ABSTRACT
The Independent Labour Party was founded in January, 1893, at a Conference at which the Fabian Society of London and nine local Fabian Societies were represented, and from this time onward our provincial organisation declined until, in 1900, only four local and four University Societies remained. The parent society would send them lecturers, supply them with literature and “Fabian News,” and report their doings in the “News.” The only local Fabian Society which survived the debacle was Liverpool, which has carried on work similar to that of the London Society down to the present time. It is impossible to estimate how far the Progressive policy of London in the early nineties is to be attributed to the influence of the Fabian Society. The Fabian Society knew the Government departments from the inside, and it was easy for the Executive to ascertain how labour was treated under each chief, what he had done and what he had left undone.
