B ; trade unions ; strike + gov '26 ; reasons for general strike

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LONG TERM CAUSES '21 - '26
DFGDF
1 of 97
change in industrial relations brought about by?
wwi
2 of 97
fall in production and price of?
coal
3 of 97
trade union discontent after embarrasment of?
black friday
4 of 97
determination of mine owners to do what even in unstable economic period?
maintain profits
5 of 97
by doing which two things?
cutting wages / raising hours
6 of 97
return to gold standard in?
'25
7 of 97
and overvalued?
strength of pound
8 of 97
why did business owners esp coal mine owners making loss from '21-'26 make effort to cut wages?
recapture international markets
9 of 97
'21-'25 workers saw total avg fall wages of how much per week?
£12m
10 of 97
yet wage production didn't do what?
increase british competitiveness
11 of 97
instead did what which further increased unemployment?
reduced home demand for products + domestic spending
12 of 97
increased competition from which two countries kept international coal prices low?
usa / germany
13 of 97
temporarily abaited '23-'25 when french did what?
seized control of ruhr and mines
14 of 97
while in america?
miners went on trike
15 of 97
but by '25 what was targeted again for cuts?
british coal mine wages
16 of 97
'21-'25 what stagnated?
british trade
17 of 97
what happened to demand for coal?
declined
18 of 97
and unemplohment hit?
1M
19 of 97
situation exacerbated by return to?
gold standard
20 of 97
who decided on this despite own reservations?
chancellor of exchequer winston churchill
21 of 97
attempted to do what to stabilise value of currency / avoid inflation / restore london to dominant centre global finance?
peg pound to gold reserves in the bank of england
22 of 97
in '18 what did Cuncliffe Committee on Currency and Foreign Exchange recommend?
britain strengthen pound to pre-war parity w/ dollar and return to gold standard w/in seven years
23 of 97
committee advised that to do this gov had to do which three things?
mntn balanced budget / limit bank notes issue / reduce national debt
24 of 97
in '25 pound set to value of how many $s?
$4.86
25 of 97
level it had been in?
'14
26 of 97
decision initially supported by keynes who later argued?
choice strangled britsh economy + triggered global recession
27 of 97
gold standard created deflation causing what?
shortage of currency thereby straining economy
28 of 97
reduction of currency caused which two things?
wages fall + inc unemployment
29 of 97
as pound was stronger why necessitated further wage cuts?
british exports more expensive
30 of 97
british economy too weak to do what?
support such strong pound
31 of 97
gold standard basically and act of?
economic vanity
32 of 97
coal industry already struggling particularly hit as business owners did what
contd to try make profits despite economic conditions
33 of 97
w/ new standard how much would wages have to be cut to keep british products competitive?
10%
34 of 97
coal miners encouraged wages might be protected by gov after what example?
textile dispute resolved by gov comission recommending wages constant
35 of 97
victory boosted TUC's confidence that what?
reversal wartime wage increases not inevitable
36 of 97
RED FRIDAY
DFGD
37 of 97
immediate causes of general strike were coal conflict of?
july '25
38 of 97
and subseqyet breakdown industrial relations between?
TUs / gov / workers
39 of 97
under financial pressure in june '25 what did coal mine owners attempt to abolish?
'24 minimum wage agreement
40 of 97
specified profits on what % all coal sold constitute miners wages?
87%
41 of 97
however return of what meant british coal pits financial strain?
french pulled out of ruhr and german competition returned
42 of 97
with owners looking to cut wages by what %?
13%
43 of 97
and extend hours from 7 to?
8hrs
44 of 97
what happened with this?
miners rejected and gov couldn't find compromise
45 of 97
court of inquiry proposed when?
july '25
46 of 97
which reported coal industry should do what?
be more efficient / wages agreed before owners take profits / owners reorg industry
47 of 97
who rejected this judgement?
miners and owners
48 of 97
General Council of TUC ordered what in support of coal strike?
embargo to halt coal imports
49 of 97
chancellor of exchequer churchill and many cons ready for confrontation but who wanted no conflict?
PM baldwin
50 of 97
he hoped resolve issue how?
negotiation
51 of 97
while churchill wanted?
display of gov strneght demonstrated by defeating a strike to show trade unions gov was in ctrl
52 of 97
baldwin backed down to prevent strike offering 9m subsidy of how much to support coal miners' wages?
£23m
53 of 97
avoided what?
immediate need for wage reduction
54 of 97
subsidy agreed on which date that became known as red friday?
31st july '25
55 of 97
subsidy supported by owners / miners and gave gov time to?
organise for future militancy
56 of 97
@ same timr baldwin appt what to investigate coal industry and provide long-term solution?
samuel commission
57 of 97
gov hoped to avoid strike or failing that?
be prepared for when one does occurr
58 of 97
subsidy of red friday short term solution but did what/
polarised opinion and intensified slide toward general strike
59 of 97
how did trade unions / left-wing thinkers view it?
encouraged hope capitalism might quickly be replaced by socialism
60 of 97
what principle had been established seen as huge victory by wc?
state would intervene to support industry and undermine competition of capitalist markets
61 of 97
how did right-wing anti-socialist conservatives view red friday?
disaster reflecting poorly on baldwin
62 of 97
even ramsay macdonald labour leader critical why?
thought subsidy would lead to revolutionaries
63 of 97
worried socialist agitation would affect labour party how?
discredit its growing credentials as legitimate and responsible political org
64 of 97
BREAKDOWN OF NEGOTIATIONS '26
DFDGDFF
65 of 97
post-red friday citrine acting secretary of TUC observed general council was pessimistic about what?
long-term securement of miners wages
66 of 97
but staggeringly oblivious of neec to do what?
prepare for industrial action
67 of 97
in contrast gov used the 9m they gained to do what?
org counter-strike measures
68 of 97
administered by?
STC
69 of 97
what three things were main to preparation?
resources stockpiled / local networks volunteers est / independent orgs for anti-strike put in place
70 of 97
OMS recruited M/UC volunteers to do what?
work public services / keep country moving in strike
71 of 97
by when did gov believe it was ready for any industrial militancy?
feb '26
72 of 97
having established system of administration to keep what three things working?
nations roads / coal / food supplies
73 of 97
what happened in sensitive areas?
military forces deployed
74 of 97
TUC basically inactive in this time as unions refusted to grant General Council powers to do what?
call all-out strike / conduct gov negotiations
75 of 97
what was problem with unions after black friday?
lack of trust + thomas seen maser of intrigue
76 of 97
gov grew more confident and what happened to TUC?
position deteriorated
77 of 97
Samuel Commission on coal industry recommended what should happen?
coal ind rationalised / gov continue manipulating coal revenues and wage levels reduced temporatilu whie industry reorganised
78 of 97
also stated what about nationalisation?
shouldn't happen
79 of 97
when was this rejected by miners / owners?
march '26
80 of 97
samuel commission proposed which two things?
amalgamation of mines / increased research into coal production
81 of 97
advocated what about profits?
shared between miners / mine owners
82 of 97
clearly angered owners while what offended MFGB?
reduction in wages
83 of 97
MFGB refused to do waht?
consider any wage reductions @ all
84 of 97
who accepted the reoprt?
nobody
85 of 97
who worked for compromise before realised they were @ an impasse?
baldwin and conservatives
86 of 97
things escalated when owners took what action?
locked out miners who refused to accept wage cuts
87 of 97
on what date?
29th april '26
88 of 97
TUC responded how?
calling on unions to unite / powers granted to general council for strike action
89 of 97
spark to hostilities came from what?
poster
90 of 97
jimmy thomas produced an OMS poster calling for recruits that was seen as?
provocation as gov moving for counter strike action
91 of 97
in response when did TUC vote for general strike?
1st may
92 of 97
and this strike commenced when?
one minute to midnight 3rd may
93 of 97
gov appealed to general council to do what?
concede on working hours but MFGB resolute
94 of 97
why couldn't baldwin back fown and repeat red friday?
under pressure from hardline anti-trade union conservatives in the cabinet
95 of 97
likewise TUC couldn't repeat what event?
black friday
96 of 97
therefore what became unavoidable?
General Strike
97 of 97

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

change in industrial relations brought about by?

Back

wwi

Card 3

Front

fall in production and price of?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

trade union discontent after embarrasment of?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

determination of mine owners to do what even in unstable economic period?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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