Fabian Society (Great Britain)

In October 1883 Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) and Hubert Bland (1855-1914) decided to form a socialist debating group with their Quaker friend Edward Pease (1857-1955). They were also joined by Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) and Frank Podmore (1856-1910). In January 1884 they decided to call themselves the Fabian Society. Hubert Bland chaired the first meeting and was elected treasurer. By March 1884 the group had twenty members. However, over the next couple of years the group increased in size and included socialists such as Annie Besant (1847-1933), Sidney Webb (1859-1947), Beatrice Webb (1858-1943), George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Clement Attlee (1883-1967), Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937), Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), H G Wells (1866-1946) and Rupert Brooke (1887-1915). By 1886 the Fabians had sixty-seven members and an income of £35 19s. The official headquarters of the organisation was 14 Dean's Yard, Westminster. The Fabian Society journal, "Today", was edited by Edith Nesbit and Hubert Bland. The Fabians believed that capitalism had created an unjust and inefficient society. They agreed that the ultimate aim of the group should be to reconstruct "society in accordance with the highest moral possibilities". The Fabians adopted the tactic of trying to convince people by "rational factual socialist argument", rather than the "emotional rhetoric and street brawls" of the Social Democratic Federation, Britain's first socialist political party. On 27th Febuary 1900, representatives from the Fabian Society and all the other socialist groups in Britain met at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, London. This conference established the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), which in 1906 changed its name to the Labour Party. At its outset the LRC had one member of the Fabian Society among its members.

In October 1883 Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) and Hubert Bland (1855-1914) decided to form a socialist debating group with their Quaker friend Edward Pease (1857-1955). They were also joined by Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) and Frank Podmore (1856-1910). In January 1884 they decided to call themselves the Fabian Society. Hubert Bland chaired the first meeting and was elected treasurer. By March 1884 the group had twenty members. However, over the next couple of years the group increased in size and included socialists such as Annie Besant (1847-1933), Sidney Webb (1859-1947), Beatrice Webb (1858-1943), George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Clement Attlee (1883-1967), Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937), Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), H G Wells (1866-1946) and Rupert Brooke (1887-1915). By 1886 the Fabians had sixty-seven members and an income of 35 19s. The official headquarters of the organisation was 14 Dean's Yard, Westminster. The Fabian Society journal, 'Today', was edited by Edith Nesbit and Hubert Bland. The Fabians believed that capitalism had created an unjust and inefficient society. They agreed that the ultimate aim of the group should be to reconstruct 'society in accordance with the highest moral possibilities'. The Fabians adopted the tactic of trying to convince people by 'rational factual socialist argument', rather than the 'emotional rhetoric and street brawls' of the Social Democratic Federation, Britain's first socialist political party. On 27th Febuary 1900, representatives from the Fabian Society and all the other socialist groups in Britain met at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, London. This conference established the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), which in 1906 changed its name to the Labour Party. At its outset the LRC had one member of the Fabian Society among its members.

The Fabian Society was founded in 1884 to advance socialism by democratic means. It became instrumental in a host of social changes that helped create modern Britain.

The Fabian Society: In October 1883 Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) and Hubert Bland (1855-1914) decided to form a socialist debating group with their Quaker friend Edward Pease (1857-1955). They were also joined by Havelock Ellis (1859-1939) and Frank Podmore (1856-1910). In January 1884 they decided to call themselves the Fabian Society. Hubert Bland chaired the first meeting and was elected treasurer. By March 1884 the group had twenty members. However, over the next couple of years the group increased in size and included socialists such as Annie Besant (1847-1933), Sidney Webb (1859-1947), Beatrice Webb (1858-1943), George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Clement Attlee (1883-1967), Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937), Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928), H G Wells (1866-1946) and Rupert Brooke (1887-1915). By 1886 the Fabians had sixty-seven members and an income of £35 19s. The official headquarters of the organisation was 14 Dean's Yard, Westminster. The Fabian Society journal, 'Today', was edited by Edith Nesbit and Hubert Bland. The Fabians believed that capitalism had created an unjust and inefficient society. They agreed that the ultimate aim of the group should be to reconstruct 'society in accordance with the highest moral possibilities'. The Fabians adopted the tactic of trying to convince people by 'rational factual socialist argument', rather than the 'emotional rhetoric and street brawls' of the Social Democratic Federation, Britain's first socialist political party. On 27th Febuary 1900, representatives from the Fabian Society and all the other socialist groups in Britain met at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, London. This conference established the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), which in 1906 changed its name to the Labour Party. At its outset the LRC had one member of the Fabian Society among its members.

The Fabian Society was founded on 4 January 1884 by Edward Pease and his friends, who wanted to found a "Fellowship of the New Life". The name 'Fabian Society' was derived from that of Quintus Fabius Cunctator, whose policy of holding his forces in reserve until the optimum moment for attack was considered worthy of emulation. The society's aim was "to help on the reconstruction of society in accordance with the highest moral possibilities". This was to be achieved by holding meetings to read papers, hear reports on current political matters and discuss social problems; by delegating members to attend other meetings held to discuss social subjects, to attempt to disseminate their own views at such meetings and to report back to the society on the outcome; and by collecting articles concerning social movements and needs from contemporary literature as a source of factual information. The Society's early members included George Bernard Shaw, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Emmeline Pankhurst and H G Wells.

Soon after its foundation the society established the Fabian News in order to keep members informed of what was going on in the society. This was later followed by the Fabian Quarterly and the Fabian Journal . A publishing firm called Palm and Pine was established in 1938. This was originally independent of the society, but became Fabian Publications Ltd in 1942. It published Society literature until it was dissolved fourteen years later. The society also spread its message by organising public lectures, conferences and various schools.

The Fabian Society is the oldest socialist organisation in Britain, but does not itself issue policy statements or put forward candidates for election to local or national government. Therefore, the society became affiliated to the Labour Party, although it also collaborated with the Independent Labour Party on specific projects. From 1949 onwards, it became customary for the Fabian Society to hold a tea meeting at the Labour Party Conference, at which guests were addressed by a leading Fabian politician.

There have been a number of special interest groups within the society, and these produced their own research and publications. When women's suffrage was a burning issue, a separate Women's Group was established. Similarly, the Fabian Nursery was set up in response to a perceived need to encourage the younger members of the society.

The society has also absorbed a number of organisations that were established independently of it. The New Fabian Research Bureau was set up by G.D.H. Cole with the support of Arthur Henderson as a separate organisation. It developed its own methods of research and propaganda and became much more effective than the original society. After eight years the Fabian Society and the New Fabian Research Bureau amalgamated. However the Fabian Society took on many of the ideas and methods of the New Fabian Research Bureau and these continue to influence it.

The Fabian Colonial Bureau also functioned as a separate organisation from the Fabian Society. The Fabian Society made it an annual grant which was later augmented by the TUC and the Labour Party. The bureau acted as a clearing house for information on colonial affairs and became a pressure group acting for colonial peoples. The bureau was renamed the Commonwealth Bureau in 1958. In 1963 it was amalgamated with the International Bureau and a few years later absorbed back into the main society.

The Fabian International Bureau was set up along the same lines as the Colonial Bureau. The aim of the bureau was the exchange of views on socialist subjects and the future of Europe after the war. After 1945 the main interest of the Bureau was the part that Britain should play in Europe, Anglo-American and Anglo-Soviet relations. During the 1960's they widened their scope to include defence, international agreements, the Common Market, aid to developing countries and the Labour Parties foreign policy.

The Home Research Committee was set up in 1943 to co-ordinate the committees and sub-committees working on social, economic and political issues in Britain. The committee produced reports, pamphlets and submitted evidence to Royal Commissions. They also distributed detailed questionnaires to members on these issues.

The Fabian Society continues to influence political thought in the UK. In the 1990s the society was a major influence in the modernisation of the Labour Party. Its report on the constitution of the Party was instrumental in the introduction of 'one member one vote' and made the original recommendation for the replacement of Clause IV. Since the 1997 general election there have been around 200 Fabian MPs in the Commons, amongst whom number nearly the entire Cabinet, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Robin Cook, Jack Straw, David Blunkett and Clare Short.

For a more extensive history of the Fabian Society, see Pugh and Mackesy's catalogue of the papers.

Edward Pease 1857-1945 was the sixth of fifteen children, was born at Henbury Hill, near Bristol on 23rd December, 1857. Edward was the grandson of Edward Pease (1767-1858) the railway entrepreneur. His parents were devout Quakers. Pease moved to London in 1874 where he found work as a clerk in his brother-in-law's textile firm. Later he became a partner in a brokerage company. The business was very successful, but Pease, who was gradually developing socialists ideas, became increasingly uncomfortable about his speculative dealings on the Stock Exchange. In the early 1880s Pease became friends with Frank Podmore (1856-1910), who invited him to join the Society for Physical Research. The following year, the two men, joined a socialist debating group established by Edith Nesbit and Hubert Bland. In January, 1884, the group became known as the Fabian Society. Podmore's home, 14 Dean's Yard, Westminster, became the official headquarters of the organisation. The success of 'Fabian Essays in Socialism' (1889) convinced the Fabian Society that they needed a full-time employee. In 1890 Pease was appointed as Secretary of the Society. In 1894 Henry Hutchinson, a wealthy solicitor from Derby, left the Fabian Society £10,000. Hutchinson left instructions that the money should be used for 'propaganda and socialism'. Hutchinson selected Pease, Sidney Webb (1859-1947) and Beatrice Webb (1858-1943) as trustees of the fund, and together they decided the money should be used to develop a new university in London. The London School of Economics (LSE) was founded in 1895. Pease was also a member of the Independent Labour Party. On 27th February 1900, Pease represented the Fabian Society at the meeting of socialist and trade union groups at the Memorial Hall in Farringdon Street, London. The Conference established a Labour Representation Committee (LRC). Pease was elected to the executive of the Labour Representation Committee (named the Labour Party after 1906) and held the post for the next fourteen years. Pease established the East Surrey Labour Party and served on local council.

Charlotte Wilson (1854-1944)was born in Kemerton, Overbury, Tewkesbury. Her father was surgeon to the Shrewsbury Union and to the Worcester Friendly Institution. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge. Sometime between 1880-1883 she married Arthur Wilson, a stockbroker who became editor of 'The Investors Review'. In 1884 she met Edward Pease, who introduced her to the Fabian Society. Wilson was elected a member of the society on 17th October 1884 and on 7th November read a paper to the society on anarchism. When the executive was established on 19th December she was made one of its members. Wilson left the Fabian Society in 1915 on the grounds of ill health. She was honorary secretary to the Prisoner of War Fund, Oxford and Bucks Regiment 1918-1919, and died at Irvington-on-Hudson, New York in 1944.

Margaret Harkness (1854-c1921) was a relative of the social reformer Beatrice Potter, and was born at Upton-upon-Severn in 1854. Her father was an Anglican priest. In 1877 she went to London to train at Westminster Hospital. In January 1878 she began as an apprentice dispenser, but around 1881 decided to try to earn a living as a journalist and author. Her first known publication was an article entitled 'Women as Civil Servants' in the liberal monthly journal 'Nineteenth Century'. At the same time she began writing books and novels. During the early 1880s she became interested in the social problems of London's East End. In January 1888 Harkness joined the group around Henry Hyde Champion (1859-1928), editor of the Social Democratic Federation's journal 'Justice', for which she published several of her articles. She left the group in 1889. In 1906 she went to India, where she stayed for several years working as a writer and probably a journalist. Harkness appears to have died some time after 1921.

Amber Blanco White, nee Reeves (b 1887) was the eldest daughter of William Pember Reeves (1857-1932), High Commissioner of New Zealand, and Maud Pember Reeves (1865-1953), a member of the Fabian Society's executive and founder of the Fabian Womens Group. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, gaining a double first in moral sciences. She was involved in the suffrage movement and the Fabian Society.