On 12 November 1954, Lee, together with a group of fellow English-educated middle-class men whom he described as "beer-swilling bourgeois", formed the 'socialist' People's Action Party (PAP) in an expedient alliance with the pro-communist trade unionists. This alliance was described by Lee as a marriage of convenience, since his English-speaking group needed the Chinese-speaking pro-communists' mass support base, while the communists needed a non-communist party leadership (PAP) as a 'smoke-screen', because the Malayan Communist Party was illegal.[citation needed]
At that time, almost 70% of Singaporeans spoke Chinese and various Chinese dialects as their native tongues. Those who spoke English as their native tongue comprised only 20% or so of the population and were therefore, a minority.[10] Their common aim was to agitate for self-government and put an end to British colonial rule.
An inaugural conference was held at the Victoria Memorial Hall, attended by over 1,500 supporters and trade unionists. Lee became secretary-general, a post he held until 1992, save for a brief period in 1957.