Council Workers

The Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Delegates was established on 3 June 1917 at the Leeds Convention held in Leeds, England. The founding conference was attended by 1,150 delegates. It was inspired by the events of the Russian February Revolution. When news of the February Revolution (8–12 March 1917) in Russia spread to the British Isles, it inspired the labour movement to celebrate the event. The first event was a meeting organised in the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 31 March. This was attended by 10,000 people with a further 5,000 outside, for whom there was no space. The Leeds Convention established the organisation, which had the support of both the Independent Labour Party and the British Socialist Party. However, a few months later, the Bolshevik October Revolution took place; the participants had different attitudes towards it, and the council collapsed.