Ernest Walter Cant (1890 – 1982) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

activist.

Biography

Born in

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

, Cant joined the Young Socialist League at the age of fifteen, and immediately became involved with the successful campaign against wage reductions at the

Thames Iron Works The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Limited was a shipyard and iron works straddling the mouth of Bow Creek at its confluence with the River Thames, at Leamouth Wharf (often referred to as Blackwall) on the west side and at Cannin ...

. He was appointed as the organiser of the Young Socialist League in 1912, and then as the London organiser of its parent group, the

British Socialist Party The British Socialist Party (BSP) was a Marxist political organisation established in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain in 1911. Following a protracted period of political faction, factional struggle, in 1916 the party's ...

(BSP) in 1914. He was part of the majority opposing British involvement in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and wrote extensively in the party newspaper, ''The Call''.Graham Stevenson,
Cant Ernie
, ''Compendium of Communist Biography'' Due to his opposition to the war, Cant registered as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...

and was imprisoned in 1917. Two years later, with the war over, he commenced a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fasting, fast as an act of political protest, usually with the objective of achieving a specific goal, such as a policy change. Hunger strikers that do not take fluids are ...

in protest at his continued incarceration, and was soon released. He was then appointed as the BSP's Scottish organiser, and in this role took part in the discussions which formed the

Communist Party of Great Britain The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...

(CPGB). The party appointed him as its first London District Organiser, although he left the position in mid-1925. Later in 1925, Cant was one of twelve leading figures in the CPGB arrested on a charge of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

and was imprisoned for six months. On release, he relocated to South Wales, where he spoke in support of miners during their lock-out, then moved to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, working for the International Class War Prisoners Aid Movement and the

Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...

. From the early 1930s, Cant was the CPGB organiser in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, where he attempted to build support among miners, and was also active in the local

co-operative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...

movement. He was sacked from his CPGB post, but party leader

Harry Pollitt Harry Pollitt (22 November 1890 – 27 June 1960) was a British communist who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from July 1929 to September 1939 and again from 1941 until his death in 1960. Pollitt ...

intervened to help him find work with the Russian Oil Products company, and he remained a CPGB member until his death in 1982.Fred Westacott, ''Shaking the Chains: A Personal and Political History'', pp.281-282

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cant, Ernie 1890 births 1982 deaths British Socialist Party members Communist Party of Great Britain members People from Stoke Newington