Believed to have been taken in 1855, the year in which the Manchester Mechanics Institute moved to these smart new premises on Princes Street (then known as David Street), the photograph shown here is now held in the University of Manchester Library and is part of the John Rylands online images collection. Continue reading Manchester Mechanics Institute: birthplace of the TUC
The Labour Party began to recruit individual members in 1918, and youth sections appeared in a handful of divisional party organisations soon afterwards. But it was not until 1924 that the National Executive Committee formalised their existence and established a Labour Party League of Youth to act as a national co-ordinating body – albeit one with strictly limited representation and voice within the party’s structures. … Continue reading Labour Party League of Youth members’ badge
Labour historian and former People’s History Museum director Nick Mansfield is to deliver his inaugural professorial lecture at the University of Central Lancashire on “Nineteenth century misfits: celebration, insurrection and ‘back to the land’. A lecture for Mental Health Awareness Week, 2021.” Professor Mansfield has researched 19th and 20th century working class history since the 1970s, and has written extensively on artisans, farmworkers, patriotic labour … Continue reading Nineteenth century misfits: Nick Mansfield inaugural professorial lecture
The Society for the Study of Labour History is pleased to announce that it is to sponsor the Chartist William Cuffay as part of the People’s History Museum radical sponsor scheme. The decision further cements a long-standing relationship between the SSLH and the Manchester museum. Over recent years, the Society has sponsored Henry Hunt, the great radical orator best remembered as the main speaker at … Continue reading SSLH sponsors William Cuffay at the People’s History Museum
My PhD research looks at the development of the labour movement and Labour Party in Peterborough from 1898 to 1939, with a particular focus on the period from 1918 to 1939. The aim is to understand the nature of Labour organisation and identity in a mixed constituency beyond the heartlands (that is, an area which does not occupy a special place in standard histories of the party’s development, and … Continue reading Scott Rawlinson (University of East Anglia) on the labour movement and Labour Party in Peterborough, 1898-1939
I visited the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, attached to the People’s History Museum in Manchester. For my dissertation, I wanted to examine the development of the Labour Party’s conception of the public ownership of industry during the inter-war period. Before arriving I was not sure quite which industry to focus on, waiting for that to be informed by the amount of material available. … Continue reading Matthew Case-Legge (Chichester) on the Labour Party and the debate over public ownership
My MA dissertation explores the role of the Socialist Sunday Schools (SSS) within the history of the British socialist movement, with a primary focus on the schools’ role in facilitating and cultivating a socialist culture among British working-class communities in the twentieth century. It is the aim of my dissertation to contribute to the overall history of the movement and address existing gaps within the … Continue reading Brogan Fannen (Sunderland) researches Socialist Sunday Schools at the People’s History Museum
My dissertation examines the way in which the British Left contributed to the anti-fascist cause in 1930s Europe. I will observe how the British Left reacted to the rise of fascism within Germany, Austria and Italy, whilst also exploring their reaction towards Oswald Mosley and the BUF at home. This dissertation will attempt to draw attention to how key campaigners sought to gain wider support … Continue reading Dan Horne (Northumbria) on the British Left’s response to fascism at home and in Europe
In March 2017, a bursary from the Society for the Study of Labour History enabled me to visit the Bishopsgate Institute in London and the People’s History Museum in Manchester. This was to conduct research for my Dissertation entitled A Comparison Between the Two Recent Swings to the Left Within the British Labour Party, 1979-1981 and 2015. My visit to London was focussed upon discovering … Continue reading Aidan Gibbons delves into the archives to compare Labour’s swings to the left in 1979-1981 and 2015
The Society for the Study of Labour History are set to sponsor a ‘Radical Hero’ in support of the People’s History Museum, Manchester. Opting for the radical orator and hero of the Peterloo Massacre, Henry Hunt, the Society will provide £3,000 towards the continued work of the ‘national museum of democracy’. The museum hopes to attract sponsors for ’100 Radical Heroes’ and lists many unsponsored … Continue reading SSLH to sponsor radical hero Henry Hunt at People’s History Museum
Society for the Study of Labour History 