Paper control used for political victimisation¶
Core Argument¶
Here, the Political Bureau of the Workers’ International League and the editorial boards of its two publications issue an urgent appeal against what they characterise as a politically motivated attempt to silence revolutionary socialist journalism. The core argument is that the suspension of the paper licenses for Socialist Appeal and Workers’ International News is not a technical matter of wartime rationing but a deliberate act of political victimisation, orchestrated from the highest levels of government.
The chapter draws on a specific historical context: two years of sustained pressure from the Conservative Party on Labour Home Secretary Herbert Morrison to suppress the Trotskyist movement. The Tories, the text claims, have repeatedly demanded the suppression of the paper and the imprisonment of the Workers’ International League’s leaders. Morrison had previously refused on the grounds of the organisation’s small influence, but the piece argues that this position has now been undermined. The key evidence for a political motive is the paper controller’s action itself, juxtaposed against a statement by the Tory Minister of Supplies, Sir Andrew Duncan, that not all journals use their full paper quota. This, the text insists, proves the suspension is not about paper shortage but about silencing a political voice.
The polemic is directed against a coalition of enemies. The primary target is the Tory Party and its press, particularly the Daily Mail, which is cited for its editorial demand for police action against the Trotskyists. The text also attacks Labour figures, notably Ernest Bevin, whose public accusations against the Trotskyists over strikes are presented as giving the Tories the confidence to act. The piece argues that the right wing of the labour movement, emboldened by Bevin’s stance, has used Duncan’s office for a “stab in the back” against the working class. The central claim is that Socialist Appeal is being targeted precisely because of its effectiveness: it is the only fearless working-class paper exposing Tory war aims, and its influence among advanced workers far exceeds its official circulation. The chapter concludes with a direct call for financial and moral solidarity to fight the suppression through legal means and public exposure, framing the struggle as a defence of the entire working class’s right to a revolutionary voice.