COMMUNISTS IN BRITAIN

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28130, 20 November 1956, Page 15

COMMUNISTS IN BRITAIN

Party Shaken By Resignations (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 19. Mounting internal dissension in the British Communist Party and daily resignations of prominent members, sparked off by Russia’s actions in Hungary, have obviously shaken the party’s political committee, in spite of its statement making light of the desertion of many of its most prominent supporters. The most significant development, and one which could deal a crippling blow to Communist political influence, is the resignation of Communists from the trade union leadership. There are many other signs of un-* rest Scores of leading members of Communist clubs and branches at many universities have left the party, and in several trades unions resolutions deploring Russian intervention in Hungary have been carried overwhelmingly. Communist Party headquarters in London, faced with a flood of resignations, has issued an appeal to members for solidarity, adding: “The membership of our party will reply to the offensive of the class enemy by rallying round the party and helping to strengthen it.” The “Daily Worker,” which is itself hard hit, has reacted to the resignations by publishing a series of interviews with prominent Communist trade union leaders who said they were not going to resign. The resignation from the “Daily Worker,” though not from the Communist Party, of Peter Fryer, a special correspondent sent to Budapest to find out the truth about Hungary, is taken as the most important evidence yet published of the British Communists’ distrust of their Russian leaders. Fryer, who hopes to stay in the party and propogate his views from inside, told colleagues he was disgusted and horrified by what he saw. Political correspondents say arfger and disillusionment are rife among the rank and file of the party, and they expect resignations to snowball during coming weeks. When the Communist Party met at Easter, members were called upon to raise the membership of 34,000 to 50.000. It is doubtful now, according to political quarters in London, whether there will be more than 20.000 paid up members at the year’s end.