The national rise of the Labour Party seems to have provoked undergraduates to create their own Labour Club at the end of the 1910s.
This was partly motivated by 'a considerable number of the present associates, who were not satisfied with the extremism' of CUSS and by a decline in the attendance and frequency of meetings, perhaps owing to the widespread intimidation of socialists.

On 14 April 1920 CULC was duly formed.
As a direct result members of CUSS resolved to become a study circle within the Labour Club.
To maintain its distinctive identity Maurice Dobb proposed that CUSS 'should hold meetings with speakers too "red" for the Labour Club, but, by some strange jugglery, under Labour Club auspices – particularly financial auspices'.
It certainly retained a more radical position than most CULC members, remaining committed to 'common ownership', 'workers' control', and building a 'revolutionary working-class movement'.
 Of all the 'red' speakers it invited, the most prominent was Leonid Krasin of the USSR, the People’s Commissar of Foreign Trade, who could not attend in 1922 owing to the Geneva Conference.
Nonetheless, they were addressed by Hugh Dalton on foreign policy, Harold Laski, Dobb, and Russell.

But with no meetings held at all between November 1923 and January 1925, it seems that the reasons for the formation of CULC had resonated with University socialists.
Indeed, on 8 May 1925 Dobb proposed that CUSS be organised as a society which supported the Labour Research Department, or perhaps trained teachers for the Plebs League or the Labour Colleges, or worked with local minority movements: as 'a body doing definite work', it might then retain some popularity and relevance.

CULC attracted a wide array of prominent speakers.
Beginning in 1920 with Fred Bramley, Assistant General Secretary of the TUC, it was soon visited by the MPs J. C. Wedgwood, Margaret Bondfield, Ramsay MacDonald, and Ellen Wilkinson; and the academics Raymond Postgate, Joseph Needham, Harold Laski, Bertrand Russell, R. H. Tawney, and many others.
From MacDonald’s visit in 1925, half of all profits (equating to nearly £15) were sent to the strikers in Shepreth.
CULC was also close to the Cambridge Labour Party, gaining the attendance of Cllr William Briggs, Hugh Dalton, Cllr Clara Rackham, and Alec Firth.
More broadly, the Club organised summer schools with the University Labour Federation (ULF), ran a library, held Sunday teas, and ran research committees.
Perhaps CULC was a little too assiduous in its political education and canvassing: in January 1922 it was forced to move its premises as the landlord refused to renew the club’s lease 'on the grounds that the Club did not drink enough beer'.

Despite its exposed left flank CULC grew rapidly and became the largest student political society by the late 1920s.
By 1924 there were around 100 paying members and in 1925 David Hardman was elected as the first ever socialist President of the Cambridge Union Society; two CULC members, A L Hutchinson and the future educationalist Lionel Elvin, would succeed him.
CULC would play an important role in campaigning in the town.
They participated in the campaigns for the parliamentary elections in 1922, 1923, and 1924.
The last of those elections saw CULC make a special effort in the county Labour Party.
But it was the selection of Hardman which truly motivated members.
They began canvassing for Hardman in 1927 and organising socials with college workers and trade union gatherings for him.
They were also entrusted to organise the entire campaign in Castle, a ward which covered most of the areas of the present-day Newnham and Castle wards.

However, CULC would soon run into its own political difficulties.
The political divisions among members were made clear as the club changed its name to Cambridge University Labour Society in 1927 and Cambridge University Labour and Socialist Club in 1928.
As the national party confronted the divide created by the leadership’s response to the financial crisis in 1929, CULC 'feeling unwilling to tie itself officially to an ap
The national rise of the Labour Party seems to have provoked undergraduates to create their own Labour Club at the end of the 1910s. This was partly motivated by 'a considerable number of the present associates, who were not satisfied with the extremism' of CUSS and by a decline in the attendance and frequency of meetings, perhaps owing to the widespread intimidation of socialists.
On 14 April 1920 CULC was duly formed. As a direct result members of CUSS resolved to become a study circle within the Labour Club. To maintain its distinctive identity Maurice Dobb proposed that CUSS 'should hold meetings with speakers too "red" for the Labour Club, but, by some strange jugglery, under Labour Club auspices – particularly financial auspices'. It certainly retained a more radical position than most CULC members, remaining committed to 'common ownership', 'workers' control', and building a 'revolutionary working-class movement'.  Of all the 'red' speakers it invited, the most prominent was Leonid Krasin of the USSR, the People’s Commissar of Foreign Trade, who could not attend in 1922 owing to the Geneva Conference. Nonetheless, they were addressed by Hugh Dalton on foreign policy, Harold Laski, Dobb, and Russell.
But with no meetings held at all between November 1923 and January 1925, it seems that the reasons for the formation of CULC had resonated with University socialists. Indeed, on 8 May 1925 Dobb proposed that CUSS be organised as a society which supported the Labour Research Department, or perhaps trained teachers for the Plebs League or the Labour Colleges, or worked with local minority movements: as 'a body doing definite work', it might then retain some popularity and relevance.
CULC attracted a wide array of prominent speakers. Beginning in 1920 with Fred Bramley, Assistant General Secretary of the TUC, it was soon visited by the MPs J. C. Wedgwood, Margaret Bondfield, Ramsay MacDonald, and Ellen Wilkinson; and the academics Raymond Postgate, Joseph Needham, Harold Laski, Bertrand Russell, R. H. Tawney, and many others. From MacDonald’s visit in 1925, half of all profits (equating to nearly £15) were sent to the strikers in Shepreth. CULC was also close to the Cambridge Labour Party, gaining the attendance of Cllr William Briggs, Hugh Dalton, Cllr Clara Rackham, and Alec Firth. More broadly, the Club organised summer schools with the University Labour Federation (ULF), ran a library, held Sunday teas, and ran research committees. Perhaps CULC was a little too assiduous in its political education and canvassing: in January 1922 it was forced to move its premises as the landlord refused to renew the club’s lease 'on the grounds that the Club did not drink enough beer'.
Despite its exposed left flank CULC grew rapidly and became the largest student political society by the late 1920s. By 1924 there were around 100 paying members and in 1925 David Hardman was elected as the first ever socialist President of the Cambridge Union Society; two CULC members, A L Hutchinson and the future educationalist Lionel Elvin, would succeed him. CULC would play an important role in campaigning in the town. They participated in the campaigns for the parliamentary elections in 1922, 1923, and 1924. The last of those elections saw CULC make a special effort in the county Labour Party. But it was the selection of Hardman which truly motivated members. They began canvassing for Hardman in 1927 and organising socials with college workers and trade union gatherings for him. They were also entrusted to organise the entire campaign in Castle, a ward which covered most of the areas of the present-day Newnham and Castle wards.
However, CULC would soon run into its own political difficulties. The political divisions among members were made clear as the club changed its name to Cambridge University Labour Society in 1927 and Cambridge University Labour and Socialist Club in 1928. As the national party confronted the divide created by the leadership’s response to the financial crisis in 1929, CULC 'feeling unwilling to tie itself officially to an ap
Cambridge University Labour Club