This article follows a thread that links E.P. Thompson’s The Making of the English Working Class with his later study of William Blake, which uncovered an antinomian tradition that linked the radicalism and protest of the ‘age of reason’ with the seventeenth century. Continue reading E.P. Thompson, Shirley, and the Antinomian Tradition in West Riding Luddism and Popular Protest
This article considers the use of trade union banners as tools for mainstream education in the context of the recent reclamation, recuperation, and rearticulation of industrial heritage taking place in localities in the former Durham coalfield, north-east England. Continue reading Using Trade Union Banners for Education: the case of the 1938 ‘red’ Follonsby miners’ banner
This paper examines the thinking behind the Decade of Centenaries, the state of the Irish Labour History Society and Irish labour historiography, the involvement of state authorities with labour anniversaries, and the consequences for publications on labour and on the public understanding of labour historiography. Continue reading Labour History in Ireland’s ‘Decade of Centenaries’
Book reviews in Labour History Review 86:2 July 2021 Continue reading Book reviews in Labour History Review Volume 86 (2021), Issue 2
This small but compelling book tells the remarkable story of Margaret Skinnider (1892-1971), feminist, Irish revolutionary, trade unionist, political activist and teacher. Continue reading Margaret Skinnider: Irish revolutionary and activist – a biography
Two new articles report research into the backgrounds of the CPGB leadership in the 1920s using prosopography as an investigative tool. Continue reading A new investigation of the leaders of British Communism in the 1920s
Dr Mike Sanders introduces the work of two Ashton-under-Lyne radical poets, and Jennifer Reid performs their work as ballads. Continue reading Ashton-under-Lyne’s radical poets brought to life by Mike Sanders and Jennifer Reid
This week would have see the 75th birthday of Hywel Francis, President of Llafur from 2018 until his death in February. He was one of the founders of Llafur and its driving force whose vision ensured that the Welsh Labour History Society did not become a small gathering of academics but a vibrant gathering of ‘people’s remembrancers’. Continue reading Hywel Francis (1946 – 2021)
Huddersfield Local History Society and the University of Huddersfield resumed their annual series of Luddite Memorial Lectures in April 2021 with a lecture by Professor Edward Royle on a century of Radicalism in the West Riding of Yorkshire Continue reading Edward Royle lectures on Radicalism in the West Riding, 1790-1890
The Society for the Study of Labour History is shocked to learn that History courses are set to close at a number of post-92 universities. As a Society, we stand with our members and colleagues who now face the threat of redundancies; and we look for a return to the educational principles and ethos that made the study of people’s history a realistic expectation for all. Continue reading SSLH statement: We fear for the future of labour history, labour historians and the next generation of students
Society for the Study of Labour History 