Social Clubs: An Institution
I’m a member of Ponteland Social Club which is affiliated to the Club and Institute Union (CIU). I enjoy a pint (£3.50) alongside men and women from a range of backgrounds and ages. I can enjoy a game of darts or pool, pop in for a coffee and, as a CIU member, I can visit any other Social Club across the country. In the 1970s there were over four thousand CIU clubs in the UK with four million members, but now the number of clubs has dropped to around 1600.
The Working Men’s CIU was founded in 1862 by the Rev Henry Solly, a social reformer and temperance campaigner. Solly envisioned clubs as healthy alternatives to the pub and as sites of mutual aid and education. Member responsibility was encouraged, and soon members controlled the clubs and took over the CIU from its founding patrons. Within three years clubs had established the right to sell beer. Although the CIU is not affiliated to any political tradition, radical clubs emerged in London and elsewhere with many Labour and Liberal clubs. The CIU established democratic rules for running clubs and for representation on CIU committees. Education and training were provided for people undertaking these roles and many holding them went on to wider political careers: by 1922, clubmen accounted for 178 MPs, 474 county councillors, 1497 town councillors, 1242 district councillors, and 1030 magistrates.
Social clubs were (and are) non-profit organizations and soon began to invest in improved facilities and community activities. They became hubs of working-class culture and nurseries for a generation of comedians and entertainers who would become fixtures on our TV screens. By the 1970s social clubs were providing packed venues for international artists. So why the steady decline since? The communities that had been the bedrock of club membership were suffering the effects of deindustrialisation. As working conditions, welfare, and public services eroded, the thick bonds of friendship that extended from workplaces to communities to clubs eroded too. Alongside this, entertainment consisting of lunchtime strippers and Bernard Manning style comedy failed to keep up with changing cultural tastes. It wasn’t until 2007 that the CIU dropped ‘Working Men’s’ from its title and women were able to become full and active members. (At Ponteland Club both the Club Committee Chair and the Club Steward/ Manager are women).
Over the last twelve years, the need for community-owned spaces has increased. As libraries, youth clubs, and community centres are closing, as the price of an average pint in the pub is hurtling through £6, and as people worry about how to stay warm this winter it would be good to see more people discover the friendship and hospitality offered by Social Clubs.
Jamie Thompson