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. Set-up in 1884 this party was far less extremist than the previous two organizations. Both non-violent and non-revolutionary, the Fabians wanted gradual reform within society’s existing institutions i.e. “permeation”.
The role of these different socialist parties was to lay the basis for a workers party, to participate in its creation and most importantly, to organize and convince workers of the need for a revolutionary programme for change.
One of the key figures in the developing trade union movement was Keir Hardie, a Scottish coal miner and one-time Liberal supporter. Hardie recognized that a truly independent party for labour was required due to the growing feeling of frustration at the inability of the current parties to represent and address the workers concerns. Consequently he formed the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and the less significant Scottish Labour Party (SLP) in 1888. The ILP had mixed support, the NMUs were predominantly Liberal or Conservative voters, and were reluctant to switch their allegiance to a party with little chance of gaining a majority. The recently established New Unions (see below) were the main driving force behind the ILP as they strongly campaigned for their own political representation. The ILP was also supported by socialist groups due to their shared ideologies. Keir Hardie distinguished his ILP from the more radical European socialists as he did not want his party to appear too extreme thus loosing support. By 1890 the ILP had 350,000 members and 300 branches up and down the country. In the general election of 1892 three independent workers’ candidates were elected including Hardie, which gave further impetus to the movement for a party solely for the working class.
As stated, up until 1887 the trade union movement only represented the most aristocratic of the working class, and for the movement to truly develop the unions would need to loose their elitist approach.
The time was right for a move towards solidity which worked well in highly populated industrial areas where large numbers of unskilled workers could join together to form New Unions (NUs). These were unions for the masses, recruited without distinction and with low subscription rates, therefore membership flourished.
The New Unions also benefited from excellent leadership; notably Ramsey Macdonald and Kier Hardie who were both dynamic and politically astute. They realized that mass unions would need to be more militant and willing to strike to succeed. Following little more than Marxist ideology, they lead a string of successful strikes in the late 1880s. Will Thorne’s organization of the London gas workers won an eight-hour day without being contested in 1889. This success soon inspired others. The Bryant & May match workers were compensated following a display of overwhelming support protesting against their poor working conditions and “phossy” jaw. The most notable and triumphant of all strikes was that of the Dockers in 1889 precipitated by low wages the unreliability of the work. The strike lasted five weeks and resulted in an increase in wages and an improvement in working conditions. This success was due to enormous support and was sustained through public donations including £30,000 from Australian trade unions. After the strike, the Dockers union membership rocketed by 40,000 members in one year. Such victories were obtained through peaceful protest and without the use of violence which gained them respect from previous critics. However these victories turned employers firmly against the unions and one of the most vital and testing stages of the trade union movement was soon to begin.
Pushed by a slump in world trade and increase in mechanization, the need for unskilled labour began to fall. It was because of this and an increase in the militancy of the NUs that the employers decided to unite and to take on the unions. The Employers Federations imposed wage-cuts, lockouts and took on non-union workers. The Federation of Employers’ Associations gave them both political and financial backing, and the National Free Labour Association gave them an unlimited supply of black-leg labour for use in strikes. A series of court decisions in this period undermined the union’s right to picket, an invaluable tool of the trade union movement, which was highlighted in the Lyons Vs Wilkins case in 1899. This so-called employer’s backlash was so successful that by 1891 the New Unions had been virtually wiped out. Later, in 1896, the employers mounted a second attack on workers, but this time they targeted the skilled unions. The NMUs survived due to their respectability, better organization and funding, but now realized that in order to survive they would need to increase their numbers, and therefore allowed unskilled workers to join their ranks.
By 1895 the NMUs still rejected the idea of a separate political party for workers and maintained their faith in the Lib-Lab system and the “respectable” parties. However the ferocity of the second employer’s backlash in 1896 and the lack of Liberal support towards reform began to change the attitudes of some skilled workers.
In 1899 the Trade Union Congress passed a resolution to take the initiative to organize and promote labour representation in parliament. The founding conference that created the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) took place 27th February 1990 and comprised of the ILP, SDF, Fabians and seven other unions. However at the time 434,000 delegates voted against political representation, some 50% of the TUC. The LRC’s development into a mass party was not assured. A year after its creation membership had fallen from 570,000 to 350,000 but the result of the Taff Vale judgment greatly swung this around.
Taff Vale was an industrial dispute over working conditions and workers wanting to be recognized as a union. The Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS) recognized the strike as official and gave the Taff Vale workers financial help. The employers counter-attacked by bringing in blackleg labour and taking the ASRS to court for illegal picketing. Although the strike was soon called off without the workers gaining any concessions the employers still pursued legal action for lost income during the strike. After a number of judgments and appeals the case finally went to the House of Lords, the highest legal authority, who found in favour of the railway company and the ASRS, was ordered to pay damages of £23,000 plus legal costs, which equated to £42,000.
The significance of this case was that it highlighted the willingness of the legal system to favour the employer rather than the unions. Lord Macnaughten who ruled in favor of the employers in the Taff Vale case stated that the previous Trade Union Acts had not given the unions protection as corporate bodies, and that they were responsible in law for there actions of their individual members. The case reinforced the Lyons Vs Wilkinson case of 1899, with the right to peaceful picketing completely destroyed. Trade unions also now faced another dilemma; they now had to think twice about striking in fear of being sued. The only way to overturn the Taff Vale ruling would be through an Act of Parliament. The Conservative government was strongly against political reform, and the Liberals were powerless in opposition.
The NMUs realized that they were at threat from legal action by employers, and soon pledged their support and financial aid to the LRC. By 1903 127 unions were affiliated to the party. The LRC made further political progress when a pact was made with the Liberal party in which they agreed not to stand in opposition to the LRC in 30 constituencies where the working class vote would be split between the two thus allowing the Conservatives to gain a majority. This was successful, and in the 1906 the LRC gained 29 seats.
In conclusion the trade union movement was crucial in the creation and development of the LRC. The poor social, economic and political conditions of the working class in the late nineteenth century created an environment in which the trade union movement was able to flourish, supported by a resurgence of the socialist left. As political reforms were introduced both skilled and unskilled workers were able to demand improved conditions. Political parties and employers saw these as a threat and retaliated (employer’s backlashes) the creation of the LRC was the subsequent response of the unions and socialist parties who recognized a need to represent the rights of the working class in parliament.