Social and Economic Writings, by Tom Mann

Social and Economic Writings, by Tom Mann, edited and introduced by John Laurent

Published by Spokesman in 1988, 152 pages. (N3386)

Tom Mann (1856-1941) was a major figure in the early British Labour and Trade Union movement, and is widely recognised as a leading pioneer of socialism and one of the most important personalities of the period which saw the emergence of Labour as the political alternative to Conservatism.

Tom played a key role in the London Dock Strike of 1889, and was an early member of the Social Democratic Foundation (SDF). He managed Keir Hardie's campaign to become an MP, and later worked in support of the Bryant and May factory strikes. In 1894 he was a founder member of the Independent Labour Party (ILP), and after spending several years in Australia he returned to Britain and opposed the First World War. In 1919 he was elected as leader of the Engineers Union, and in 1920 was one of the founder members of the Communist Party of Great Britain, continuing to play an active role in politics after his retirement in 1921. During the Spanish Civil War his role in the labour movement was recognised when a unit of the International Brigades was named after him

This book provides a careful selection of writings which show his intellectual and political development, and Laurent’s introduction gives an account of Tom Mann’s life and political career.