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During 1920 and 1921, Willie Gallacher was instrumental in bringing together the different British Marxist groupings to establish the Communist Party of Great Britain, and in the following years Gallacher devoted his energies to developing a nationwide base of electoral support for the CPGB. He also helped to build links between the CPGB and other left-wing groups, both in Britain and in Europe, and sought to ensure CPGB involvement and influence in the wider trades union movement. In 1922, Gallacher stood as a Communist candidate for Dundee and polled a respectable 5,906 votes. In 1923 he again contested the same parliamentary seat and this time polled 10,380 votes, although this was still not enough to win the contest.
In November 1925, along with 11 other leading members of the CPGB, Gallacher was arrested and put on trial for sedition and incitement to mutiny. At the subsequent trial these 12 CPGB members were all found guilty and sentenced to between six and 12 months' imprisonment. The trial and imprisonment of the CPGB leadership was seen as no mere coincidence. It was widely regarded as a ploy by the Conservative government to dispose of a serious political obstacle to their widely anticipated anti-trades union and wage-cutting policies.
In 1935, Gallacher won the parliamentary seat of West Dunfermline for the CPGB. He represented this constituency until 1951, and some commentators have suggested it was because of Gallacher's sterling work on behalf of his constituents, rather than any adherence on their part to communist ideals, that he was continually re-elected to represent this constituency. He lost his seat in the 1951 general election to Labour, the defeat being blamed in part on Gallacher's close identification with the Soviet Union and his uncritical admiration for Stalin during this period of heightened cold war tension.
Source: Maxton Collection, Paisley Museum and Art Galleries
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