Category: Labour history news

News and information of interest to labour historians.

Events, Labour history news, SSLH news

1926 General Strike Centenary Open Day

The People’s History Museum in Manchester is hosting a special open day to mark the centenary of the 1926 General Strike on the 9 May 2026. The event will delve into the strike’s continuing significance and legacy. Academics, activists, trade unionists, and heritage professionals will explore the 1926 General Strike through a range of papers and panels, and highlight rare archival material. The event is … Continue reading 1926 General Strike Centenary Open Day

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Labour history news

Vale Rawlings: the lost story of a Burton-upon-Trent trade unionist continues

In July 2024, I shared my plans to tell the story of forgotten Staffordshire trade unionist, Vale Rawlings, in a play and a book. You can read that story here. Now, the play has been staged, filmed, and the book is published, but discoveries about new aspects of Vale’s story continue to emerge. I tracked down a number of Vale’s granddaughters and found that one … Continue reading Vale Rawlings: the lost story of a Burton-upon-Trent trade unionist continues

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Labour history news

Left on the Shelf enters a new era

Left on the Shelf Books, the UK’s largest dealer in radical second-hand books, pamphlets and journals, has changed hands following the retirement of its founder and long-term owner Dave Cope. Set up in 1992 after Cope bought the second-hand stock of Central Books, and for many years the main retail and wholesale outlet for the Communist Party of Great Britain, Left on the Shelf relocated … Continue reading Left on the Shelf enters a new era

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Labour history news, SSLH news

HELP NEEDED IN UPDATING Bibliography of the 1926 General Strike

In 2006, Historical Studies in Industrial Relations (HSIR) 21 published ‘The General Strike and Mining Lockout of 1926: A Select Bibliography’, compiled by John McIlroy, Alan Campbell, Keith Laybourn and Quentin Outram. To mark the one hundredth anniversary of the strike, this is now being updated for publication in HSIR 47 later this year by Dave Lyddon and Quentin Outram. We are asking users of … Continue reading HELP NEEDED IN UPDATING Bibliography of the 1926 General Strike

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Labour history news

Public inquiry into ‘Battle of Orgreave’ begins work

An independent statutory Orgreave Inquiry promised by the Labour Party in its 2024 general election manifesto has formally begun work following publication by the government of its terms of reference. The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, which has long campaigned for justice for those caught up in the events at the Orgreave coking plant at the height of the miners’ strike, said that while it … Continue reading Public inquiry into ‘Battle of Orgreave’ begins work

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Labour history news

Historical Studies in Industrial Relations 2025 now online

The latest issue of Historical Studies in Industrial Relations (Vol. 46, September 2025) is now available online via Liverpool University Press (subscription required). Table of contents Research Articles‘History through Literary Imagination: Portrayals of Worker Representation and Collective Action in Condition-of-England Novels, c.1830-1855’Michael Gold ‘The Rise and Demise of the Institute for Workers’ Control, 1964-1985′Alan Tuckman Essays‘Industrial Relations, 1975 to 2025’Richard Hyman ‘Michael Burawoy and the Manufacturing of … Continue reading Historical Studies in Industrial Relations 2025 now online

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Events, Labour history news

Call for 2026 SHCG Journal and Conference Submissions 

The organisers are pleased to announce an open call for submissions to the 2026 editions of the Social History Curators Group journal and conference, under the theme of ‘The Long March – Strikes, Protests and Riots Through History’.   Inspired by the centenary of the 1926 General Strike, this year’s theme invites papers that examine how museums and heritage sites engage with stories of strike, protest, rebellion, and resistance. The organisers … Continue reading Call for 2026 SHCG Journal and Conference Submissions 

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Labour history news

On the Line: PHM explores the 1926 General Strike

A major new People’s History Museum exhibition titled On the Line explores the General Strike, bringing together powerful images and objects from the past one hundred years and taking visitors to the ‘front line’, shining a light on how communities provided ‘lifelines’ and retracing ‘battle lines’ while asking the question, ‘Where is the line?’ Marking the centenary of the 1926 strike, the exhibition opens at … Continue reading On the Line: PHM explores the 1926 General Strike

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Labour history news

Peggy Seeger to perform ‘Songs for the Workers’

Legendary folk singer, musician and political activist Peggy Seeger is to perform at a special one-off concert to mark International Workers Day. The event will take place at Cecil Sharp House, London, on the evening of 7 May 2026, and tickets are on sale now. Buy tickets. Seeger will perform alongside prominent folk singers and musicians Jackie Oates and Nick Hart, Lancashire ballad singer and … Continue reading Peggy Seeger to perform ‘Songs for the Workers’

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Labour history news

Labour history journals 2025

It has been a big year for labour history journals with both the North West History Journal and Saothar marking their fiftieth issues, and Scottish Labour History publishing its sixtieth edition. This roundup looks at the latest journals published by: Scotland Introducing the 2025 issue of Scottish Labour History, Stewart Maclennan, chair of the Scottish Labour History Society notes that this year sees both the … Continue reading Labour history journals 2025

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