Picture: 27 November 1932, Trotsky speaking in Copenhagen at the invitation of Social Democratic students. His last public speech in front of a live audience. The words of the title were uttered by Ramsay MacDonald, Labour Prime Minister at a cabinet meeting in 1929.
Leon Trotsky’s application for political asylum in Britain (1929-30)
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In 1929, when Trotsky established himself on the Turkish island of Prinkipo after being expelled from the USSR by Stalin, he began to apply for foreign residence, preferably in Western Europe, assisted by his supporters abroad.
He was refused time and again by various governments, including Germany, France, Czechoslovakia, Luxemburg, Holland (which had given refuge to the former Kaiser), Britain, the Irish Free State and Norway (though Norway did, later, briefly grant him asylum). At this time Trotsky did not bother to apply to the USA for asylum, thinking it would be a waste of time.
In early June 1929, he wrote to the British Consul in Istanbul requesting a visa for entry into Britain.
Initially, the signs were moderately encouraging. There were a number of people in Britain, politicians, writers and others – even some clergymen – who were favourably disposed to Trotsky, at least to the point of allowing him into the country. Within the general labour movement the Independent Labour Party (ILP), various branches of ASLEF (the train drivers’ union), USDAW (the shopworkers’ union) and the National Union of Teachers supported Trotsky in one way or another.
Importantly, there had been a change of government. In the General Election of 30 May 1929, the Labour Party won a narrow victory gaining 287 seats to the Conservatives’ 260. The win however was not enough to give them an outright majority and they had to rely on support from the Liberal Party who had 59 seats.
Labour Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald, Home Secretary, John Robert Clynes and Foreign Secretary, Arthur Henderson trod an extremely cautious path. They were focussed on being ‘respectable’ and demonstrating ‘their fitness to govern’ (in other words doing absolutely nothing that would even hint at ‘radicalism’ in any way). However, a number of Labourites, although disagreeing with Trotsky, supported his request for asylum in Britain.
The list of Trotsky’s supporters on this issue is actually quite long although the steadfastness and consistency of their support was not something that could be entirely relied upon. The list includes: J. M. Keynes (economist), Fenner Brockway (Labour MP), C. P. Scott (editor of the Guardian), Arnold Bennet (author), Harold Laski (Labour MP), Ellen Wilkinson (Labour MP), J. L. Garvin (editor of the Observer), the Bishop of Birmingham, Beatrice and Sydney Webb (Fabian Society) and George Lansbury (Labour MP and editor of the Daily Herald).
This pamphlet tells the story of how Trotsky was denied asylum, with background from the broader history of asylum rights.
