ILP & PLP

Bc the new unions had been defeated a lot, the weapon of the strike was not seen as an effective tool anymore, workers had believed in strikes when they were victorious, but now with lockouts you had to fight on another arena à trying to obtain concessions in the House of Commons, with laws in parliament (change in strategy for labour mvmt, turning to electoral politics). Last time liberals had been in office they were disappointing, so new horizon imagined à why not building a party for workers? (employers had the liberal party, aristocrats/landowners had the tories). Idea championed by K. Hardie: a Scottish miner: in 1888 he decided to stand as an independent candidate for the labourers à defeated by idea emerging for trade unionists to compete in elections.

This materialised more or less in 1892: in a general election 3 independent labour candidate elected (not a lot but symbolically imp). Electoral arena plausible and realistic bc of the 1884 Reform Act à right to vote granted to a larger proportion of men, so general election of 1885 around 1 man out of 2 could vote (still not all workers and not the poorest [had to pay taxes and own property]) à a certain proportion of the working class allowed to vote. 2 of the elected labour candidates immediately back to the liberal party, one H. Wilson, leader of the seamen’s union, very nationalist, a traitor to the cause of labour. K. Hardie the only one who remained associated to the labour party. He was also a Christian socialist, believed in reconciling the rich and poor, believed in social dialogue and compromise, critical of the aristocracy, in favour of social reform, a feminist and wrote about the cause of women in his newspaper.

1893: creation of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in Bradford founded by K. Hardie. Program of the ILP about social reform (better housing, education for all…). BUT it does not call itself socialist, despite Hardie being one and socialists helping in its formation à Fabian party involved, socialist league involved, but the SDF refuses to take part in the creation of the ILP bc not radical enough. ILP did not call itself socialist but became a member of the Socialist International (founded 1889, the second internation).

Trade unions’ reaction: most of them at first did not support the ILP, esp the New Model Unions (the most conservative) bc still hoped the liberal party would be the best partners, did not want to form a rival party and compromise their relation with libs. Cf the miners’ union: very close links with the libs, very reluctant to creation of the party they saw as an unnecessary rival. Libs very often employers who used ruthless methods against their employees.  BUT in 1899: TUC votes for the first time in favour of a motion making a step towards independent labour representation in the parliament (in vague terms). This led in 1900 to formation of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC): goal to finance electoral campaigns in the coming elections to support labour candidates. But majority of trade union leaders did not support it still, major boost came from employers themselves convincing them it was the only way (???)

1901: the Taff Vale case à a turning point in rise of labour party, a judgment forced a trade union (union of railway men) to reimburse an employer for the financial losses caused by a strike à forcing that union to reimburse the loss was a death sentence for that union (bc big losses made). So when unions learnt about the judgment they realised that all of them were in danger, next strike could cost them everything. Wanted to overturn it: a new legislation needed to be adopted, only way was with MPs of their own. In months following Taff Vale, every big union in the country giving money to the LRC à their united support led to dozens of candidates being present under LRC in 1906 elections, this time it was 29 labour MPs elected è a breakthrough, encouraging +++.  After being elected, the MPs chose to call themselves the Labour Party (at first the Parliamentary Labour Party, PLP): the same one as today. LRC supported by the ILP, the Fabians, even by the SDF à when LRC disappears after elections bc of the PLP, it was strictly a parliamentary group with very informal backing around the country (no national structure/network). Labour Party acquires a more solid structure in 1918, no socialist program.

PLP grew in size quickly 1909: miners with the liberal label ditched the latter and adopted the labour label à now 42 MPs thanks to this addition of liberal miner MPs. Finally social reforms and change? Not really, very frustrating experience: debates about strategy to adopt etc. In 1903: a secret agreement between LRC and the liberals, had agreed not to stand against each other in the elections (learnt later), libs led by Ramsay MacDonald à so if a conservative candidate, no lib should stand in the way of labour and reverse. Supporters of the labour party did not know about it. Other disappointing feature: from 1906-1910 à a liberal gov in power, but the labour party completely subordinated to the libs, who introduced some social measures (bc of past labour mvmts) but labour MPs were not really independent (mostly followed libs). Disappointed towards Labour MPs.

This led to the Great Labour Unrest: frustration towards Labour MPs, the Lib gov… 1910-1914: Brit society underwent its biggest strike wave ever, direct action on the largest scale ever. Shift away from electoral arena and back to direct strike action in the workplace bc MPs more or less useless. Use strike wave in diff phases (see article icampus). Rebirth of the new unions: unskilled workers played prominent role in that period, cf spectacular strikes in ports involving seamen, dockers… Troops intervening and firing sometimes, ppl killed on occasions, warships sent to some estuaries, unprecedented scale. Churchill hated by the miners bc of the killings in a mining village called Tonypandy (cf Tonypandy riot).

Rise of the doctrine called “syndicalism”: not a synonym for trade unionism, it means revolutionary trade unionism, it plays a part in the radicalism of that period à brit syndicalists borrowed their ideas from French CGT: direct action, general strike, one big unions instead of several based on trade. Never very numerous in GB, but do play a role in this period, cf Tom Mann was the champion of syndicalism during the great labour unrest.