Category: Labour history news

News and information of interest to labour historians.

Events, Labour history news

Event: Blood is the price of coal: coal communities, health and welfare in Britain and beyond

The University of Warwick’s Modern Records Centre is hosting a free one day conference on 18 June (9:15am – 5:30pm) to explore the history of health and welfare in Britain’s coal mining industry. Held jointly by the University of Warwick’s Centre for the History of Medicine, Science and Technology, and Modern Records Centre, the conference aims to bring together researchers from higher education, libraries, archives, museums, and … Continue reading Event: Blood is the price of coal: coal communities, health and welfare in Britain and beyond

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Events, Labour history news

Joshua Hobson: His radical publishing and work on the Northern Star

Earlier this week, Dr Vic Clarke delivered a lively talk on Joshua Hobson, his radical publishing, and his work on the Northern Star at the University of Huddersfield for the annual Luddite Memorial Lecture. Vic Clarke focused on Hobson’s life as a publisher and politician, charting his journey from teenage handloom weaver to a radical publisher of the unstamped press, through to his entry into … Continue reading Joshua Hobson: His radical publishing and work on the Northern Star

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Labour history news

Call for poems for the 1926 General Strike Centenary

The Fig Tree online webzine and Crooked Spire Press of Chesterfield have announced a new special issue to commemorate the centenary of the 1926 General Strike. Submissions are sought for poems covering the following topics: Poems written specifically for this project, and not previously published elsewhere, will be selected for inclusion in a special issue of The Fig Tree. If there is sufficient interest, Crooked … Continue reading Call for poems for the 1926 General Strike Centenary

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Events, Labour history news

Centenary: The 1926 General Strike on Stage

A century on, the strike that shook Britain comes to life on stage – and it’s now just weeks away. May 1926. Millions of workers across the country walked out, standing shoulder to shoulder for a fairer world. To mark the one hundredth anniversary of the 1926 General Strike, ‘Centenary’ celebrates the event at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead. Created by Wisecrack … Continue reading Centenary: The 1926 General Strike on Stage

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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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