How significant was the trade union movement in the creation and development of the LRC by 1903?

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How significant was the trade union movement in the creation and development of the LRC

by 1903?

Over one hundred years ago, on 27th February 1900, a conference of trade unionists and

socialist organisations met to establish the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), the

forerunner of today's Labour Party. However in 1867, the trade union movement in Britain

was limited to a mere 5% of the working class. The unions, although initially uncoordinated

and unsupported by the law had, by 1903, acquired millions of members, legal protection

and political representation.

In order to understand the relationship between the trade union movement and the rise of the

LRC it is necessary to look at the development of the unions in the context of the social,

economic and political conditions in the late nineteenth century.

Life at this time was pretty grim for the working class. Research by Booth and Rowntree

estimated that a family of five needed a minimum of £1 a week to survive in reasonable

health. He also found that 1/3 of families had less than this. Skilled workers were financially

more secure, but still had no real political representation.

In an attempt to improve their circumstances these skilled workers and artisans established

their first trade unions in the late 1860s (these are now known as new model unions or

NMUs). These were so called because they revamped previous trade union styles. They

differed in that they had relatively high subscription rates so were fairly exclusive, they were

nationally organised with paid officials, and lacked a real political agenda; their aim was to

improve their working conditions and acquire respectability and upward social mobility. Far

from being social revolutionaries the members regarded striking as a last resort. This non-

militant strategy allowed the unions to develop rapidly as they posed no real threat to the

status quo, they were also able to gain some important reforms.

The 1867 reform act gave the vote to skilled workers. (It was not until seventeen years

later, in 1884, that unskilled workers were finally given the vote. This widening franchise

meant more workers felt they were being short changed in that they had finally been given

the vote but had no party that truly represented them - this will be discussed later).

In 1868 the first meeting of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) was held. This was a body

that represented trade unions and was a sign that they had become a significant national
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movement. In the same year the TUC appointed a parliamentary committee to organise

trade union representation in the commons. This had some success in that it helped a

number of members become elected as MPs until the end of the century. The TUC also

played a key role in helping workers to improve their rights (the 1871 trade union act gave

unions legal recognition and protection of funds.)

Significant during this period was the re-appearance of socialism, which is attributed to the

great depression of 1879-1895, the ...

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