In memory of John Collins

 

John Collins sadly died at his home in Hampstead, London, on January 17, 2011, of John Collins aged 71.

 

John, a Cambridge graduate and local government planning officer, was elected to the CSM Executive alongside me at its 1976 AGM. At that time, the CSM was a small organisation which had fewer than 500 members and had been heavily dependent on the personality of Lord Soper, its Chair, until the previous year. 

 

John was aware that the decline could be terminal and persuaded the EC with the support of its Chair, Canon Edward Charles, that a long term programme was needed to promote the Movement. A working group was set up which John convened in his office in Islington consisting of Stuart Masters, Leigh Hatts (General Secretary) and myself, which reported to the 1978 AGM. The plan envisaged a campaign which would eventually lead to a membership of 2500 – a figure which some of us thought of as wishful thinking. John’s plans included a high profile press campaign, vigorous recruiting, and the setting up of a branch structure.

 

A press conference was held in May 1978 at Kingsway Hall, London chaired by Lord Soper as CSM President and supported by John and I. Several members of the religious press attended and a major coup was the presence of Baden Hickman, Religious Affairs correspondent of The Guardian. The following day’s edition had a major report under the headline of ‘Souls Group Gets a Re-launch’. The re-launch ran successfully and a few years later John believed that more could be made of the AGM; both to attract members, as well as a means of publicity and recruitment. His proposal, which was adopted, was that the Tawney Lecture should be revived as the focal point of the AGM and also be published in pamphlet form, thus reviving CSM publications. 

 

John’s role in developing CSM was formalized by the office of Membership Secretary, which he held from 1980 to 1984. In 1985 he became General Secretary, a post he held until succeeded by Elizabeth Hogg in 1988. He remained on the EC as an active member into the following decade. During his tenure as General Secretary, by which time membership was in the region of 1300 in most years, John saw that the next step was to affiliate the Movement to the Labour Party. This caused debate at the AGM, but was agreed following a referendum of the membership. At first the Party, in the throes of the Black Sections controversy, had closed the door to affiliating new Socialist Societies, but changed its mind and CSM was accepted in 1989.

 

John was the epitome of the level-headed organiser which all organisations need. He sought no high public profile but quietly and diligently worked over two decades to fulfil his vision for the Christian Socialist Movement.

 

John’s attitude to New Labour was critical from the outset, although it came as a surprise when, typically without bombast, he decided to support the Green Party. 

 

It is impossible to pay tribute to the contribution which John made to CSM. The Movement owes much to what it is today to his vision and the practical work he gave unstintingly in its service.

 

We express our condolences to Judith and Stephen in their great loss, which is shared by all those in the CSM who knew John as a good colleague and a loyal friend.