Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

Events

Other Political Developments

Huge increases in membership of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) occurred between 1918 and 1920 in the Clydeside region, with membership drawn largely from skilled industrial workers.

In 1920 John Maclean formed the Tramp Trust Unlimited, a revolutionary flying squad of Marxist agitators and propagandists who toured the industrial regions of Scotland holding open-air gatherings. The Trust consisted of John Maclean, Harry McShane, Sandy Ross, Peter Marshall and Jimmy MacDougall.

During this period, the ILP lost a significant element of its membership to the newly formed CPGB, especially younger activists who organised and agitated on the industrial front during the 1914-1918 period.

In May 1921 John Maclean was arrested and charged with sedition after making a speech at an open-air meeting in Airdrie. He was found guilty and sentenced to three months imprisonment.

In September 1921 Maclean was again arrested and charged with sedition after making a speech at an open-air meeting in Glasgow, in which he urged the unemployed to take food rather than wait for handouts. Maclean was found guilty and sentenced to one year's imprisonment, which for the first time he served under the status of political prisoner.