Enthused by socialism until the end
Iain Dalton, Socialist Party Yorkshire secretary
Frank Holt, a member of Leeds and West Yorkshire Socialist Party, living in Todmorden, sadly passed away after a long illness on 22 August. Frank had been a supporter of Militant (Socialist Party’s predecessor) in the Rochdale area when he worked for BT.
He had been active in the Post Office Engineering Union (one of the forerunners of the Communication Workers Union – CWU). He was known as ‘Red Frank’ to his colleagues.
After some time as a subscriber to Socialism Today and the Socialist in the 2010s, Frank rejoined the Socialist Party during the Covid lockdown, after a discussion with then circulation manager Chris Newby. Frank would Zoom into Socialist Party meetings, and regularly add to the discussion on issues around the environmental crisis and the economy.
Frank had multiple spells in hospital over recent years, which limited his ability to be fully active, but was overjoyed at the response we got on a stall in Todmorden in 2022, selling ten Socialist papers in an hour.
He had intended to stand as a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate in the local council elections, but ill health prevented that. Frank made several generous donations, particularly to enable young members to attend national conferences. Less than a month ago, he rang me up after making a donation enthused on the potential progress towards a new mass workers’ party.
