Albert Inkpin

Albert Inkpin (1884 - 1944) was a British communist and the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB).

Born in London, Inkpin became a clerk. Convinced of Marxism, he joined the Social Democratic Federation (SDF) in 1906 and became its Joint Assistant Secretary the following year.

In 1913, Inkpin became the General Secretary of the SDF's successor, the British Socialist Party. In this post, he led a struggle for internationalism, attending the Zimmerwald Conference. This placed him squarely against former SDF leader H. M. Hyndman's support for the British forces in World War I. This culminated in 1916 with Hyndman splitting from the group, and enabled Inkpin to lead the group in the unity discussions which formed the CPGB, of which he became the first General Secretary.

In 1920, Inkpin was convicted of circulating pro-Soviet propaganda, and he was sentenced to six months imprisonment. Again imprisoned the following year, he was made an honorary president of the Comintern. In 1922, Inkpin became the CPGB's National Organiser, but he returned as General Secretary the following year.

In 1925, Inkpin was again imprisoned, this time under the Mutiny Act 1797, and remained inside during the build-up to the British General Strike. He stood down as General Secretary in 1929 to be replaced by Harry Pollitt, becoming secretary of the Friends of the Soviet Union and the Russia Today Society until his death in 1944.

References

*Graham Stevenson, " [http://graham.thewebtailor.co.uk/archives/000086.html Compendium of Communist Biography]
*Steve Reynolds, " [http://www.marxist.com/History/early_CPGB.html The Early Years of the Communist Party of Great Britain - 1922-1925] "

External links

* [http://www.marxists.org/archive/inkpin/index.htm Inkpin Archive] Marxists Internet Archive