Brussels Labour

International Branch of the British Labour Party

How it all began - pt I

Peter Wragg - Former Chairperson BLPG


In 1998 the BLPG celebrated it twenty-fifth anniversary. In January 1973, shortly after Britain joined the European Community a group of enthusiasts formed what was then called the British Labour Group (BLG) to bring together Labour Party members and supporters in Brussels. The driving force was Alan Forrest (at the time an official at the ICFTU) who became the first Chair.

From the beginning, the group regularly invited high profile guest speakers and the list was impressive. On 7 March 1973 the Belgian socialist and prominent European Raymond Rifflet (who had been Head of Cabinet to Commission President Jean Rey) spoke on "EEC Social Policy and the British Welfare State!"

On 29 March, George Thomson, the first British Labour Commissioner spoke on "Socialism, Internationalism and the Common Market!"

In those days meetings took place in the Maison des Huit Heures, a trade union centre on Place Fontainas in the city centre. There were about 45 people on the mailing list; at least six of whom are still members of the BLPG and several others have kept in touch. Alan Forrest still comes to meetings regularly. The name was changed in the 1980s because the European Parliamentary Labour Party first wanted to call itself the British Labour Group.

In one of the founding BLG documents, reference is made to the fact that contacts with the Labour Party would be informal. ?There appears to be no possibility of having the group "recognised",? it records stoically.

This absurd situation continued until a couple of years ago when the Party began to understand that Britons living abroad could be a useful source of votes. Now we are major force in Labour International and will have to change our name and constitution once more.

Despite non-recognition from Party headquarters, the BLG was able to make its presence felt. One of its early contributions was a submission to the UK Parliamentary Select Committee on Direct Elections to the European Parliament, the first of which took place in 1978, and liaison between the European Parliament and Westminster.

The founding members also felt that the BLG should have contacts with socialist groups of other nationalities and Hans Beck, Chair of the German Social Democratic Group in Brussels was present at the first meeting. Contacts and joint events with our sister socialist parties are a continuing feature of the group. Hans is still in touch, and we have collected many more friends on the way.

The BLG was always keen to help the Party in election campaigns and over the years has done so handsomely. Constituencies all over the UK have benefited from our help, much to their surprise in many cases! Early documents said that the group could make a special effort in a marginal constituency like Dover, and it did so repeatedly. It was with immense pride that BLPG members went to Dover in April 1997 to contribute to the Party?s success on 1 May 1997.

How it all began - Pt II

For 30 years, the BLPG has provided a "home" in Brussels for Labour Party members and supporters. With the lifeblood of the group revolving around two strands of activity ? debates and campaigns ? there has always been something for everyone.

Political discussion has been the mainstay of our existence with regular guest speakers on the topics of the day. This might seem a statement of the obvious but there are many branches of the Labour Party that have very little debate and new members often comment on this fact.

If 18 years of opposition has a silver lining it lies in the fact that the BLPG has benefited from a string of speakers of the highest calibre, largely because they had time to fit us in! Seven of them have become Cabinet Ministers (Prescott, Brown, Cook, Beckett, Taylor, Robertson and Richard); three were senior Trade Union leaders (Jones, Jarvis, Edmonds). Some were controversial (Foot, Benn, Livingstone).

Labour Commissioners have always shown interest in the group (except for one who went off and formed a new party (where is the SDP now?)). George Thomson, Stanley Clinton-Davis and Bruce Millan often came to events; and Neil Kinnock, who spoke movingly yet humorously at the 25th Anniversary Dinner, became our first Honorary President.

We have also been fortunate to attract many MEPs (too numerous to list) to speak at our meetings, often to test new ideas or fly kites in front of an audience with the reputation of being knowledgeable in a wide range of policy areas. No-one takes an invite to the BLPG lightly!

Central to the political discourse has been the ongoing debate on Europe. In 1981 the NEC of the Labour Party put a report to Conference making the case for British withdrawal from the European Community. The BLPG responded by publishing a 40 page pamphlet arguing the case for staying in and joining with "other progressive forces" to bring about change. Veterans of that era still have copies if anyone wants to see one - ask any member of the Committee.

Collectively, members have always had a depth of knowledge in European policies, and there have often been attempts to put this expertise at the disposal of the Party. In the late 1980s the BLPG Internal Market Study Group met regularly to examine EC policies and ways of reforming them. We even published a journal called the "Red Marketeer."

Unfortunately, the Party has not always availed itself of this expertise despite regular attempts to interest MPs and party officials alike. I think it reflects an introverted mentality that still persists over "Europe". Those who have used our resource certainly didn?t regret it. Today we try to channel our ideas and knowledge through the Labour Party Policy Forum, but it's early days to see what the impact will be.

The other source of lifeblood has been the campaigning energy of members. No-one who lived in Brussels in the 1980s could have been unaffected by the sheer scale of popular opposition to the siting of cruise missiles in Florennes. BLPG members often took part in debates, demonstrations and events organised by the Belgian peace movement.

The same was true of the anti-racism ("Touche pas mon pote!") and international solidarity campaigns. Members were involved in everything from Nicaragua Solidarity to Civil Action Now for Bosnia-Herzegovina. A core group of BLPG members were a driving force in Europeans Against Apartheid, a multi-national group that raised money to help support a "safe" ANC Office in Brussels.

Nor did we ever lose touch with what was going on back in the UK. The Tory years were very hard for many people and the BLPG was able to help when some of them felt they had no alternative but to strike. Chief among them were the seafarers, ambulance workers and, of course, the miners. Fortunately, times have changed. But we look back with pride at what we did.

There used to be a BLPG Women?s Group in the days when Joanna Tachmintzis was Chair. This was a time when the women?s movement in Brussels had a high profile through organisations like WOE, the Women's Organisation for Equality. Some members will remember a very lively evening with Maria Tolly and her distinctive socialist and feminist songs. The only time that the BLPG has ever organised a concert.

The group?s vitality has always been drawn from its members; people coming forward to do things. Everyone in it is a busy person and we have always recognised that it's not possible for each member to attend everything. People do what they can when they can. What brought them together was the desire to get a Labour Government elected. What keeps us together is the will to sustain that Government and make sure it doesn't forget why it's there.