Tag: London

Commentary

New Palace Yard: a place in labour history

Continuing our series on places of significance in labour history, Dave Steele recalls the long history of extra-parliamentary activity in New Palace Yard, on Parliament’s doorstep. New Palace Yard originated as part of the eleventh century Palace of Westminster. It formed an enclosed outer bailey much larger than the fenced-in area which survives today, and once hosted tournaments, jousts, public executions and a pillory. Later … Continue reading New Palace Yard: a place in labour history

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Commentary

West Ham: a place in labour history

In our continuing series on places in labour history, Mike Mecham argues that West Ham and Canning Town in East London form a cornerstone of the British labour movement. There is a good case for West Ham, in East London, being recognized as the cornerstone of the British labour movement and of political radicalism more generally. For Caroline Benn, in her biography of Keir Hardie, … Continue reading West Ham: a place in labour history

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Labour History Review

Workforce Disability and the 1949 ‘Ineffectives’ Strike in London Docks

Author: Jim PhillipsThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2025), 90, (1). Read more. In April 1949 the employment of thirty-two registered dock workers in London was terminated because they were regarded as ‘ineffective’, incapable physically of performing the job. Their redundancies were briefly resisted through strike action. This ended when the Labour government threatened to prosecute strike leaders. The episode highlighted the … Continue reading Workforce Disability and the 1949 ‘Ineffectives’ Strike in London Docks

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Commentary

Class Encounters: William Cuffay, Chartist

In the eighth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Keith Flett encounters the Black London Chartist leader William Cuffay. William Cuffay (1788-1870) was born in Medway to a local woman and a descendant of slaves who had come to the area as a sailor. He worked as a tailor in London and became active in the Chartist movement to the extent … Continue reading Class Encounters: William Cuffay, Chartist

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Obituaries

Sean Creighton (1947 – 2024)

Sean Creighton, who has died aged 76, was a community activist and independent historian who worked extensively on the working-class history of his native South London, and in particular on Black history in the area, but also made a significant and lasting contribution to the study of labour history in the North East of England. Born in Wandsworth, Sean gained a history degree from the … Continue reading Sean Creighton (1947 – 2024)

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Labour history news

Ten labour history anniversaries in 2024

The American historian William M Johnston talked in his book Celebrations about a ‘cult’ of anniversaries. And he noted how they provide an opportunity – or excuse – to mark the passage of time in ways that help communities to build and sustain a sense of identity. For many in the labour movement, there could be no bigger anniversary in 2024 than the centenary of … Continue reading Ten labour history anniversaries in 2024

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Labour history news

Print matters: conserving and promoting the printworkers’ story

The Printworkers’ Collection is a huge documentary archive of labour history. Mark Crail visited the Marx Memorial Library to ask director Meirian Jump about a project to conserve and open it up to researchers and the public. Since 2009, the Marx Memorial Library and Workers School has been home to a unique collection of material on the history of those who worked in the print, … Continue reading Print matters: conserving and promoting the printworkers’ story

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Labour History Review

Book reviews in Labour History Review Volume 88 (2023), Issue 2

The books listed below are reviewed in Labour History Review (2023), 88, (2), 185-198. Read more. Joe Stanley reviews Peter Hounsell, Bricks of Victorian London: A Social and Economic History, Hatfield: University of Hertfordshire Press, 2022, pp. xiv + 283 + 15 plates, p/b, £18.99, ISBN 978 19122 60577 Quentin Outram reviews M.M. Borodin (trans. and ed. Pete Dickenson), The Great Betrayal: Black Friday and the 1921 Miners’ Lockout, London: … Continue reading Book reviews in Labour History Review Volume 88 (2023), Issue 2

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Labour history news

Cato Street: inside the building where London’s ultra radicals met their end

The picture above shows the former stable in which London’s ultra radicals met in 1820 to plan the murder of the Cabinet and the installation of a provisional government. From the outside, the building in Cato Street, now an expensive residential area close to the busy Edgware Road, appears much as it did two hundred years ago (see below). But behind the blue plaque on … Continue reading Cato Street: inside the building where London’s ultra radicals met their end

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