"...He laid this stuff down whereby you had to sing from where you came from," complains revival singer Bob Davenport. "Traditional music was for entertaining, it wasn't for a further education class." For MacColl and other hardliners, folk music was a revolutionary tonic to fortify the troops against the advancing pop-music hordes....

I'm reading the above as neither Davenport's nor MacColl's perspective on folk music. It's Davenport's complaint about MacColl as 'folk' music producer/manager. MacColls own words on that subject are absent and, little doubt, not the same as Davenport's.

And said opinion would certainly include MacColl on political education/indoctrination's part in his so-called 'folk' process.

Hugill? First, forget about the 'history' and the 'science.' Second, ignore the frowners. Third, have all the fun you can squeeze out of those forebitters. They ain't shanties... no matter where the folk club singer is from.