Another factor was the Osbourne Judgement, which ruled that it was illegal for unions to force members to pay the political levy. This hit the Labour Party hard as it had relied on fund raised by unions to pay their salary. Arguably the Osbourne Judgement at first seemed as if it would end Labour, but it turned out to be a success, which caused a growth in the Labour Party. The Labour Party then campaigned against this judgement until the Trade Union’s Act of 1913. This cause the trade unions membership with the labour Party to rise and so the passing of the act made a big impact on the Labour Parties fortunes, as the majority of the trade unionists voted to support the political levy and Labour. This judgment was very important in the growth of Labour as its membership increased and it improved the financial position of the party, but was not the most important factor.
The two factors stated above cannot be the most important because the Labour party had certainly not overcome its difficulties prior to the First World War. What it stood for in terms of national policies was not very clear and it appeared to be making no progress in amassing votes in areas and winning seats. We cannot say that it was a party in decline waiting for the war to help its cause. If we examine Labour on a local scale there are indications that the party is doing well. The most important factor of pre war Labour was with the Osbourne Judgement being annulled the party was now able to add 3 more senior staff to bring the total to 7 by 1914. The start of the war did cause disarray in Labour ranks and caused splits in the party, but by 1918 the party was organized and was on a new footing.
The main period where growth occurred was during 1914-1918. Most historians argue that Labour’s strength was growing before the war, but most argue that the war made the Labour party. The problem was that the war also brought the worst out of Labour. The war caused a division in the party. The party was seriously divided over the war and its leader Ramsey MacDonald held the minority position and in the end resigned in favour of a more patriotic trade unionist Arthur Henderson. In the event, however, the Labour Party avoided a lasting split. The split was also avoided because those opposed to the war, did not campaign against the war in public. In 1917 Henderson resigned when the Labour leaders where refused permission to attend an international socialist conference.
An important factor is that after this troubled period however it took the early part of the war to shatter the old political patterns. The needs of a war economy strengthened Labour in general and the Trade Union movement in particular. The Trade Unions membership went to 6.5 million. This is an important factor as the TU gave Labour a financial advantage in the 1918 election where 361 candidates were fielded thanks to the extra finances. The Trade Unions extra backing is an important factor as it meant that more candidates could be fielded.
Labour still had the same problem during the war that it had at the start, which was that there was a huge growth in party membership, but a majority of the new voters were working class and could not vote.
Another factor that helped was the split in the liberal party at the time. The failure of Gallipoli in 1915 and the huge loss of life and the defeat of the British Navy had caused the split. To add to the problems the shortage of shells on the Western Front cause splits to appear. The party was then split apart when Lloyd George replaced Asquith and this was the end of the Liberals as the party was now split and after 1922 would never be in power again.
The First World War brought to the foreground the question of the female suffragette vote. Arguably the greatest transformation arrived when they did get the vote. For the Labour Party this was an important factor in the growth of the party as the party had been campaign for the women vote. Quote from Thorpe ‘Alongside women prominent at national level like Katherine Bruce Glasier, were women at the grassroots, who could and often did play a significant role. For many, socialism was the appeal; for others, Labour seemed the most likely party to push and appeal to the women suffrage’. The fact that they had been campaigning was that most of the women that got the vote would vote labour.
The most important factor, which leads to the growth of the Labour, was the fact they were not directly involved with the government during the war. It is best summed up by Trevor Wilson ‘But in the long run it was to prove to be an advantage that unlike the Liberals, Labour was not directly responsible for errors or misdeed of the past’. This is the most important factor because the fact that during the war they did not get involved directly with the government meant that after the war when all the errors came out the Labour Party could capitalise on it and this is why by 1922 there were to be in power. However persuasive there are many factors, but it is inescapable that the war acted as a catalyst for the these many factors and a destructive bolt for the Liberal Party without which there might not have been a Labour Party in office in 1922.
