'There Is Only One P in Perth
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University of Dundee DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ‘There is only one P in Perth - And, it stands for Pullars!' the Labour, Trade-Union, and Co-operative Movements in Perth, c. 1867 to c. 1922 Philippou, Paul S. 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Sep. 2021 ‘There is only one P in Perth - And, it stands for Pullars!': the Labour, Trade-Union, and Co-operative Movements in Perth, c. 1867 to c. 1922 Paul S. Philippou Department of History University of Dundee A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2015 1 Abstract In recent years a number of studies within Scottish labour history have added to the discipline’s understanding and knowledge of the history of the labour and trade-union movements of several Scottish towns/cities hitherto neglected by a historiography traditionally dominated by research into the West-Central Belt. These studies, of which this thesis forms part, provide data against which generalising narratives which purport to describe the development of the labour and trade-union movements in Britain can be read - a process which ultimately must improve these now orthodox narratives or see them replaced. The thesis also provides a historical description of the progress of the labour and trade- union movements in Perth, c. 1867 to c. 1922. This study of Perth is unique in that Perth’s labour and trade-union movements have been almost entirely neglected and thus the thesis provides a substantial body of fresh observations and data in the form of a critical and comparative history of the Perth labour and trade- union movements, c. 1867 to c. 1922. Comparative considerations within the thesis revolve around existing studies of the labour and trade-union movements of Scotland’s main industrial towns/cities/areas including Paisley and the Vale of Leven which shared common features with Perth. In gathering evidence use has been made of an array of primary sources. Both qualitative and quantitative methods feature throughout the thesis which is arranged using a thematic and chronological structure. The thesis also examines the Perth co-operative movement and the city’s working-class housing, in so far as they offer an understanding of the reasons for the historical development of working-class consciousness and support for Labour in Perth. The thesis provides an example of a development of class consciousness and support for Labour that shows strong deviation with those (according to conventional Scottish labour history) found in many other parts of Scotland. In particular, the thesis considers why a significant proportion of the Perth working class either remained loyal to Liberalism or shifted allegiance to Conservatism in the very early 1920s at which point the death agony of the Liberal Party had become deafening and the rise of Labour inexorable. In addition, the thesis examines the slow development of trade unionism in Perth and its failure to make any substantial headway until almost the conclusion of the Great War. The thesis when placed alongside studies such as Catriona Macdonald’s work on Paisley adds to the case for a fragmented development of class and trade-union consciousness across Scotland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The motor for the deviation between Perth and elsewhere is shown to be due to a ‘local identity’ - in particular a lingering and powerful industrial paternalism, the absence of a sizeable and powerful branch of the Independent Labour Party, and an insular craft-union dominated trades council. Additionally, the Perth working class is shown to have played a significant role in its own subordination going so far as to act to maintain the local industrial order even as Perth’s industrial paternalists and Liberal elites were abandoning the consensus upon which it was built. 2 Contents Abstract 1 Contents 2 Acknowledgements 5 List of Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Truncations 6 List of Tables and Figures 9 Chapter 1 - Introduction 12 1.1 Historiographical Starting Points 15 1.2 Methodology 21 1.3 Perth: Geography, Economics, and Commerce 26 1.4 the Marxist Concept of Hegemony and Paternalistic Industrial Relations 29 1.5 the Trade-Union Movement in Perth 31 1.6 Liberal, Conservative, and Labour Politics in Perth 34 1.7 the Co-operative Movement in Perth 38 1.8 the Housing of the Perth Working Class 41 1.9 the 1922 General Election and Labour ‘Breakthrough’ 45 Chapter 2 - Perth: Geography, Economics, Commerce, and Paternalism 51 2.1 the Perth Economy, 1871-1921 52 2.2 Trade Unionism within the Perth Economy 60 2.3 the Textile Industry in Perth 61 2.4 Paternalism, Welfarism, and Industrial Relations 65 Chapter 3 - the Trade-Union Movement in Perth I 83 3.1 Historical Starting Points 84 3.2 the 1870s 93 3.3 the Struggle for Shorter Hours 98 3.4 the 1880s, the ‘New Unionism’ of 1889-1891, and the Period to 1897 105 3.5 Female Employment and Apprenticeships in the Printing Industry in Perth 114 3.6 1897 to 1913 - the Establishment of Perth Trades Council 128 3.7 Summary Remarks 137 3 Chapter 4 - the Trade-Union Movement in Perth II 140 4.1 Textile Trade Unionism in Perth 140 4.1.1 to 1913 140 4.1.2 1913 to 1922 157 4.2 1910-1918 - Trade Unionism and Labour Unrest in Perth 164 4.3 Summary Remarks 170 Chapter 5 - Liberal and Conservative Politics in Perth 174 5.1 Electoral Reform and the Franchise 176 5.2 Perth Parliamentary Constituencies 180 5.3 Conservative Party Organisation in Perth 183 5.4 Liberalism vs Conservatism, Perth to c. 1907 189 5.5 the ‘Khaki Factor’ in Perth, 1895-1906 199 5.6 Liberalism vs Conservatism, Perth from 1906 203 5.7 Summary Remarks 223 Chapter 6 - Labour Politics in Perth 229 6.1 Early Labour Politics and the Establishment of the Perth Branch of the 230 Independent Labour Party 6.2 the Dundee By-Election of 1908 235 6.3 Perth Labour Parliamentary Politics, 1909-1922 240 6.4 Labour and Municipal Politics, Perth to 1909 243 6.5 the Perth Branch of the Scottish Prohibition Party 257 6.6 Labour and Municipal Politics, Perth 1909-1922 263 6.7 the No-Conscription Fellowship and Anti-war Activity 270 6.8 Summary Remarks 273 Chapter 7 - the Co-operative Movement in Perth 278 7.1 Co-operative Ideology 279 7.2 Beginnings 279 7.3 Co-operation and Strike Solidarity 283 7.4 Co-operation as an Employer of Labour 288 4 7.5 Co-operation, Electoral Politics, and the Co-operative-Labour 304 Relationship 7.5.1 Parliamentary Politics 304 7.5.2 Municipal Politics 307 7.6 Summary Remarks 316 Chapter 8 - the Housing of the Working Class in Perth 320 8.1 Working-Class Housing - Historical Starting Points 320 8.2 Working-Class Housing in Perth - a Quantitative Issue 327 8.3 Working-Class Housing in Perth - a Qualitative Issue 341 8.4 Resistance, Acquiescence, and Economic Contingencies 347 8.5 the Housing of the Working Class in Perth, post-1915 354 8.6 Summary Remarks 357 Chapter 9 - Conclusions 359 Appendices 383 Bibliography 438 5 Acknowledgements I am indebted to Dr William Kenefick and Professor Christopher Whatley for allowing me to pursue this PhD and for supervising my research. It has been a pleasure to work with them both and I am very grateful for all their input and support over the last five years. Thanks also to the staff at the Gillingham Library (Library & Learning Centre, University of Dundee) especially Alison Cresswell, Cathie Forbes, Clara Lynde, and Helen MacGregor. They have been obliging, patient, helpful, and kind throughout. Numerous other librarians, library assistants, archivists, and curators have assisted my work. Of these I am particularly grateful to Steve Connolly and Christine Wood (Perth & Kinross Council Archive), Jan Merchant (University of Dundee Archive), Anne Carroll, Colin Proudfoot, Stewart Couper, and Dr Nicola Cowmeadow (AK Bell Library), and Sue Payne (formerly Perth Museum & Art Gallery). Thanks too to Professor Graeme Morton for reading a draft of this thesis and making so many helpful comments. Many friends and colleagues have made contributions to my research and have supported and encouraged me. To Ajay Close, Rob Hands (who assisted me with Figures 1.1-1.4), Jim Hunter, Terry Kelly, Andy MacAdam, Matthew Mackie, Jim Melvin, John Napier, Theo Russell, Dougie Vass, and Lorna Wylie, I hold a debt of gratitude. Gratitude must also be offered to Dr Duncan Gowans and all the staff at the Haematology/Oncology Department, Perth Royal Infirmary for the excellent care I have had and continue to receive. The support and love of my wife Mary and my children Cora, Leah, and Rosa has been pivotal, all important, and constant. To them I owe everything.