Zusammenfassung der Ressource
General Strike 1926
- Events
- Began 3rd May 1926
- Ended 13th May 1926
- TUC organised in support of miners in the North East
- 2 million workers went on strike
- Dockers, Railwaymen and transport workers
- Refusal of print workers to publish Daily Mail paper attacking trade unions leads to strike
being called
- Govt and police reaction is aggressive. Mass picketing techniques used by strikers
- 11 May: TUC calls off strike and workers are left alone for November until
they forced to go back to work for less pay
- Reason For Failure
- Govt was ready: OMS headed
by Winston Churchill and
general strike was portrayed
as 'evil' through propaganda.
Military action also used
- Violence of the strikers and support from Communists led middle class to oppose strike
- Labour Leaders and TUC denounced the strike, leading to disorganisation and lack of funding and support
- Causes
- Trade Union Militancy
- Period of industrial unrest
- Triple Alliance formed
- Economic Depression
- Post-war economy was weak
- Return to gold standard crippled coal exports
- Fear of Communism
- Publication of forged Zinoviev Letter - Threat of revolution by workers
- Middle class in fear and less likely to give in to workers demands
- Coal Industry Issues
- Out of date industry
- 1921: Wages were cut and working hours increased
- 1925: Threat from mine owners to cut wages again.
General strike threat from Triple Alliance. 9 months
govt. subsidy
- March 1926: Samuel Commission recommends reorganisation of mining industry.
Wages should be cut by 13% but hours should not be increased. Neither miners nor
owners can compromise
- Impact
- Miners were defeated
- TUC was ruined - membership fell from 5.5 million in 1925 to only 3.75 million in 1930.
- General strikes were made illegal by the Trades Disputes Act 1927
- Labour Party won the 1929 elections
- Despite Stanley Baldwin's conciliatory approach, the
Conservatives lost