''Forward'' was a
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
newspaper published in Scotland from 1906 to 1959.
Early history
The newspaper was founded by
Tom Johnston. He inherited a printing business from a distant relative which already printed two weekly trades newspapers. In October 1906, he founded the Forward Printing and Publishing Company with the support of the Glasgow branch of the
Fabian Society
The Fabian Society () is a History of the socialist movement in the United Kingdom, British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in ...
, although most of the shares were owned by Johnston and
Roland Muirhead.
[William Knox, ''Scottish Labour Leaders 1918-1939'', pp.144-158]
The first issue of the newspaper appeared on 13 October 1906, and while committed to socialism and
temperance, the paper otherwise welcomed diverse views, regular contributors including
John Maclean,
James Connolly
James Connolly (; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was a Scottish people, Scottish-born Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist, and trade union leader, executed for his part in the Easter Rising, 1916 Easter Rising against British rule i ...
and the anti-German
Stirling Robertson, who was the only writer to support the
First World War
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 ...
.
Alongside the newspaper, the company published a range of socialist literature, including Johnston's own work promoting
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
, and ''Our Scots Noble Families'', an anti-aristocratic book which sold more than 100,000 copies.
Johnston was long a member of both the Fabians and the
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...
(ILP), but by the end of the First World War, he was a member of the ILP's council, and the newspaper became increasingly associated with the party; other contributors were associated with the
Red Clydeside
Red Clydeside was an era of political radicalism in Glasgow, Scotland, from the 1910s until the early 1930s. It also referred to the area around the city on the banks of the River Clyde, such as Clydebank, Greenock, Dumbarton and Paisley. Red C ...
movement, and senior
Labour Party figures such as
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...
were not invited to submit articles. In 1915, the paper was closed down on the orders of
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
for reporting a meeting where Lloyd George had a hostile reception from workers, and was only permitted to reopen once Johnston promised not to print anything which might prejudice the war effort - indeed, from opposing the war, it switched to stating that it should be seen through.
Split from the ILP
While ''Forward'' continued to feature articles by activists associated with Red Clydeside, this changed after Johnston was re-elected to Parliament in 1924, and became closer to the Labour leadership. Although he initially remained with the ILP when it split from Labour in 1931, he took the opportunity to pass the editorship of the newspaper to
Emrys Hughes.
Johnston later joined the
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an Scottish independence, independent Socialism, socialist Scottish Scottish republicanism, republic.
The party was fou ...
(SSP), which affiliated to the Labour Party, and ''Forward'' was the SSP's official publication from 1934 until that party's dissolution in 1940.
[James Jupp, ''The Radical Left in Britain: 1931-1941'', p.47]
Hughes had considerable journalistic experience, with the ''
Labour Leader
The ''Labour Leader'' was a British socialist newspaper published for almost one hundred years. It was later renamed ''New Leader'' and ''Socialist Leader'', before finally taking the name ''Labour Leader'' again.
19th century
The origins of th ...
'', ''
Daily Herald'' and ''
Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', and was given the title of acting editor in 1924. Generally in agreement with Johnston, he maintained the policies of socialism and temperance. On becoming editor, he led a campaign against ILP disaffiliation from Labour. He also printed some articles by
Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
. He took a pacifist position in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, which led him to break with Johnston, and much of the rest of the Labour movement; during the conflict, almost all the articles in the paper were written by Hughes.
Later history
Johnston left politics in 1946; he sold his shares in the newspaper to a group on the right wing of the Labour Party, and its office was moved to London. Muirhead was bitterly disappointed by this, and in 1950 founded ''Forward Scotland'', a rival paper which acted as the voice of the
Scottish National Congress, published until his death in 1964. Meanwhile, in London, Hughes continued as editor of ''Forward'' for two more years, but was then sacked by the board of directors for opposing. Despite this, he continued to write a weekly column.
George Thomson George Thomson may refer to:
Government and politics
* George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician
* George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...
, who had been assistant editor since the relocation, took over the editorial post, now back in Glasgow, serving for five years.
By 1956, the paper was close to closure. It was purchased by
John Diamond, Harry Greenhill and
Alf Robens, against the objections of Hughes and Muirhead. They again relocated the paper to London, with
Francis Williams as editor and
John Harris soon becoming his assistant. They hoped to make it a rival to ''
Tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...
'', and the
Conservative Party was sufficiently concerned to revamp its own rival, ''Onward''. However, ''Forward'' failed to prosper, and was closed in 1959.
References
{{Scottish Newspapers
1906 establishments in Scotland
Mass media in Glasgow
Newspapers established in 1906
Publications disestablished in 1959
Red Clydeside
Socialist newspapers published in the United Kingdom