Following a series of organising meetings, they secured a cellar on Nabbs Lane, naming it the Social Democratic Club, and displayed a red flag inside.
James Bartley of the Bradford Labour Union was present, along with Allan Gee and Ben Turner, leading figures in the locally based West Riding Power Loom Weavers' Association.
Unlike the Bradford Labour Union organisation, it would cover a single Parliamentary constituency, and it was agreed to invite Tom Mann to contest it at the next general election.
Garside was the leading figure in the party's organisation, while Gee was its main publicist, writing regularly for the Yorkshire Factory Times in its support.
[1] Over the first couple of years, the party worked to establish branches throughout the constituency; by the end of 1892, there were labour clubs in Slaithwaite, Honley, Marsden, Milnsbridge, Golcar and Longwood, which organised social events, and also lectures.
[1] Mann showed some interest in contesting the Parliamentary seat, attending meetings of the party in August and October 1891, but initially he favoured focusing on trade unionism.
He again showed interest early in 1892, after he lost the election to become general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers, but ultimately he did not stand, probably due to financial concerns.
[1] The CVLU broadly supported the formation of the national Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1893, but followed Mann's lead in initially remaining separate.
[1] In 1897, the CVLU interviewed five possible successors to Mann as Prospective Parliamentary Candidate: Pete Curran, J. R. Clynes, Bruce Glasier, Leonard Hall and E. J.
Moorhouse was disqualified for having held membership for less than a year, Black and Glyde were deemed unsuitable, and Williams withdrew, preferring to contest Huddersfield.