25 October 1924: \u2018Zinoviev letter\u2019 story derails Labour\u2019s election hopes<\/h3>\n
Britain shocked by \u2018revolution plot\u2019 revealed in the Mail<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The mid-1920s was a febrile time in politics. After the fall of the Lloyd George coalition, a short-lived Tory government had given way to Ramsay MacDonald\u2019s similarly fleeting Labour administration, the first in Britain\u2019s history. By October, voters were once more poised to go to the polls. Beneath the surface simmered the fear of war and chaos, Bolshevism and revolution.<\/p>\n It was in this atmosphere that, on 25\u00a0October 1924, the fiercely conservative\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0broke an extraordinary story. \u201cCIVIL WAR PLOT BY SOCIALISTS\u2019 MASTERS\u201d screamed the headline. \u201cMoscow Orders to Our Reds \u2013 Great Plot Disclosed Yesterday \u2013 \u2018Paralyse the Army and Navy\u2019 \u2013 And Mr MacDonald Would Lend Russia Our Money!\u201d The\u00a0Mail<\/em>\u00a0explained that it had obtained a letter, allegedly written by the head of the Comintern (the international communist organisation), Grigory Zinoviev, to a British contact. Just months earlier MacDonald had officially recognised the Soviet government, to the fury of his more conservative critics. The letter seemed to cast his decision in a new and damning light.<\/p>\n \u201cA settlement of relations between the two countries,\u201d the letter ran, \u201cwill assist in the revolutionising of the international and British proletariat not less than a successful rising in any of the working districts of England, as the establishment of close contact between the British and Russian proletariat\u2026 will make it possible for us to extend and develop the propaganda of ideas of Leninism in England.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter was, in fact, a forgery. But who knew that at the time? Four days later, Britain went to the polls, Labour was defeated \u2013 and for decades supporters blamed the \u2018Zinoviev letter\u2019. | Read more about the history of the Labour party<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n In the presence of Edward III the bones of Saint Thomas Cantilupe, bishop of Hereford from 1275 to 1282, were reinterred in a new shrine at the east end of Hereford Cathedral.<\/p>\n Death of Sir William Cavendish, second husband of Bess of Hardwick.<\/p>\n Death of John Bird, former Bishop of Chester. A supporter of Henry VIII\u2019s divorce from Catherine of Aragon, he was involved in the negotiations over Henry\u2019s marriage to Anne of Cleves and was one of those sent by Thomas Cromwell to Germany to obtain her picture for the King. In 1541 he became the first bishop of the newly formed diocese of Chester but when Mary became queen he was ejected for having married. Setting aside his wife, he spent his remaining years as vicar of Great Dunmow in Essex.<\/p>\n An ailing George III made his last public appearance at a reception held at Windsor Castle to mark the 50th anniversary of his accession to the throne. He was described as appearing \u201cflustered and excited\u201d and within days was once again confined in a straitjacket.<\/p>\n The Conservative party won the general election by a narrow majority making Winston Churchill prime minister for the second time and sending the Labour party into opposition for 13 years.<\/p>\n Nelson Mandela was sentenced to five years imprisonment for inciting workers to strike and for leaving South Africa illegally. Two years later he was jailed for life for sabotage.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Browse more\u00a0On this day in history<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nJulian Humphrys rounds up smaller anniversaries\u2026<\/h4>\n
25 October 1349<\/h6>\n
25 October 1557\u00a0<\/h6>\n
25 October 1558<\/h6>\n
25 October 1810<\/h6>\n
25 October 1951<\/h6>\n
25 October 1962<\/h6>\n
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