{"title":"‘Mondism’: Talking to Big Business 1927–28","authors":"Mary Davis, John Foster","doi":"10.3828/liverpool/9781800859715.003.0007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781800859715.003.0007","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter discusses the attempt to forge a social partnership with the employers. The lesson Bevin and the TUC learned from the General Strike was class warfare was never to be repeated and that capitalism was here to stay. Citrine and Bevin argued that 'trade unionism has reached the end of a defensive stage in its evolution' and that its new aim should be to join with employers in to raise industry to its highest efficiency. Alfred Mond and 21 other employers mainly in the newer industries responded favourably leading to the Mond-Turner talks leading to a set of proposals were agreed which the TUC regarded as the foundation of the industrial relations of the future in contrast to the 'outdated' conflictual model of the militants. Bevin led these discussions. The main employers' organisations representing the older industries overwhelmingly rejected the Mond-Turner proposals.","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130950325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The General Strike 1926","authors":"Mary Davis, J. Foster","doi":"10.3828/liverpool/9781800859715.003.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3828/liverpool/9781800859715.003.0005","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter examines the operation of general strike and includes detailed regional and sectoral trade union responses to it, highlighting in particular the wholehearted involvement of the TGWU and Bevin’s initial enthusiastic supportive leadership. However, the chapter examines how after 9 days the TUC on the initiative of the NUR leader, J.H.Thomas, fell into a trap, and called off the strike on the false assumption indicated by the Samuel memorandum, of government involvement in securing a settlement. This was not forthcoming –TUC called off the strike without winning a single concession and the miners were defeated. Baldwin’s portrayed the strike as a constitutional challenge to State authority, encapsulated in the question: ‘Who rules Britain?’ TUC answered with a white flag.","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132508945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preparations for the General Strike 1925–26","authors":"Mary Davis, J. Foster","doi":"10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.11","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter examines the way in which the government prepared to tame the labour movement and assert control in the face of continued rank-and-file militancy. This proved to be a harder task than Baldwin anticipated as evidenced by the government climb down on Red Friday 1925. Assisted by right wing forces in the Labour Party and in the trade unions, the government launched an ideological offensive against the left. Once again miners were at centre stage of the managerial offensive to inflict wage reductions and the government, in supporting the interests of big business, made assiduous preparations for the forthcoming industrial offensive. The TUC failed to prepare.","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115717437","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The TGWU and the Labour Movement 1922–24","authors":"Mary Davis, J. Foster","doi":"10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.9","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter looks at the increasingly polarised left/right battles within the TGWU and wider labour movement. It examines the influence of the Communist Party and rank-and-file organisations such as the National Minority Movement and the National Unemployed Workers Movement. Bevin, in opposing the communist led left, confronted the unofficial dock strikes, but was nonetheless critical of the first minority Labour government, during which two official strikes - one of London bus and tramway workers and the other of dockers were supported by the union’s leadership, despite the discomfiture caused to the labour government. The position of women in the new union is also considered.","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114739054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Labour Rescued","authors":"Mary Davis, J. Foster","doi":"10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.19","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.19","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter discusses economic policies, public spending (the May committee’s proposals) and the reaction to the fall of the Labour government. The economic problems in the wake of the Wall Street crash were debated in the Macmillan Committee on Finance and Industry on which Bevin sat. He signed both the main report submitted in 1931, (which offered little) and the minority report drafted by Keynes. The May Committee proposed drastic cuts in public spending including cuts in unemployment benefit. Both the TUC and the TGWU rejected these proposals as did many Labour MPs. However MacDonald, Thomas and Snowden supported the cuts and joined with the Tories to form a National Government in order to implement them. The Labour government fell and the number of its MP’s fell to 46 in the 1931 general election.","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126068444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Setting the Scene 1880–1920","authors":"Mary Davis, J. Foster","doi":"10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.7","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter discusses the militancy of the period, staring with the Great Dock Strike of 1881and the expansion of ‘new unionism’ to unskilled workers. It examines the mass militancy of the ‘great unrest’, its continuation during WW1 and the impact of the Russian Revolution. This, and the employers’ counter-offensive, set the scene for the impetus to initiate trade union alliances (the Triple Alliance of transport, rail and coal unions), and TU amalgamations. The chapter also looks at political responses resulting ultimately in the foundation of the Labour Party and the Communist Party.","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"118 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128132192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"List of Figures","authors":"","doi":"10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1r1nqxz.3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":272994,"journal":{"name":"UNITE History Volume 1 (1880-1931)","volume":"92 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129104377","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}