How significant were trade unions in the creation and Development of the LRC by 1903?

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Shpat Shala                12TD

How significant were trade unions 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 organizations 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 organized 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 movement. In the same year the TUC appointed a parliamentary committee to organize 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 union’s legal recognition and protection of funds.)

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Significant during this period was the re-appearance of socialism, which is attributed to the great depression of 1879-1895, the spread of general education and middle class guilt. The three main groups at this time were;

The Social Democratic Party (SDF) founded in 1881 by H.M Hyndman. A Marxist group and advocates of revolution the SDF were the leading socialist organization of the 1880s.

The Socialist League also supported revolution and were set-up by William Morris (once a member of the SDF). Although similar to the SDF the Socialist League concentrated more on working conditions.

Finally there was the Fabian society. ...

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