Trade Unions + Rise of Labour Party

1880/90s

There was a recovery of trade → numbers of trade unions grew

Dockers’ Strike 1889

Victory for the unskilled work force

Drew attention to poverty of such people in Victorian Britain

New Unionism 1890s

Formation of several trade unions that were far more working class than had been previously the case

Many of these unions represented unskilled/less skilled labour → power remained in hands of employers, who could replace them during a strike

Union Membership 1892

Over 1,500,000

Growth accompanied by growth in **militancy**

miners’ lock out 1893 saw widespread violence + new tactic of trying to stop as many mines as possible from working

1897-8 strike of Amalgamated Society of Engineers

defeated by employers

caused workers to seek **political** action instead of trade union action

seemed union only addressed wages + working hours, not the wider problem of **widespread poverty**

Taff Vale Judgement 1900

Strike in Taff Vale Railway company resulted in company seeking an injunction against the union for picketing of stations in Cardiff

Injunction granted + union made liable

Taff Vale Decision 1901

Undermined right to strike

Unions had to pay unlimited damages to their employers for any revenue lost in the strike

Labour Representation Committee

Liberals rejected working class men

1899: Trade Union Congress decided to get more labour representation in Parliament

1900: TUC sent 129 delegates to TUC conference + formed the LRC.

1901-03: all major unions except miners supported the LRC as unions realised they needed representation in Parliament.

1903: membership >861,000

1900 Election

Keir Hardie and Richard Bell (LRC MPs) elected

1906 Liberal Victory

Labour got 29 MPs

Once at Westminster, renamed to Labour Party

Labour-Liberal alliance

agreed not to challenge each other for seats they could win from Conservatives

Labour supported Liberals

helped government pass much of its social reform legislation, i.e. National Insurance Bill 1911

Osborne Legal Judgement 1910

trade union members had to ‘contract in’ if they wanted some of their wages to go to a trade union - before the judgement they had to ‘contract out’

(reduces funding for trade unions)

1910 + 1911 Elections

40 and 42 seats

Trade Disputes Act 1913

helped expansion of Labour Party

WW1

leading Labour members were in the coalition directing the war effort

Fair rent and price controls

led to Labour being the working class party

Post-WW1

Liberals in disarray allowed Labour to emerge as the official opposition to the Conservatives