Guardians of the Needy Found Wanting

There is a plethora of local studies of the General Strike and mining dispute of 1926 yet, as a reviewer of the spate of books, which appeared to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Strike, was moved to point out, studies of attitudes towards events in rural areas are apparently few and far between.¹ It is impossible to discuss the history of the General Strike at the national level in any detail here. For our purpose it is sufficient to mention that the miners were locked out on the 1 May 1926 when they refused to accept a cut in pay. The General Council of the T.U.C. called for a 'partial' national stoppage on Monday, 3 May 1926. This 'general' strike lasted nine days from 3 to 12 May. The deadlock was broken by Sir Herbert Samuel, acting entirely as a private citizen and negotiating in secret with the TUC leaders. When the miners refused his proposed basis for the renewal of negotiations the TUC leadership called off the General Strike. The miners' strike went on for another six months until they were forced to return to work on the owners' terms by the lash of hunger.