AS THE centenary year of the Communist Party draws to a close, it’s possible to state with confidence that there’s more — and possibly the best — yet to come. 

December 2020 will be notable for the convening of an important conference on the Future of Work and the message of a belief in the future will be reinforced, as the party gets behind the Youth Charter, recently published by the Young Communist League.

Back in June 2019, a committee was convened made of CP members and allies to discuss what kind of ideas, events, campaigns and publications would be a fitting way to celebrate 100 years of struggle for socialism. 

The party had a tough challenge — how to forge a message that made Marxism understandable and relevant to today’s struggle, acknowledge its mistakes and celebrate our achievements spanning 100 years. 

The story of the Communist Party is intimately tied up with the history and advance of Britain’s workers. 

As an internationalist party which played an acknowledged role in the independence struggle in countries such as Ireland, Cyprus and India, some of the achievements were far from these shores. 

So our story, warts and all, would be relevant to all activists at home and many abroad. 

The way we told it, in words anyone could relate to and understand, was also important. 

Our definition of socialism over that 100 years has changed significantly from the days when we called for a Soviet Britain, yet across the decades, our core values and shared sense of purpose is as powerfully evident today as at any time during party history.

Summarising 100 years was never going to be easy. We selected ideas, events and characters to portray what we were about: militant struggle for day to day advance and those which became turning points. 

There were the stories of men and women, black and white, community and union activists, artists, writers, scientists, sportspeople and poets. 

There were those who had sacrificed their lives in Spain or took massive risks to enter South Africa clandestinely to combat apartheid. 

We have held many meetings and published an overarching and self-critical history A Centenary for Socialism, along with a companion collection of biographies of extraordinary “ordinary” members, Red Lives. 

We have brought to life the real stories of Jessie Eden and Claudia Jones. You can purchase any of the above publications at shop.communistparty.org.uk.

The Centenary Programme was already far ahead, when the Covid-19 blow came. 

Halls and conference centres were booked and had to be put aside. A travelling exhibition was so overbooked that three copies of it had to be made, then put on ice. 

Our centenary appeal was put on hold so that cash-strapped members could help collect funds for the 90th anniversary of the Daily Worker/Morning Star and then its special Covid-19 appeals. 

It’s not in the nature of the Communist Party to walk away. When other political forces in and out of the Labour Party effectively shut up shop, the CP quickly purchased the digital equipment to keep up its political campaigning. 

Online meetings played well to its historic role of political educator and big audiences were attracted to Scottish, Welsh and in England, district, Red Wedge “get to know the party” events and “Pandemonium” meetings. 

On the anniversary date of our foundation, 13 events attracted hundreds of attendees.

In October as conditions eased, the party and Young Communist League combined online meetings with street activity and door-to-door leafleting to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street and hold a wreath-laying commemoration in 13 cities and towns for members who volunteered to serve in Spain. 

It’s likely that these events will prove a model of campaigns in the immediate future; a combination of online organising with local community and workplace-based campaigning, wherever the opportunity arises.

Later in the month this work takes on an international dimension with a joint British and German (Communist Party of Britain and Deutsche Kommunistische Partei) celebration of the life of Engels on his bicentenary on November 28 and the launch meeting on December 1 for a new booklet on the political life and times of Claudia Jones, celebrated US communist, born in Trinidad, who spent the latter years of her life in Britain.

Communists organise and campaign, but it is political ideas which guide our strategy and lay at the root of the attraction of Marxism to so many activists. 

Ideas are enriched by detailed analysis and practice, so it is fitting that our final centrally organised centenary event, is a conference on the Future of Work. 

Conference speakers include: TUC president Gail Cartmail, BFAWU general secretary Sarah Woolley, Unison assistant general secretary Roger McKenzie, Tony Burke AGS of Unite, Hertford professor Ursula Huws, Marxist economist Michael Roberts, assistant professor of computer science Leonardo Impett, Professor Keith Ewing of the Institute of Employment Rights and the CP’s chair of the Midlands district Dr Andrew Maybury and trade union organiser Andy Bain. You can register to join in at www.communistparty.org.uk/future-of-work.

We wanted to thank all those who have given of their time, money and effort to make our centenary such a resounding success. 

We urge all to join the huge struggles that lie ahead — to protect the people, jobs and communities. 

The communists have been doing that for a century now and with the new forces and bigger membership gained this past year, expect to find us in the front ranks of those battles.