The Daily Mail published the Zinoviev letter, a hoax purported to be a directive from Moscow to increase communist agitation, pushing the Conservative Party to a landslide victory in the UK general election four days later.

Daily Mail

British tabloid newspaper

The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. As of 2020, it has the highest circulation of paid newspapers in the UK. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982, a Scottish edition was…

Zinoviev letter

Forged document circulated by the Daily Mail during the UK general election of 1924

The Zinoviev letter was a forged document published and sensationalised by the British Daily Mail newspaper four days before the 1924 United Kingdom general election, which was held on 29 October. The letter purported to be a directive from Grigory Zinoviev, the head of the…

Communist Party of Great Britain

Communist party in the United Kingdom that existed from 1920 to 1991

The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB founded the Daily Worker. In 1936,…

Conservative Party (UK)

Political party in the United Kingdom

The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It sits on the centre-right to right-wing of the left–right political spectrum.…

1924 United Kingdom general election

The 1924 United Kingdom general election was held on Wednesday 29 October 1924, as a result of the defeat of the Labour minority government, led by Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, in the House of Commons on a motion of no confidence. It was the third general election to be held…