On day five of the Strike, Prime Minister Baldwin gave the first emergency radio broadcast to the country, where he warned: “I am a man of peace… but I will not surrender the safety and the security of the British Constitution”. This pressure was acutely felt by the TUC leaders.
The fourth day of the strike saw the trade union leaders continue their attempts to do secret deals with the government to end the strike. While the TUC appealed for calm, the workers were left to lead the struggle themselves.
By the third day of the General Strike both sides had started to accept the reality of the struggle. Workers could feel their strength, and could see that the government was at its wits’ end. But their leaders were desperate to reach a settlement.
On the second day of the strike the government rolled out its carefully prepared plans to crush it. But the class balance of forces had been revealed: 30,000 strikebreaking volunteers had been mobilised, but 3 million workers were on strike.
Tuesday 4 May was the opening shot of a titanic class battle. Bit by bit, the arteries of economic life in Britain were methodically shut down as the workers answered the TUC’s call. For the government and the bosses, nothing had prepared them for the completeness of the stoppage.
Between August 1925 and May 1926, battle lines were drawn on the field of class war. On one side stood the owners of capital, with the might of the British state behind them. On the other stood a powerful labour movement. By 1 May, this tense situation could no longer be ignored.
100 years on from the British General Strike, we are excited to announce a new two-week article series following the events of the strike day by day, across the regions of Britain. The RCP is keeping the flame of 1926 alive, and passing on these valuable lessons to a new generation of class fighters.
Wellred Books Britain is pleased to announce the arrival of our newly-published book, written for the centenary of the 1926 British General Strike. Here, we publish the introduction written by Rob Sewell, as well as a quickfire interview with author Ben Gliniecki.
Hear the author of A Communist History of the British General Strike talk on the contents of his new book. And order your copy of the book.
We continue our ‘Under a False Flag’ series – exposing the crimes of Stalinism, and defending genuine communism. During the Second World War, the CPGB became strikebreakers-in-chief, cheerleading the imperialist British government.
Militancy and international solidarity, as seen across Europe recently, is not alien to the labour movement here in Britain. British workers have taken strike action to halt the imperialists’ war machine before: in the 1920 Jolly George cargo vessel incident.
‘Iron Ladies’ is a new documentary billed as “a celebration of the iron-willed women who maintained the 1984/85 Miners’ Strike as they fought for the future of their communities”. In selected cinemas now, this is a must-watch for budding revolutionaries.