into Hungary, and the foundation of the first New Left. A seminal role in the latter was played of course by EP Thompson, John Saville and other prominent members of the generation dubbed the 'British Marxist Historians'. A short trip to the National Museum of Labour History in Manchester reveals the following minutes from a meeting of the Communist Party Historians' group in April 1956:

"Minutes of the 86th meeting of the Committee (full and extended) at 10.30 am on 8 April 1956, at the party centre.

A discussion opened by J Kl (AL M in the Chair) was held on the implications for historians of the 20th Congress CPSU, most contributions relating to the implications for the Br. Pty generally.

Resolutions were passed expressing profound dissatisfaction with the 24th Congress of the Br. Party for is failure to discuss publicly the implications for the Br. Party of the 20th Congress CPSU [the group was told in reply that the Congress decided its own procedure] and with the failure of the Pty leadership to make a public statement of regret for the Br. Party's past uncritical endorsement of all Soviet policies and views, the meeting calling upon it to make one as soon as possible, as well as to initiate the widest possible public discussion  of all the problems involved for the Br. Party in the present situation [this Res. was passed to the EC]."

Common sense you might think, but such motions were not common in any CP committee. Al M must be AL Morton. Eric Hobsbawm was another regular attendee, but the antithesis of a dissident. And who was J Kl?

The following meeting of the Committee at the end of May made no mention of the previous meeting's discussion. Within a year, however, the best members of the group would all be outside the CP, much of the party rank and file with them. The minutes are undoubtedly bureaucratic, but they are one of the first signs of a revolution in the British left.

More context here, here and here.