Edwin C. Fairchild

A long-term member of the Social Democratic Federation (SDF), Fairchild was a member of its radical Central Hackney branch, alongside Zelda Kahan and Theodore Rothstein. As early as 1909, he was a signatory to a resolution denouncing party leader H. M. Hyndman's anti-German rhetoric.Martin Crick, The History of the Social-Democratic Federation, p.232 He supported closer links with the Independent Labour Party and other socialists, and worked with Alf Purcell and Victor Grayson on the Provisional Committee for the Promotion of Common Ground Among the Socialists. This was opposed by the right-wing of the SDF, but proved successful, as it constituted the British Socialist Party (BSP), and the SDF merged itself into the new party.Martin Crick, The History of the Social-Democratic Federation, pp.238-240

Fairchild was elected to the BSP's first standing orders committee, alongside Duncan Carmichael, Peter Petroff and C. T. Douthwaite. The four worked together to ensure voices in the party opposing British rearmament were heard.David Howell, Dictionary of Labour Biography, vol.XII, pp.72-76 He was also elected to the party's executive, representing the party's left-wing.Martin Crick, The History of the Social-Democratic Federation, pp.248-249

At the 1913 London County Council election, Fairchild stood for the BSP in Bow and Bromley. He took 1,609 votes, but was not elected.London Municipal Notes, 1913 In 1915, the party selected him as its delegate to the Zimmerwald Conference, but he was refused a passport and could not attend.Martin Crick, The History of the Social-Democratic Federation, p.269 During this period, Fairchild was close to John Maclean. When Maclean's newspaper, Vanguard, was suppressed, Fairchild launched The Call as a replacement.Martin Crick, The History of the Social-Democratic Federation, pp.273-274

The BSP was divided over British entry to World War I; although the majority of the party opposed it, much of the leadership was in favour. Fairchild was an opponent of the war, although he was considered a centrist within the party, as he also argued against action which would endanger "national defence". The party's right-wing were defeated at its conference in 1916 and walked out; following this, Fairchild was elected as the party's chairman, and The Call became the party's official newspaper. The BSP affiliated to the Labour Party, and Fairchild was selected by the Rochdale Trades and Labour Council as the party's candidate for Rochdale the 1918 UK general election. However, a dispute over his support for conscientious objection during World War I led to his replacement by R. H. Tawney.Jay M. Winter, Socialism and the Challenge of War, p.176

Like the majority of his party, Fairchild welcomed the February Revolution in Russia, and he spoke at the launch of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates in Leeds.{{cite book |title=What Happened in Leeds |date=1917 |publisher=Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates |location=London}} However, he remained committed to parliamentary democracy even when many in his party preferred setting up workers' councils.{{cite book |last1=Fremont Brand |first1=Carl |title=British Labour's Rise to Power: Eight Studies |date=1941 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford}}{{rp|234}} He and Henry Alexander resigned from the BSP in 1919, after it voted to seek affiliation to the Third International.Ian Bullock, Romancing the Revolution: The Myth of Soviet Democracy and the British Left, pp.135-145

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{{succession box|title=Editor of The Call|years=1916 – 1919|before=New position|after=Fred Willis}}

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Category:1874 births

Category:1955 deaths

Category:British Socialist Party members

Category:Social Democratic Federation members