A general strike took place in the United Kingdom from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the UK government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners. Some 1.7 million workers went out, especially in transport and heavy industry.
It was a sympathy strike, with many of those who were not miners and not directly affected striking to support the locked-out miners. As well as workplace stoppages, other organisation included Councils of Action, food distribution, and support for picket lines in some places. The government was well prepared, and enlisted middle- and upper-class volunteers to maintain essential services. There was little violence and the TUC gave up in defeat.
Causes
From 1914 to 1918, the UK fought in WWI. Heavy use of coal during the war depleted once-rich seams. The 'Peak was 1913 when [the UK was] exporting 100 million tons at a price of around £1 per ton'. In the early 1880s, coal production was at a peak of 310 tons per man annually, but in the four years preceding the war, this amount had fallen to 247 tons. By the 1920–1924 period, this had fallen further to just 199 tons. Total coal output had been in decline since 1914 as well.
In 1924, the Dawes Plan was implemented. It allowed Germany to re-enter the international coal market by exporting "free coal" to France and Italy, as part of their reparations for the war. This extra supply reduced coal prices. In 1925, Winston Churchill, the chancellor of the Exchequer, reintroduced the gold standard. This made the British pound too strong for effective exporting to take place from Britain. Furthermore, because of the economic processes involved in maintaining a strong currency, interest rates were raised, which hurt some businesses.
Mine owners wanted to maintain profits even during times of economic instability, and to do so they reduced wages for miners in their employment. Miners' weekly pay had been lowered from £6 to £3 18s. over seven years. Owners eyed increasing working hours too.
When mine owners announced their intention to reduce miners' wages further, the Miners' Federation of Great Britain rejected the terms: "Not a penny off the pay, not a minute on the day." The Trades Union Congress responded by promising to support the miners in their dispute. The Conservative government, under Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, decided to intervene by declaring that a nine-month subsidy would be provided to maintain the miners' wages and that a royal commission, under the chairmanship of Sir Herbert Samuel, would look into the problems of the mining industry and consider its impact on other industries, families, and organisations dependent on coal supply.
The Samuel Commission published its report on 10 March 1926, recommending that national agreements, the nationalisation of royalties, and sweeping reorganisation and improvement should be considered for the mining industry. It also recommended a reduction of 13.5% of miners' wages, along with the withdrawal of the government subsidy. Two weeks later, the prime minister announced that the government would accept the report if other parties also did.
A previous royal commission, the Sankey Commission in 1919, had failed to reach an agreement, producing four different reports with proposals ranging from complete restoration of private ownership and control, to complete nationalisation. David Lloyd George, the then prime minister, offered reorganisation, which was rejected by the miners.
Following the Samuel Commission's report, the mine owners declared that miners would be offered new terms of employment including lengthening the work day and reducing wages depending on various factors. The Miners' Federation of Great Britain refused the wage reduction and regional negotiation.
General strike, May 1926
The final negotiations began on 1 May but failed to achieve an agreement, leading to an announcement by the TUC that a general strike "in defence of miners' wages and hours" was scheduled to begin on Monday, 3 May, at one minute to midnight.
The leaders of the Labour Party were troubled about the proposed general strike because they were aware of the revolutionary elements within the union movement and of the damage that they might do to the party's new reputation as a party of government. During the next two days, frantic efforts were made to reach an agreement between the government and the mining industry representatives. However, they failed, mainly because of an eleventh-hour decision by printers of the Daily Mail to refuse to print an editorial ("For King and Country") condemning the general strike. They objected to the following passage: "A general strike is not an industrial dispute. It is a revolutionary move which can only succeed by destroying the government and subverting the rights and liberties of the people". Baldwin was now concerned about the TUC and printers' action interfering with the freedom of the press. King George V tried to stabilise the situation and create balance saying, "Try living on their wages before you judge them."
The Communist Party of Great Britain aided the strikers and distributed manifestos throughout the strike. The TUC feared that an all-out general strike would bring revolutionary elements to the fore and limited the participants to railwaymen, transport workers, printers, dockers, ironworkers, and steelworkers, as they were regarded as pivotal in the dispute. In a rare political radio broadcast, Archbishop Francis Cardinal Bourne, the leading Catholic prelate in Britain, condemned the strike, knowing that many strikers were Catholic. He advised that "It is a direct challenge to lawfully constituted authority. ... All are bound to uphold and assist the Government, which is the lawfully constituted authority of the country and represents therefore ... the authority of God Himself."
The government had been preparing for the strike over the nine months in which it had provided a subsidy by creating organisations such as the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies. The government had also stockpiled five months worth of coal reserves, and recruiting many new volunteer special constables. It rallied support by emphasizing the revolutionary nature of the strikers. The armed forces and volunteer workers helped maintain basic services. The government used the Emergency Powers Act 1920 to maintain essential supplies.
On 4 May 1926, the number of workers on strike was estimated at between 1½ million and 1¾ million. There were strikers "from John o' Groats to Land's End". The reaction to the strike call was immediate and overwhelming, surprising both the government and the TUC; the latter not being in control of the strike. Troops were deployed to Canning Town to load lorries in place of striking workers. Police clashed with picketers, injuring multiple strikers.
"Constitutional Government is being attacked. Let all good citizens whose livelihood and labour have thus been put in peril bear with fortitude and patience the hardships with which they have been so suddenly confronted. Stand behind the Government, who are doing their part, confident that you will cooperate in the measures they have undertaken to preserve the liberties and privileges of the people of these islands. The laws of England are the people's birthright. The laws are in your keeping. You have made Parliament their guardian. The General Strike is a challenge to Parliament and is the road to anarchy and ruin".
On 5 May 1926, both sides gave their views. Churchill commented as editor of the government newspaper British Gazette: "I do not agree that the TUC have as much right as the Government to publish their side of the case and to exhort their followers to continue action. It is a very much more difficult task to feed the nation than it is to wreck it". Baldwin wrote, "The general strike is a challenge to the parliament and is the road to anarchy". The British Worker, the TUC's newspaper, wrote: "We are not making war on the people. We are anxious that the ordinary members of the public shall not be penalized for the unpatriotic conduct of the mine owners and the government". Striking dockworkers in Canning Town overturned several lorries and again clashed with police. Mounted police charged into a crowd of strikers in Poplar. Meetings organized by supporters of the strike in the East End were disrupted by police. Lockmen at the Royal Docks joined the strike. Workers at West Ham Power Station threatened to cut off all power to the area if electricity was used to open the bascule bridge when Navy sailors were deployed to replace Royal Docks workers, forcing the sailors to operate the bridge by hand. Navy submarines were stationed at Royal Docks to supply power to the docks and cold warehouses.
In the meantime, the government put in place a "militia" of special constables called the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) of volunteers to maintain order in the street. A special constable said: "It was not difficult to understand the strikers' attitude toward us. After a few days I found my sympathy with them rather than with the employers. For one thing, I had never realized the appalling poverty which existed. If I had been aware of all the facts, I should not have joined up as a special constable". It was decided that fascists would not be allowed to enlist in the OMS without first giving up their political beliefs, as the government feared a right-wing backlash so the fascists formed the so-called "Q Division" under Rotha Lintorn-Orman to combat the strikers. Striking workers attempted to convince Royal Marines stationed at Surrey Docks to defect by inviting them to drink at local pubs and distributing communist propaganda. MI5 wrote the effort was "without much result, apart from the consumption of an inordinate amount of beer."
On 6 May 1926, there was a change of atmosphere. The government newspaper, British Gazette, suggested that means of transport into London began to improve compared to the first day with volunteers, car sharing, cyclists, private buses, as well as strikebreakers. A statement on the front page indicated 200 London General Omnibus Company buses 'on the streets'. Only 86 LGOC buses, however, were operating. Workers at a Shell fuel depot in Thames Haven joined the strike. Picketers cut telegraph wires, pulled down fences, and obstructed the road with trees to impede a convoy of special constables traveling to Thames Haven.
On 7 May 1926, the TUC met Samuel and worked out a set of proposals designed to end the dispute. The Miners' Federation rejected the proposals. The British Worker was increasingly difficult to operate, as Churchill had requisitioned the bulk of the supply of the paper's newsprint so it reduced its size from eight pages to four. In the meantime, the government took action to protect the men who decided to return to work.
On 8 May 1926, there was a dramatic moment on the London Docks. Lorries were protected by the Army. They broke the picket line and transported food to Hyde Park. Churchill had wanted, in a move that could have proved unnecessarily antagonistic to the strikers, to arm the soldiers. Baldwin, however, had insisted otherwise. It was the first breaking of the strikers' blockade. In Plymouth, tram services were restarted, with some vehicles attacked and windows smashed. However, not all strike actions in the city were confrontational; a football match, attended by thousands, occurred between a team of policemen and strikers, with the strikers winning 2–0. The supporters included a delegation of 4,000 strikers, which marched to the grounds accompanied by a marching band.
On 9 May 1926, George Kidwell, secretary of the 'San Francisco Bakery Wagon Drivers' Union' sent a cable to Ben Tillett, leader of the dockers union congratulating them and other workers on a 'wonderful demonstration of working-class power'.
On 10 May 1926, the Flying Scotsman was derailed by striking miners at Cramlington, a short distance north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The British Worker, alarmed at the fears of the General Council of the TUC that there was to be a mass drift back to work, claimed: "The number of strikers has not diminished; it is increasing. There are more workers out today than there have been at any moment since the strike began".