This week on Portsmouth Point: The Scandal of the Zinoviev Letter

by Ellie H, Year 12

In 1924 the Labour Party found themselves in office for the very first time, led by Ramsay Macdonald. The two main parties in Britain up to this point had been the Liberals and the Conservatives. However, the reputation of the Liberal Party was severely and irrecoverably damaged due to the First World War 1914-1918. Additionally, World War One had severely divided the party. The aftermath of this was inherited by the Conservatives, including economic difficulties, mass unemployment and inflation, all of which were not handled very well. The Labour Party thus became an increasingly appealing option, gaining support from the working class, as they positioned themselves as a party focused on the rights of workers’ and social reform. This led to a Labour victory in the election of 1923. Yet, this triumph would be short lived for a variety of reasons but perhaps most poignantly the Zinoviev letter, the Labour Party would only remain in government for 10 months.

A general election was called in 1924, prompted by the Campbell Case. The government was accused of using its influence to withdraw a prosecution against left-wing journalist J.R. Campbell, and this would be a clear miscarriage of justice and an interference of the government in the legal system. Many months passed before a report on the incident was produced, but instead of effectively using this time Ramsay Macdonald called a vote of no confidence, assuming they would be backed by the Liberals, who instead backed the Conservatives.

However, four days before the fatal election, on 25th October 1924, the Daily Mail printed an article with the following headline: ‘Soviet Plot: Red Propaganda In Britain: Revolution Urged In Britain’. It seems important to mention at this point the rise of communism was an increasing fear within many Western countries. It was during the time of the ‘Red Scare’ a mass hysteria that took place due to the spread of communism.

The Labour Party had indeed engaged with the Soviet Union by negotiating diplomatic agreements and trade, and the headline produced by the Zinoviev letter rapidly increased the fear of government infiltration by communist ideals. The headline of the article was captioned with a letter, supposedly written by Grigor Zinoviev who was chief of the Comintern (this was the Soviet agency for the promotion of revolution in other countries). The letter was addressed to the British Communist Party and suggested that they should infiltrate the Labour government in order to ruin the British State.

The timing of this letter was crucial due to its closeness to the election, it arguably influenced the voting a lot, with the British public not wanting to vote for a party which might be communicating with communist Russia. It proposed the Labour Party was a threat to national security. It is now widely believed by historians that the Zinoviev Letter was a hoax, however, the damage was done and the Labour Party fell from power after less than a year in office, in 1924.

It is important that the Zinoviev scandal is not forgotten, as it shows how the influence of mass hysteria and propaganda over a nation and how this can directly impact the political landscape that surrounds it. The Conservatives returned to power in 1924.