Subjects of 2.33 include (transcript page numbers given in brackets): McShane’s resignation from the ‘Daily Worker’ and the Communist Party in July 1953 because of his disagreement with the leadership’s support for a peace pact between the Soviet Union, United States, China, France and Britain, and its emphasis on increasing industrial production, as described in Harry Pollitt’s ‘The British road to socialism’, including possible alternative courses of action available to him (1-10); his rejection of the demonisation of Trotsky (10-11); state of the Glasgow party in 1953 (11-12); McShane’s opposition to proposal to shut down the party’s industrial department and to liquidate the party whilst maintaining the ‘Daily Worker’ (12-13).
Subjects of 2.35 include (transcript page numbers given in brackets): meeting soon after McShane’s resignation from the Communist Party in July 1953 at which led to the creation by him, Eric Heffer and others of a federation of Marxist groups based in Liverpool (1-4); publication by the federation of Rosa Luxemburg’s last speech (5); break-up of the federation after about eighteen months (5-6); McShane adopting the views of the Marxist Humanists in the United States around 1963 (8); doing historical research for the centenary of Glasgow Trades Council in 1958 and on the shooting of weavers in Carlton in 1787 (9-10); various chairmen of the trades council (12-13); emphasis by Communist Party after the Second World War on the punishment of Nazi war criminals and on economic planning (14-15); desire of Harry Pollitt at this time for a national government to include ‘progressive Tories’ like Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden (15-16); McShane’s rejection of the communist leaders’ enthusiasm for international agreements and uncritical support of Stalin (16-17); liquidation of the party’s industrial department in 1951 or 1952 and closure of its factory branches (18-19); McShane’s opposition to proposal to liquidate the party whilst maintaining the ‘Daily Worker’ (20-21).
Brand: unbranded C60.