Robert Griffiths (politician)
| Robert Griffiths | |
|---|---|
Robert Griffiths in 2011
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| General Secretary of the Communist Party of Britain | |
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Assumed office 1 January 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Mike Hicks |
| Welsh Socialist Republican Movement | |
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In office 1979–1982 |
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| Preceded by | New position |
| Succeeded by | Position Ended |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Robert David Griffiths 21 April 1952 Cardiff, Wales |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Communist Party of Britain |
| Other political affiliations |
Plaid Cymru (1974–78) WSRM (1979–1982) Communist Party of Great Britain (until 1988) |
Robert David Griffiths (born 1952) is the general secretary of the Communist Party of Britain. He was elected by the CPB's Executive Committee in January 1998, in place of Mike Hicks.
Griffiths was born in Cardiff where he attended Bryn Hafod primary school and Cardiff High School. Later he went to the University of Bath to study economics before taking a position as a parliamentary research officer for Plaid Cymru in 1974. He stayed in the post until 1979; it was a difficult year for the party, which had faced defeat in the Welsh devolution referendum and the loss of Gwynfor Evans' seat in the general election. With a reduced presence in Westminster the party had no need of a large parliamentary staff and Griffiths was made redundant.
In July 1979 he collaborated with Gareth Miles to publish Socialism for the Welsh People, a pamphlet which was critical of Plaid Cymru for its "opportunism" and alleged subservience to the British state. The pamphlet called for the creation of a Welsh Socialist Republican Movement, which was founded by Griffiths, Miles and others in January 1980. Griffiths served as the organisation's secretary and wrote for its magazine 'the Arrow' (Welsh: Y Saeth).
During George Galloway's attempt to be selected as the Labour candidate for Rhondda in the 1983 general election, Griffiths brought him along to events and introduced him to local people. However, Galloway failed to win the selection, and instead Allan Rogers stood as the Labour candidate. Rogers became the seat's MP.
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