Editorial: The ‘Revolutionary’ (!) Communists. (1926)

Editorial from the December 1926 issue of the Socialist Standard

The capitalist character of the Communist Party programme is again shown by the policy drawn up by the C.P. for the Labour Party Conference at Margate.

In their pamphlet, “The Reds and the Labour Party,” the following is a list of “constitutional demands” of the Communist Party.

1. The abolition of the Monarchy and the establishment of a Democratic Republic.

2. The abolition of the House of Lords.

3. The establishment of a single franchise for all purposes, whether Parliamentary or local government, applicable equally to all men and women from 21 years of age.

4. The adoption of a national system of proportional representation.

5. The abolition of all restrictions whatsoever on qualifications for membership of public bodies, and the adoption of the adult franchise as the sole basis.

6. Full political rights for soldiers, sailors and airmen.

7. To secure that all vehicles used for conveyance of voters to the poll shall be registered with the Returning Officer not later than 12 hours before the opening of the polling, and to enact that it shall be the duty of Returning Officers to apportion such registered vehicles equally amongst the candidates, irrespective of Party.

8. The provision of greater facilities for polling places in the outlying and rural areas, and the imposition of penalties for irregularities by Returning Officers in the conduct of elections.

One minute the C.P. ridicules the value of Parliament, and the next minute they demand the usual Liberal reforms of the orthodox Parliamentarian.

Vote-catching and job-hunting are evidently the stock in trade of the C.P.