Trade Unions - Key individuals

Question 1

Who was the 4 key individuals in the trade union movement

Answer 1

• Manny Shinwell
• James Maxton
• Ernest Bevin
• James Thomas

Question 2

What was the role of Manny Shinwell

Answer 2

• leader of the trade unions in Glasgow
• leader of the 40-hour strike - gave a speech & was present in the fighting - serves 5 months in jail
• elected as labour MP in 1922 & 28 based on his support from workers

Question 3

What was the significance of Manny Shinwell

Answer 3

• a figurehead for the trade union movement
• as labour MP, he gave the trade unions parliamentary representation
• moderate voice in the trade union movement

Question 4

What was the role of James Maxton

Answer 4

• on the left of the ILP, was the divisional organiser, leader from1926
• opposed conscription - 1 year in jail for organising strikes against it
• elected as labour MP in 1922 - trouble causing MP vocally critical of the tories
• central to formation of Scottish Socialist Teacher’s Society

Question 5

What was the signficace of James Maxton

Answer 5

• very radical & vocal leaver of trade unions & labour
• provided a voice for the radical left against Labour PM McDonalds moderate policies
• His campiagn solgal ‘Socialism in our time’’ was hugely popular with Labour supporters
• leader of the ILP during the 1926 general strike

Question 6

What was the role of Ernest Bevin

Answer 6

Leading member of the National Transport Workers Federation
Led negotiations in 1921-22 to form the TGWU, for which he was appointed General Secretary.
He did not serve in this period as an MP, but his role was as an organiser in the Labour Party.
Leading member of the Trades Union Congress, a committee which represented different trade unions, during the 1926 general strike

Question 7

What was the significance of Ernest Bevin

Answer 7

• His organisation skills and moderate voice were important to the Labour Party and trade unions
• He opposed the formation of the Triple Alliance on the grounds that it was too militant
• On Black Friday he prevented the transport workers from joining the strike which led to its failure
• His negotiation to withdraw the TGWU from the 1926 General Strike was a cause of the strike ending

Question 8

Who was the role of James H Thomas

Answer 8

• Active member of Labour Party early on, winning a seat as an MP in 1910 with a campaign based upon increasing taxes on the rich
• General secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen from 1917
• Labour MP in the 1920s; the Secretary of State for the Colonies in McDonald’s Labour government
• Acted as mediator in negotiations in the 1926 General Strike between Baldwin, strikers and mine owners.

Question 9

What was the significance of James H Thomas

Answer 9

• Both a trade union leader and Labour MP
  Moderate views, like Bevin, led him to oppose Black Friday. The lack of support from his union ted to the strike’s failing
  However, his joking manner when talking to the media led to him being blamed more than Bevin
  Willingness to conduct secret negotiations in 1926, i.e. meeting mine owners without discussing first with the Miners’ Federation undermined the TUC and contributed to failure.