Workers are in a critical mood¶
Core Argument¶
This chapter, written on the eve of the 1945 general election, diagnoses the political mood of the British working class as one of profound critical scepticism, distinct from the illusions of previous elections. The core argument is that while workers are swinging decisively towards Labour—the Daily Mail is cited estimating 90% of soldiers in Germany would vote Labour—this is not driven by enthusiasm for the Labour leadership or its programme. Instead, the prevailing mood is cynicism and apathy, born from the record of the last twenty-five years, particularly the five years of wartime coalition. The masses regard Labour’s promises with scepticism, and the chapter contrasts the current lack of active Labour campaign workers with the hundreds who participated in 1929 and 1935. The swing is presented as a pragmatic, conditional verdict: “Give Labour a chance – put them in with a majority.”
The chapter draws on the historical context of the 1918, 1929, and 1935 elections as points of comparison. 1918 is dismissed as a fundamentally different moment; the 1945 election is characterised as “just the beginning” of a period of intense class struggle. The evidence for the workers’ critical mood is not merely electoral but organisational: the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) reports that its street corner meetings, advocating for “Labour to power on a socialist programme” while simultaneously criticising Labour policy, received attentive, sympathetic audiences across the country, even in Labour strongholds, with no hostility. Literature sales and collections were higher than ever.
The chapter’s polemical thrust is directed against the Labour leadership and its uninspiring, dull promises. The RCP positions itself as the necessary Marxist-Leninist alternative, arguing that the coming period—whether a Tory narrow majority or a Labour majority—will accelerate the workers’ education. A Labour victory is deemed the most satisfactory outcome for the working class, as it would force workers to demand real measures against the capitalists, exposing Labour’s limitations and clearing the road for a revolutionary party. The chapter anticipates the most bitter industrial struggles in British history and frames the choice as one between a brutal form of capitalism and workers’ power. The apathy and cynicism are not signs of defeat but of a maturing class consciousness, awaiting a revolutionary lead.