Explain why the General Strike broke out in 1926. [12 Marks] Jack Ramsden

Introduction Coal, Iron, Steel, Chemical, Printing. The General Strike took place between 3rd May and 12th May; Approximately 3 million workers partook in the strike called for by the Trade Union Congress; Though the TUC called off the strike after only 9 days, miners continued for another 7 months before admitting defeat; The General Strike entailed the cessation of production in the following industries: Coal, Iron, Steel, Chemical, Printing.

Factors to Discuss: Long term: Medium term: Short term: Trigger: Decline of the British staple industries; Industrial unrest and worker dissatisfaction; Growth and importance of trade unions. Medium term: Government’s actions: the Gold Standard, Red Friday, Samuel Commission and Organisation of the Maintenance of Supplies. Short term: Samuel Report; Coal mine owners’ actions. Trigger: Role of the British Gazette.

Decline of British Staple Industries LONG TERM Decline of British Staple Industries Failure to nationalise and amalgamate the coal industry; Modernisation was not undertaken – mine owners were reactionary; Demand for British coal had fallen dramatically – competition from Poland, Germany, the USA and oil; Worldwide contraction of staple industries led to structural unemployment; Declining profits met with high cost of production – wage cuts ensued.

Industrial Unrest and Dissatisfaction LONG TERM Industrial Unrest and Dissatisfaction Examples of previous industrial unrest: May 1920: Dockers’ strike; 1920: Miners’ strike; April 1921: National miners’ strike; 1924: Dockers’ strike. Long working hours, poor pay and dangerous working conditions – 2.0% of mine workers died per annum; Threat of wage cuts, redundancy and no prospects of improvement to working conditions.

LONG TERM Growth of trade unions Trade union membership doubled to 8 million after the war; Larger trade unions were forming, notably the Transport and General Workers Union; Trade unions gained success from employer negotiation and strike action; The Miners’ Federation appealed to the Trade Union Congress for support; The TUC was a higher power wanting to ensure the continuation of fair negotiation, while still supporting the workers.

The actions of the government MEDIUM TERM The actions of the government Churchill’s decision to revert to the Gold Standard 1925 – exports’ costs rose by 10%; Thus coal exports rose – wage cuts and increased hours were proposed; The government intervened with subsidies for miners and mines owners for 9 months; The Samuel Commission was initiated to look into the state of affairs; The Organisation of Maintenance of Supplies was established to stockpile supplies (coal, other fuel, food and water).

The Samuel Report and feedback SHORT TERM The Samuel Report and feedback The March 1926 Samuel Report recommended: Termination of the subsidies; Wage cuts, fewer working hours; Continuation of private enterprise. The mine owners declared a lockout of miners from May 1st unless their demands were satisfied; Unilateral reduction of wages announced 30th April 1926; Miners’ Federation – ‘not a penny off the pay, not a second on the day’; The Miners’ Federation appealed to the TUC, trusting in a higher power’s greater influence.

The hostility of the government SHORT TERM TRIGGER The hostility of the government The Conservative government was facing the animosity of the representatives of the Labour movement; The government used the British Gazette to portray the strike as unlawful and as an attack on the constitution; Invocation of the 1921 Emergency Powers Act; Stanley Baldwin abruptly ended talks when the Daily Mail refused to print an article condemning the strike as a revolutionary act.

Explain why the General Strike broke out in 1926. CONCLUSION Explain why the General Strike broke out in 1926. The poor, stagnating conditions of the coal industry’s workers and the decline of the staple industries; Unrelenting intransigence and lack of empathy of the coal mine owners; The government’s preparation, and provocation, for conflict – treatment over prevention; The involvement of the TUC destroyed any premise of compromise with the mine owners; The onus of the TUC to negotiate with the government from a poor position, and trust in the Samuel Commission; Triggered by the government’s decision to end talks.