Description
Joe Burgess was once described as the chief mover behind the foundation of the Independent Labour Party. While Keir Hardie and others worked behind the scenes to synchronise the efforts of aspiring Socialist organizations, Burgess placed the issue before a wider audience in the pages of his newspaper, the Workmans Times . Burgess was a self-made man with minimal formal education. He was fortunate in that, at an early age, his mother instilled in him a love of literature which he cultivated for the rest of his life. That interest led him to gain early fame as a dialect poet and then into a career in journalism. Almost inadvertently he became involved with politics. He soon discovered politics to be his natural territory. As his party burgeoned Burgess became unhappy about the adherence of individuals whom he saw as careerists rather than genuine Socialists. He expressed his opinions frequently, publicly and, perhaps sometimes, indiscreetly. Few who attain the status reached by Joe Burgess have untroubled careers. During the First World War he disagreed vehemently with ILP policy and left the party. Eventually he was readmitted and he resumed his vigilant standpoint down to his death in 1934.
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