Kaye M Brutton was a Communist councillor in Wolverhampton, elected in particular circumstances.
He had been a popular and elected Labour councillor, who had been a Daily Worker supporter at least since 1940. Having finally left the Labour Party for the Communist Party, but in such a way that Labour was prevented from finding a replacement official candidate in time, he then won a stunning victory in the November 1945 municipal elections.
In a clear display of support for Labour-Communist unity, electors helped Kaye Brutton knock out the Conservative mayor as the sitting councillor in a straight fight. Bruton polled 673 to the Tory’s 595. His membership of the Communist Party was certainly publicly known, nonetheless, most Labour voters seemed to have no difficulty in voting for a Communist when presented with a unity choice over a Tory.
Not only that, but Brutton was joined on the council by another more normally elected Communist councillor by the name of Lewis. Doris Bootman, another communist polled nearly a thousand votes.
Brutton announced in 1948 he was to continue his council work in St James ward as an Independent.
Source: Daily Worker October 25th, November 3rd 1945; 21 August 1948 – Staffordshire Advertiser
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