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4. the Years of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) 1900-1906

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4. the Years of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) 1900-1906 4. The Years of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) 1900-1906 4.1 Introduction Before describing the years of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) it is necessary to back track and explain the way in which the TUC and its Parliamentary Committee were persuaded to ditch their decades-long love affair with the Liberal party and back the idea of creating a new party of Labour. 4.2 How the Trade Union movement formed its relationship with the Liberal Party The TUC was formed in 1868, the same year that the franchise was doubled from 1 million to 2 million (still leaving another 5 million adult men without the vote). Most of this increased electorate comprised better-off working class men. Given the new electorate several Liberal candidates did express sympathy for the Trade Union case. This led the Trade Union movement and particularly the TUC to realise the potential for Parliamentary action in the latter half of the 19th century, especially via the Liberal party The trade union movement had two concerns. The first was to improve the legislative framework within which it operated and the second was to get working men into Parliament. The law had been used without fail either to ban unions or keep their actions limited and subject to legal action if they proved too strong. Trade unions lacked corporate status and thus were without any legal validity and protection, either from fraud or claims for damages. The main aim of the trade unions and the TUC in the latter half of the 19th century was to rectify these serious restrictions. The issue of having working men in Parliament was based on the not unreasonable point that the working class were the overwhelming majority in Britain and if the country liked to call itself a democracy it should see working men (women were not considered at this stage) in large numbers in parliament. Such MPs, it was believed, would largely support the cause of labour and the trade unions. Whilst there had been elected MPs who supported the labouring Page 1 of 9 poor and some who supported Chartism none had been from the working class. No workingmen were returned to Parliament until 1874. Part of the problem was that, as an MP, you had to support yourself and they did not have sufficient resources. This was one factor that drove working class candidates into the arms of the waiting Liberal Party. William Gladstone took over as leader of the Liberal Party in 1868 and led four administrations until his resignation in 1894. He was a reformer with a special concern for oppressed peoples and Irish Home rule. He proved to be popular with the masses and the main body of the newly enfranchised working class tended to support the Liberal Party throughout the rest of the 19th century. This factor also helps explain why many trade unionists who had ambitions to stand for Parliament would opt to do so through the Liberal party. As for the wider electorate of the working class, which expanded through further suffrage reforms in the last part of the 19th century, they also became mainly attracted to the Liberal party and its promises of reforms. A significant minority, however, voted Tory, largely one supposes, out of deference to those they regarded as “born to rule”. 4.3 Factors that turned the TUC away from the Liberal Party This is a complex story that can be simplified into three main strands. In the first place was the growth of New Unionism, which was dealt with in a previous section. The new Trade Unions that bloomed towards the end of the 1880s not only brought new blood to the TUC but also introduced a new militancy and a belief in labour as an independent political force. The second factor was the revival of socialism and the creation of new organisations that spread ideas for a transformation of society. These new ideas gradually entered into the bloodstream of trade unionism and began to influence the TUC away from the Liberal party, which was seen as a party formed by and for the capitalist class. Lastly, the economic downturn that accompanied the latter quarter of the 19th century caused greater unrest and increased strife in factory, port and mine. Even the stodgy, Liberal dominated trade unions, such as those of the textile sector, the miners and engineers could not avoid the impact of this and began to change. The Engineers moved first and in a few years were transformed into a more militant, fighting organisation with new leaders like Tom Mann and John Burns. The campaign for an Eight Hour Day, spearheaded by the Gasworkers and the Engineers also began to influence the miners and others of the old school. Page 2 of 9 The new economic climate also hardened the approach of the employers, who began to create their own associations and campaign for more restrictions on trade unions. Taken together these three factors gradually eroded the power of the Caucus that had controlled the central executive of the TUC, the Parliamentary Committee, from its inception in 1869. Keir Hardie fired the first shots at the TUC Annual Conference in 1887 when he accused the long time Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee and a Liberal MP, Henry Broadhurst, of opposing workers in struggle. Broadhurst was able to beat of that challenge to his authority but by 1890 had lost the fight to prevent the TUC supporting the 8 hour day and so resigned. The battle was not won but by the end of that decade the old order had finally given way. 4.4 The TUC moves to establish the Labour Representation Committee The changing mood and political disposition of the TUC was shown in the fact that resolutions in favour of widespread nationalisation were passed in the 1890s. In 1898 the President of the TUC suggested that they should adopt plans to create a political organisation for the Trade Union world. Then in 1899 at Plymouth the TUC passed its famous resolution to give effect to the earlier suggestion of their President. The resolution, which is worth quoting in full, stated, “This Congress, having regard to its decisions in former years, and with a view to securing a better representation of the interests of Labour in the House of Commons, hereby instructs the parliamentary Committee to invite the co-operation of all the co-operative, socialistic, trade unions, and other working organisations to jointly co-operate on lines mutually agreed upon, in convening a special congress of representatives from such of the above-mentioned organisations as may be willing to take part, to devise ways and means for securing the return of an increased number of labour members to the next Parliament.” The motion was moved by James Holmes of the Amalgamated Society of Railways Servants and seconded by James Sexton of the Liverpool Dock Labourer’s Union. They were supported by Margaret Bondfield, leader of the Shop Workers union and one of the few prominent women in the trade union world. She would later become Britain’s first female cabinet member. The caucus put up a fierce opposition and on a card vote the resolution was only narrowly won, 546,000 to 434,000. This historic vote was received with wild cheering with some delegates standing on their chairs. It was agreed that a ten member committee be established for planning the new venture drawn from the TUC, the SDF, the ILP and the Fabian Society. Page 3 of 9 The mover and seconder of the successful resolution and key supporter are shown below: Mover, James Holmes Seconder, James Sexton Supporter, Margaret Bondfield 4.5 The Inaugural Conference of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) The provisional Committee prepared in advance a draft Constitution for a new independent federation of Trade Unions, Trades Councils and Co-operative and Socialist societies, organised apart from the TUC and invitations were issued to each of these. Therefore on February 27th and 28th 1900, 129 delegates gathered in the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street in London. The event went almost unnoticed amid the jingoistic excitement of the Boer War. The delegates represented 41 unions with a combined membership of 545,000 members, 7 Trades Councils (mainly in the Midlands and the North of England). The ILP were represented on a membership of 13,000, the Social Democratic Federation on 9,000 and the Fabian Society on 861. The two largest unions at the conference were the Amalgamated Society of Engineers with 85,000 members and the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants with 54,000 members. The largest delegation was from the Gasworkers’ and General Labourers’ Union, led by Will Thorne. The significant absentees were most of the district organisations of the miners and most of the organised cotton textile workers. Fewer than half the membership of the TUC was represented at the founding conference of the LRC. However, this was to change dramatically over the next few years. The Cooperative Union, who had been invited to attend, was not present because Page 4 of 9 they were ‘moving in the direction of Parliamentary representation in their own particular way’. The ILP, led by Keir Hardie and Ramsay MacDonald, was the chief guiding force behind the scenes of the Conference. They worked closely with the trade union representatives to steer a mutually acceptable course and away from what they regarded as the extreme positions of the SDF. There were 7 resolutions put before the conference and in each case the alliance of ILP, Trade Unions and the lone Fabian defeated most of the SDF positions.
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