Mike Hicks (trade unionist)
Mike Hicks | |
---|---|
1st General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain | |
In office 1 January 1988 – 1 January 1998 | |
Succeeded by | Robert Griffiths |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Joseph Hicks 1 August 1937 |
Died | 7 September 2017 (aged 80) Bournemouth, Dorset, England |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Labour |
Other political affiliations | Communist Party of Britain (1988–1998) Communist Party of Great Britain (1953–1988) |
Spouse(s) | Rosemary Hicks (divorced), Mary Rosser (1989–2010, deceased)[1] |
Children | 2 |
Michael Joseph Hicks (1 August 1937 – 7 September 2017) was a British politician, executive member of printers’ union
Career
Hicks joined the Young Communist League in 1953 and later the Communist Party of Great Britain. He worked as a printer and was a member of the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT). A full-time branch official for the union in 1986,[2] Hicks was arrested and convicted of actual bodily harm during the Wapping dispute. His conviction and sentencing to 12 months in prison[3] were controversial, with the national executive committee of the Labour Party voting unanimously to call for his release.[4] He was expelled from the CPGB in 1984[5] "for allowing Rule 3(d) to be applied" as the chair of the London District Congress, i.e. continuing with the congress proceedings in defiance of a demand from CPGB General Secretary Gordon McLennan to close it down.[6]
He subsequently joined the
Death
Hicks died at age 80 on the evening of 7 September 2017 after collapsing while accepting the position of Honorary President of Bournemouth Labour Party at its annual general meeting.[10]
References
- ^ Obituary: Mary Rosser-Hicks, Daily Telegraph, 10 January 2011.
- ^ "Printers and police clash in Wapping". BBC. 15 February 2005.
- .
- ^ "Hansard". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 18 December 1986. col. 1339–1340.
- ISBN 9781134351657.
- ^ Stevenson, Graham. "The British Communist Party in the 1980s: revisionism, resistance and re-establishment".
- ^ "The Political Situation in Britain". The New Worker. New Communist Party of Britain.
- ^ Sullivan, John. "The Crisis at the Morning Star". What Next?. Archived from the original on 10 January 2005.
- ^ "Boscombe East – Candidates from Bournemouth Echo". bournemouthecho.co.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
- ^ Society, People's Printing Press. "Wapping veteran Mike Hicks dies aged 80". morningstaronline.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2023.