National emergency conference on Spain: report of delegates from London Trades Council

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NATIONAL EMERGENCY CONFERENCE ON SPAIN.
Queen's Hall, April 23rd, 1938. 
REPORT OF DELEGATES FROM LONDON TRADES COUNCIL.
As representatives of the Council the undersigned attended the National Emergency Conference on Spain, which was held in London on April 23rd.
The Conference was called by Members of Parliament of all parties and supported by a large number of representative people.   The response of the democratic bodies to this call to save Spain and defeat Fascism was more than encouraging.   A few details from the report of the Credentials Committee will serve to show the wide appeal which the Conference made.
1806 delegates attended to represent 1205 organisations.  There were represented:-
258 T.U. Organisations with 461 delegates 
(this included  10 National committees
22 District Committees 
226 Branches) 
236 L.P. organisations with 345 delegates 
(this included 176 T.C. and Div. L.P.
60 local L.P. and Ward organisations)
80 Co-operative Organisations with 111 delegates 
144 Communist Party      " "    195 "
29 Liberal Party " "     " 34 "
52 Youth Political       " "       78 "
) Aid Spain Committees ( 
) Peace Councils ( 
309 ) L.N.U. Branches (       "     432 "
) Left Book Club (
10 Factory & Shop Stewards Cttees.     15 "
20 Religious & Cultural Orgns.  30 "
65 Miscellaneous Bodies with 105 "
The Conference was the first of its kind to be held in this country and the delegates had come together to deal with one special and vital question - Spain.   Not unnaturally a great deal of time was spent in the denunciation of the murderous attack which is being made upon the Spanish people, but it was abundantly clear that the fight of the Spanish democrats for Liberty, Justice and Peace is something which transcends Party "Loyalty" and Party interests.   The great desire of the Conference was to do something to save the Spanish people.
The very moving speech of Mr. Fred Copeman who had just returned from fighting with the International Brigade, the personal account by Sir Peter Chalmers Mitchell of his experience in Franco territory, and the report of Harry Pollitt of his recent visit to the front line trenches in Spain, put the essential facts vividly and realistically before the Conference.   Much could be said of the contributions made in the discussion by the delegates from the Miners, the Seamen and others, but the resolution and Programme of Action which was unanimously decided upon at the conference summarises the essential aims which the delegates set themselves to carry into their organisations.   The Conference found common agreement upon the following vital points: