© 2023 by SRSM. All copyrights owned by SRSM unless otherwise stated

  • Facebook Social Icon
  • Twitter Social Icon
  • Instagram Social Icon
alanharperstewart
Nov 20

James C Welsh: Miner, Novelist and Labour MP

0 comments

James C Welsh was born in 1880 into a large family in the Lnarkshire mining village of Haywood.

He experienced poverty first hand and had to leave school and go down the mines at the age of 11. There he laboured at "every phase of coal" before becoming a checkweighter when he was 15.

Welsh would later reflect that, though pit life was undeniably "irksome" it was "by no means destitute of joy." And it certainly led him to take an interest both in trade union affairs -he became a full time trade union official- and in socialism, with him joining the nascent Independent Labour Party (Burke 2013).

Welsh had also harboured literary ambitions from an early age. Encouraged by J. Harrison Maxwell, a Glasgow teacher, he published SONGS OF A MINER in 1917, His first novel THE UNERWORLD: THE STORY OF ROBERT SINCLAIR, MINER appeared in 1920. The novel's central character evolves from his working class background into a "spirited fighter for the cause." His own individual coming of age mirrors the wider progress of the labour movement in Scotland. Indeed Welsh introduces real figures -Robert Smillie and Keir Hardie- into the narrative.

THE UNERWORLD novel was, Laus (1982) opines, Welsh's "most sustained socialist creation." Indeed it was an instant success. It sold 50,000 copies in a few months and it was in print for the rest of the decade.

Welsh was elected to Parliament as Labour MP for Coatbridge in 1922. His second novel, THE MORLOCKS, appeared in 1924. However, ensconced at Westminster, his socialist convictions seemed to be on the wane. The novel deals with post war conflict in the mines but worries about the threat of revolution.

His third and last novel, NORMAN DALE MP (1928) completed his shift to the right.

New Posts
  • Donald Anderson
    Nov 27

    John MacLean Scotland's Favourote Socialst Saint. John MacLean, Scotland’s favourite Socialist ‘Saint’, died, aged 44, on St. Andrew’s Day N

  • alanharperstewart
    Nov 26

    Labour and Ireland in the 1970s

    Labour returned to power in February 1974? What would be its approach to Ireland? Granted internment was eventually ended in December 1975 but it was replaced by what Clough (2014) describes as "judicial internment." For a start there was the introduction of juryless, conveyor belt like Diplock Courts where convictions were almost guaranteed. Between 1975 and 1979 between 93 and 96% of all cases appearing before the Diplock courts result in conviction. Of those convictions 70-90% depended wholly or mainly on confessions. Often these confessions were extracted following the use of torture. And under Roy Mason, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 1976 onwards torture became even more widespread. Indeed the notorious McGonigal judgment officially sanctioned torture. A "certain roughness of treatment of detainees" was acceptable it said. When prisoners were injured Mason described those injuries as "self-inflicted." Plus he denounced an ITV expose as "cheque book journalism." Eventually even Amnesty International got involved. Its report, released in May 1978, confirmed that mistreatment of suspects was widespread. Labour had also passed the notorious Prevention of Terrorism Act, sent in the SAS with permission to "shoot to kill", withdrawn Special Category Status and presided over the framing of those such as Judith Ward, the Guilford Four, the Birmingham Six and the Maguire Seven. Labour's term of office ended with a grubby offer to Loyalists of more seats in return for parliamentary support. No wonder Clough (2014) comments that in Ireland -and elsewhere- Labour has proved to be a "party fit for imperialism."
  • alanharperstewart
    Nov 26

    Labour in 1974- whatever happened to the radicalism?

    The rise in militancy in the early 70's was such that Labour -now in opposition- had to respond to the mood and turn left. Even Denis Healey would tell the 1973 Conference that his tax policies, once Labour was back in power, would "bring howls of anguish from the rich." And Wilson told the same gathering of plans for a National Enterprise Board (NEB) -extending public ownership- and for planning agreements between private industry and government. The 1974 Manifesto itself talked of a "fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of power and wealth in favour of working people and their families." Michael Foot would even enthuse that it was the "finest socialist programme I have seen in my lifetime." But Wilson had in fact vetoed proposals to nationalise 20-25 major companies and excluded it from the Manifesto. He and a majority of the Cabinet neutered an Industry Bill and a White Paper radically cut the actual role of the NEB. It was to be a weak, ill-funded repository for lost causes and any planning agreements were to be voluntary (Marr 2007). What's more, after the October 1974 General Election (when Labour was re-elected with a small majority) and the 1975 Common Market Referendum (when the right campaigned with the Liberals and Tories) Wilson sought to gradually marginalise and humiliate the Left. It culminated in the demotion -following City pressure- of Tony Benn from Industry Minister to Energy Minister in June 1975. By this time Healey had embarked on a programme of public expenditure cuts and Tony Crosland -who had once said that spending would reform capitalism- was telling local authorities that "the party's over."