University of Wales Press Industrial Politics and the 1926 Mining Lock-out: The Struggle for Dignity

"Industrial Politics" is a significant contribution to the social and political history of the industrial working class in 1926, drawing on new methodological perspectives that have emerged in recent years relating to the study of labour. The seven-month national mining lock-out of 1926 was one of the most important industrial disputes of the twentieth century. It came to symbolize the defeat of the labour movement in the interwar years, casting a long shadow over industrial relations in the mining industry, and epitomizing the predicament of British miners in the early decades of the century. However, despite its massive impact on the lives of so many, unlike the General Strike, the 1926 lock-out has attracted relatively little scholarly interest. Industrial Politics provides a comprehensive survey of the lock-out at national, regional and local levels, utilizing archive sources and newly-accessible documents. In addition to a full historical overview and chronology, individual chapters consider the contexts for the lock-out, ranging from the crisis of 1926 to the unions and the owners, offer regional perspectives from north and south Wales, Scotland and Lancashire, and examine specific themes such as gender and community, policing and public order, and the communist party.