Reg Birch

Reg Birch
Born	7 June 1914
Died	2 June 1994 (1994-06-03) (aged 79)
Political party	Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist)

Reginald Birch (7 June 1914 – 2 June 1994) was a British communist and trade unionist, aligning with Maoism later in his career.

Early political activism

Born in Kilburn, London, Birch became a toolmaker and joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU). He became active in the union and also in supporting the Republican government of Spain against the fascist invasion and coup (see Spanish Civil War). He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) in 1939.

In 1941, Birch worked with Wal Hannington to organise a strike at Swift Scales, an engineering firm in Park Royal. This action was illegal under wartime regulations, but the two were merely bound over to keep the peace. Soon after, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and the CPGB opposed wartime strike action. Throughout the war, Birch continued to organise his workmates in a succession of factories.

In 1956, Birch was elected to the executive committee of the CPGB. Journalist Peter Paterson observed: "When I asked him how he could possibly have sided with the 'tankies', so called because of the use of Russian tanks to quell the revolt, he said 'they wanted a trade unionist who could stomach Hungary, and I fitted the bill'."

In 1960, Birch was elected as a full-time AEU Divisional Organiser. In 1966, he was elected to the Executive Council to represent London and the South East - on the first ballot, and with three times as many votes as his main right wing opponent Jack Whyman. Birch held this position until his retirement in 1979. The AEU became the Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundry Workers (AEF) in 1968, and the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers in 1970.

Standing for AEU President

Birch ran four times for President of the AEU:

In the election of 1956 to replace Robert Openshaw, who was retiring, Birch led William Carron in the first ballot, by 20,594 to 19,604, out of 84,811 votes cast, but lost to Carron by 83,847 to 35,400 in the second ballot.

Standing for re-election in 1959, Carron beat Birch in the first ballot outright, by 57,127 to 19,779, out of 119,247 votes cast.

The 1964 election was closer. In the first ballot, Carron led Birch by 44,529 to 31,213 out of 95,349 votes cast; defeating him in the second ballot by 60,256 to 42,051; when Birch had 41% of the vote.

Prior to the 1967 election, the Communist Party's national advisory had decided by 24 votes to 16 to support Hugh Scanlon instead of Birch. Birch had been expelled from the Communist Party by the time of the election for President, when he ran third in the first ballot with 11,428 votes (11%), behind Scanlon and John Boyd (trade unionist) on 35,767 and 35,348 respectively. Scanlon won on the second ballot.

Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist)

At odds with those perceived as revisionists within the CPGB, Birch left the party soon afterwards. With comrades from the AEU and others, he formed the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist) (CPB (M-L)) in 1968. Birch continued to help to organise various strikes, including the 1971 Ford strike. He met Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Enver Hoxha on visits to China and Albania. In 1975, he was elected to the general council of the Trades Union Congress. In 1977, he became a member of the Energy Commission. He retired from his full-time trade union work in 1979, but remained chairman of the CPB (M-L) until 1985.

Further reading

• "Obituary: Reg Birch". The Independent. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
• "Reg Birch" at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Podmore, Will (2004). Reg Birch: Engineer, Trade Unionist, Communist. ISBN 0947967338.