George Knibb 1949-2025

Many people in Liverpool will know the name George Knibb. He touched individual lives because he had a dogged determination to make a difference in a world that can be cruel and unforgiving for the working-class. I first met him ten years ago at a meeting of Wavertree Constituency Labour Party at a time when people had joined to support Jeremy Corbyn. I warmed to him immediately because of his precise, colourful and lurid descriptions of those who were trying to sabotage the left. As someone who’d left Liverpool in 1982 I was keen to hear his account of the City’s politics when the Council dared to oppose the vicious policies of Thatcherism. A history lesson from George was littered with sparkling anecdotes that brought everything to life. He was a repository of facts and wisdom unencumbered by personal ego.

George was a generous and thoughtful man. His committment to socialism was not just ideological but personal. During the pandemic he locked himself down to the task of helping others. He drove around the city delivering food parcels for the isolated and vulnerable giving no thought for his personal safety.

In 1987 George was elected to the Council and served for many years. Decades later he had another go as the successful Labour candidate in Norris Green. Unsurprisingly it wasn’t long before he resigned from the Labour group.

In this clip from the film ‘The Anatomy Of A Witch Hunt’ you can see George battling as an independent Councillor against the austerity policies of Liverpool City Council:

Felicity Dowling writes: “George Knibb had many talents and many chapters in his working-class political work. These are some of my memories of George. We all know people who do great work, but not all of them make you smile when you meet up or, as now, when we remember them. Paul Astbury, from the Liverpool 47 surcharged councillors, said, “George had character; he was somebody who could walk into a room and make a difference.”

George was part of the wonderful Croxteth Comprehensive School occupation in 1982. The Liberal council had been closing schools in the poorest areas of the city of Liverpool for some time, but the pupils, parents and community of Croxteth were having none of it! George and his brother Phil were important activists in this unique struggle. The council withdrew funding, so all the resources – from teachers to equipment – had to be fundraised, and, more importantly, solidarity had to be built across the city and the country.

I was teaching in Liverpool and involved in the National Union of Teachers. We were working on a plan to stop the random closures of schools, and to reorganise and improve the state secondary schools in the city. Croxteth was a beacon, not only in Liverpool but nationally.

During the occupation, the children in the school thrived. As a teacher, I admired the work that George did in maintaining the discipline of pupils. Most of the children at the school wanted to be there, and their parents wanted them to be there and to learn – but sometimes kids will be kids. Answering to George must have been far tougher than answering to an ordinary teacher, even when he had his broken leg and was working on crutches. Most of their dads would not have wanted to answer to George!

The school remained under occupation until Labour won control of the city in 1983, and that occupation was part of what explained that victory – very much against the national trend. The school could not be fully funded until it was legally recognised as a school, but the newly elected Labour council in 1983 was in full support of the demand to save Croxteth Comprehensive School.

In 1984, I was elected – on the “no cuts to jobs and services, no rate rises, create 1,000 jobs and build 1,000 houses” manifesto – to Liverpool City Council. I became Chair of Schools, tasked with implementing the plan for state secondary schools developed first by the NUT and then by the District Labour Party. It was a mountain of a task, and George and the Croxteth team were deeply involved.

We sent a team of specialist teachers into Croxteth Comprehensive to assess what help the children of the occupation required to catch up, but found they did not need any catching up. The children coming fresh into Year 7, however, needed a lot of help – showing the damage of years of cuts to education in the city. The newly re-opened school had a great staff and became an excellent school. The community support remained strong.

George came to work in the Central Strategy Unit of the city council. The housing and regeneration strategy work in the Croxteth area was exceptional, and the close community links mattered.

George was part of the crucial team during the intense day-to-day strategy of the fight against the Thatcher government. “Intense” hardly describes it. Day-by-day strategy in challenging both Thatcher and Kinnock mattered, but so did keeping the houses going up, creating jobs, improving the schools, and maintaining the conversation with the working class in Liverpool and beyond. It was always a two-way conversation. George could discuss policies and campaigns with working-class people, see through the bullshit, and bring important points to the discussions. He was part of the liaison with local authority manual workers, who were the bulwark of our support, and he became a respected and trusted intermediary.

When we, as councillors, were disbarred from office for fighting Thatcher, George was one of the “second eleven” councillors who were elected to keep up the struggle for jobs and services. He became involved in another monumental battle – the battle of the Poll Tax. Most of the councillors caved in and the Labour Party turned to the right. The struggle ebbed in Liverpool, but George remained an independent councillor for many years.

We had a long fight to raise the huge surcharge imposed on the Liverpool 47, and George was always with us in that time.

I was one of several councillors expelled from Labour, and had less contact with George after that. He was always a comrade – always ready with a laugh, a joke and a helping hand in any campaign. Thinking of George reminds me that we can fight, we can win, and we can always laugh.”

On 22 May 1986 Tony Benn made a diary entry that mentioned George in connection with the witch hunt against Liverpool Socialists: “At 4.30 in the afternoon, Councillor Harry Smith from Liverpool Council was brought in – a short, round-faced man with curly hair and twinkling eyes – and with him was a sallow-faced man with dark hair who kept whispering in his ear. Smith said, ‘I should introduce the man I have brought with me. His name is George Knibb – of course, that’s only his pen-name.’ Everybody burst out laughing, he was a very amusing man, though deadly earnest in what he said. He was only being charged with membership of the Militant Tendency, not with malpractice. They asked for a deferment and withdrew, and Kinnock moved that we did not let him consult with his solicitor. Blunkett said he thought we should wait. Hattersley moved that we proceed, and that was carried by 12 to 7. When they came back in, Harry Smith protested. ‘What would happen if I walked out? I am very nervous. Ian Lowes has been done in and I’m afraid you are going to do me in too. It’s like two murderers before a court. The judge says, “we’ve hanged one now, we’d better hang the other.” I’m going.’ So he left, but at 5.30 he returned …… At 6.42, by which time he had completely charmed the meeting, we had the final statement. He said, ‘I apologise for leaving when I did. It has been a comradely meeting. I hope you believe me. I hope I have satisfied you, and I would like to thank you for the comradely treatment I have received.’ It was quite clear that, with McCluskie, Kitson, Blunkett and Meacher voting in favour, Kinnock would lose. So Kinnock said, ‘We’ve heard the explanation, a very candid reply. Not being disingenuous, I think we should withdraw the charges to prove that we listened carefully.’ This was the point – he was anxious to let one person off so he could argue that he had been fair. He knew he would lose, and I think he was quite happy to let Smith off to ensure there was no vote. By 9.30 pm we had expelled two more members, and acquitted Harry Smith.”

Clearly George – “the man with dark hair who kept whispering” in the ear of Harry Smith was an effective advocate!

Tony Benn made another interesting diary observation on 8 May 1986: “Kinnock is openly arguing for capitalism, and the rest are accepting that Thatcher has won the argument but her Government might be replaced…. Looking back on it, I must recognise that the Labour Party has never been a socialist party, it has never wanted social transformation, it has always had a right-wing Leader, it has always wanted to pursue these policies, and it is only when circumstances require a change that the pressure comes from underneath for a transformation.”

Tony Benn was on the right side of history – and so was George Knibb.