Left to right: Josh Morris, Maya McGowan and Elaine McFarland at Unity Books, Glasgow, September 17, 2026
COMRADES rallied on Glasgow’s southside for the launch of a new book marking the centenary of the General Strike and the Communist Party’s role.
Published by Manifesto Press, Strike! brings together an archive of material, ranging from Tom Mann’s proposal for a general strike back in 1923, to Tom Winteringham’s withering analysis first published in the Communist Review in the immediate aftermath of its collapse.
Speaking at Thursday night’s launch at Unity Books, co-editor Elaine McFarland contrasted the class treachery displayed by trade unionist and Labour MP J H Thomas, with the class solidarity exhibited by wealthy “parasites” such as Henry “Chips” Channon.
“He was a true class warrior,” she said.
“What he grasped was that the key reason for the ruling class triumph in the general strike was its unity of purpose.”
Giving his overview, Aberdeen TUC’s Josh Morris pointed to the fear which prompted the ruling classes’ response to the strike as cause for hope.
“The overriding lesson from the General Strike is that it shows the fear we can put into the ruling classes when we stick together.”
Glasgow will remember the martyrs of the 1787 strike this weekend in speech and song, their spirit is sorely needed today, writes JIM LISTER
JOHN CALLOW introduces the work of Geoffrey Trease, who placed ordinary people at the centre of his historical fiction for children, creating adventurous stories to inspire the possibilities of social change
The General Strike exposed the power of the working class — and the limits of its leadership, writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY