The Merthyr Pioneer was a weekly Socialist newspaper founded by

Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...

that was published in

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

, Wales, from 1911 to 1922. The newspaper was a successful local paper, and also served as a vehicle for communicating Hardie's political opinions.

History

The weekly ''Merthyr Pioneer'' was launched by Keir Hardie in 1911 with

Thomas Evan Nicholas (Niclas y Glais) Thomas Evan Nicholas (6 October 1879 – 19 April 1971), who used the bardic name , was a Welsh language poet, preacher, radical, and champion of the disadvantaged of society. Early life Nicholas was born at ''Blaunwaun Felen'' in Llanfyrnac ...

as its Welsh editor. Nicholas was a socialist bard and an Independent minister. The paper was associated with 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), and helped promote Hardie as ILP member of parliament for Merthyr Tydfil. Christopher Murray Grieve, better known as Hugh MacDiarmid, used to write for the paper. The suffragette leader

Sylvia Pankhurst Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst (; 5 May 1882 – 27 September 1960) was an English Feminism, feminist and Socialism, socialist activist and writer. Following encounters with women-led labour activism in the United States, she worked to organise worki ...

wrote a weekly article for the paper signed with the initial ''S''.

Mark Starr Mark Ashford-Smith (26 December 1962 – 7 June 2013), best known by his ring name Mark Starr, was an English professional wrestler. Early life Mark Ashford-Smith was born in Staffordshire on 26 December 1962. His older brother Chris was also a ...

taught a series of course on Industrial History based on Marxist economics that were the basis of a series in the ''Pioneer'' and were reprinted as ''A Worker Looks at History'' by the

Plebs' League The Plebs' League was a British educational and political organisation founded in 1908. It was based on a Marxist ideology, and was active until 1926. History Central to the formation of the League was Noah Ablett, a miner from the Rhondda who was ...

in November 1917. The paper was successful as a local newspaper, while also advancing political ideas. It ceased publication in 1922.

Viewpoints

Hardie was in favour of

socialism 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 ...

equality Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value. In specific contexts, equality may refer to: Society * Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people ** Political egalitarianism, in which ...

, public ownership of land, and a

Welsh parliament The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its ro ...

. He was against the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

, brewers and

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

. The paper was strongly biased in favour of the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

. Hardie argued strongly in the paper for a decentralised, devolved type of socialism based on local communities as opposed to the centralised German system. In April 1914 Hardie wrote in the ''Pioneer'' of establishing a union or commonwealth of the English-speaking nations. Although Hardie was opposed to fighting 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 ...

(1914–18) he avoided criticising the volunteer soldiers. As he wrote in his weekly column of the ''Pioneer'', "The lads who have gone forth by sea and land to fight their country's battles must not be disheartened by a discordant note at home." After Hardie's death in 1915

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

wrote a tribute to him in the ''Merthyr Pioneer'' titled "Keir Hardie the Patriot" in which he refuted attacks on Hardie's patriotism.

Emrys Hughes Emrys Daniel Hughes (10 July 1894 – 18 October 1969) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, journalist and author. He was Labour MP for South Ayrshire in Scotland from 1946 to 1969. Among his many published books was a biography of his father ...

, secretary of the No Conscription Fellowship in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

, covered military tribunals for the ''Merthyr Pioneer''. He refused to accept conscription, was arrested in the spring of 1916 and imprisoned until 1919.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Newspapers published in Wales Newspapers established in 1911 Newspapers disestablished in 1922 Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Defunct weekly newspapers Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom 1911 establishments in Wales 1922 disestablishments in Wales Merthyr Tydfil