1910
Tonypandy riots

1900–14

The growth of trade unions (political and economic change)

• The Trades Union Congress (TUC) was founded in Manchester in 1868. In 1871 William Gladstone’s Liberal government passed the Trade Union Act, which gave trade unions legal status for the first time.


• After the formation of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) in 1893, the trade union movement developed a close relationship with the ILP. This political relationship was strengthened by the Taff Vale case (1900–1), in which the House of Lords supported the right of the Taff Vale Railway Company to sue members of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS) for striking in the summer of 1900.


• Many trade unions joined the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). This organisation was created to unite trade unionists and socialists in a single political movement.


• The link between the Labour Party and trade unionism was mainly responsible for the increase in the number of Labour MPs returned to Parliament, which rose from 2 in 1900 to 29 in 1906.

1900–14

The workshop of the world (economic change)

• In the second half of the 19th century, British manufactured goods dominated world trade. Few countries could compete with Britain, which became known as the workshop of the world.


• However, between 1900 and the start of the Great War in 1914, it was Welsh heavy industry which became the bedrock on which Britain’s reputation as the ‘workshop of the world’ was founded.


• In the decade before the outbreak of the Great War, Wales dominated the world trade in coal, steel and slate.

1900–18

Demographic change (social, economic and cultural change)

• Before the Great War agricultural depression led to rural depopulation in Wales and England.


• Migrants from the countryside were lured to the towns by the prospect of work in industry.


• Rural depopulation was matched by a rise in urban population.


• Wales also experienced inward migration, mainly from England.


• This affected the Welsh language and its culture. Welsh continued as the majority language in some rural areas, but it saw a substantial decline in the larger urban multicultural populations.

1900–18

Women and the campaign for political emancipation (social and political change)

• The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies employed ‘constitutional’ methods in its campaign for the political emancipation of women.


• In 1903, the campaign for women’s suffrage moved into a new phase with the formation of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) by Emmeline Pankhurst.


• The WSPU advocated direct action. Its policy of ‘militancy’ escalated into arson and window-breaking, with its members enduring imprisonment and aggressive force-feeding whilst in custody.


• The WSPU abandoned its suffrage campaign when war broke out in 1914, but the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies continued to lobby discreetly for reform. In 1918, it managed to secure the vote for women over the age of 30.

1900–18

The growing influence of the Labour Party (political change)

• The Labour Party began as a working-class movement that owed its growth to the trade union movement of the late 19th century. It replaced the Liberal Party as the main opposition to the Conservatives in the decade after the Great War.


• In 1900, an association called the Labour Representation Committee (LRC) was established to coordinate attempts to support MPs sponsored by trade unions and represent the working-class population.


• Labour’s support for and influence in the passage of the Liberal welfare reforms was the result of an informal Labour-Liberal alliance that was established prior to the General election of 1906. The Labour and Liberal parties reached agreement to accommodate each other’s candidates.


• In the 1910 general election, the Labour Party achieved a significant victory when 42 Labour MPs were returned to the House of Commons. This victory was achieved in the face of determined opposition by the House of Lords which had passed the Osborne judgment in 1909, ruling that Trades Unions could no longer donate money to fund the election campaigns and wages of Labour MPs.


• In 1915, the Labour Party experienced ministerial office for the first time, when leading members of the party were invited to join Herbert Asquith’s wartime government.

1900

Taff Vale Railway dispute (economic conflict)

• This case involved the Taff Vale Railway Company against the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants (ASRS).


• The courts ruled that a union could be sued for damages caused by the actions of its officials in industrial disputes.


• The verdict more or less eliminated the strike as a weapon of organised labour.


• Opposition to the decision encouraged support for the British Labour Party and its subsequent growth.

1900

Penrhyn Quarry dispute (economic conflict)

• The strike that began at the Penrhyn Slate Quarry in Gwynedd in November 1900 became the longest-lasting dispute in British history.


• The quarry owner, Lord Penrhyn, refused his workmen’s demand for better pay and safer working conditions. This led to the Penrhyn lockout.


• The strike ended in 1903 when the impoverished workers were forced to return to work.


• The strike divided the Welsh-speaking community and thousands left the area never to return.

1901

Booth and Rowntree (social change)

• Poverty: A Study of Town Life was published in 1901 by Seebohm Rowntree.


• Rowntree’s research was inspired by the pioneering work undertaken by Charles Booth in Life and Labour of the People in London (1889).


• Booth and Rowntree agreed on two key points:
(i) up to 30% of the population of the cities were living in or below poverty levels
(ii) the conditions were such that people could not pull themselves out of poverty
by their own actions alone.


• They both identified the main causes of poverty as illness, unemployment and age – both the very young and the old were at risk of poverty.


• Booth and Rowntree’s influence was such that the government acknowledged that it had a role to play.

1904

Religious revival in Wales (religious change)

• The revival was led by Evan Roberts of Loughor.


• It gave rise to the Apostolic Church and the Elim movement, and also boosted the Temperance movement and the campaign for disestablishment of the Church in Wales.


• The revival quickly spread throughout Wales and was at its most intense between 1904 and 1905.


• The number of conversions was reported daily in the Western Mail, and it has been estimated that over 100,000 people were converted.

1900–05

Conservative government reforms (political, economic and educational change)

• Arthur Balfour succeeded Lord Salisbury as Prime Minister in 1902.


• Chamberlain proposed a scheme for tariff reform. This was designed to protect British goods from foreign competition, and was referred to as protectionism.


• Tariff reform led to the resignation of some free traders in the Conservative Cabinet.


• The 1902 Education Act, also known as the ‘Balfour Act’, provided for the funding of secondary schools out of local rates. This was also aided by grants from central government.

1906

General election (political change)

• The Liberals won a huge majority in the election. They had 49.4% of the vote and won 399 out of 666 seats.


• In Wales, the Liberal victory was even more impressive – 33 out of the 34 MPs elected were Liberals.


• The Liberals won the election partly because of the unpopularity of the Conservatives, but also because of their proposed social reforms.


• Businessmen feared that the Conservative policies of protectionism and tariff reform might damage Britain’s trade.


• The Liberal government’s social reforms were inspired by the reports of Booth and Rowntree.

1906–14

New Liberalism: Liberal government social and welfare reforms (social and economic change)

• ‘New Liberalism’, led by Lloyd George and Herbert Asquith, provided the inspiration for the social and welfare reforms. New Liberals believed that the state had a duty to intervene in people’s lives.


• The Liberals focused on four groups in society – the old, the young, the sick and the unemployed.


• Old age pensions and unemployment benefits were introduced, along with medical inspections and free school meals for poor children.


• The Children’s Charter, also known as the ‘Children’s Act’, was established in 1908 to guarantee a better life for young people. The sale of cigarettes and alcohol to children under 16 years of age was declared illegal, and juvenile courts and borstals were set up.

1907

The National Library of Wales and National Museum of Wales (cultural change)

• The National Library of Wales was established by Royal Charter in 1907. Construction began in 1909.


• Under the terms of the Copyright Act, it became one of six British libraries entitled to claim a copy of all books, pamphlets, maps etc., published in the British Isles.


• The National Museum of Wales was also established by Royal Charter in 1907.


• The main hall and galleries were opened to the public in 1922, although the institution itself was not formally opened until 1927 by King George V.


• The museum service in Wales expanded with branches being opened at St Fagan’s (Welsh Folk Museum), Dre-fach, Felindre (Museum of the Welsh Woollen Industry), and Llanberis in Gwynedd (Welsh Slate Museum and Museum of the North).

1909

The People’s Budget (social and political change)

• The People’s Budget was the first budget in British history which aimed to redistribute wealth among the British people.


• The budget bitterly divided the Liberal government and the Conservative-dominated House of Lords. This disagreement led to two general elections in 1910 and the passing of the Parliament Act in 1911.


• Lloyd George declared that the People’s Budget would eliminate poverty. He stated ‘This is a war Budget. It is for raising money to wage implacable warfare against poverty and squalidness.’


• There were several proposed tax increases (income tax) included in the budget to fund the Liberal welfare reforms.


• A proposal for the introduction of a new system of land valuation was also included, along with a 20% tax on increases in value when land changed hands.

1910

Tonypandy riots (economic conflict)

• The riots began in November 1910 as part of an industrial dispute between mine workers and mine owners.


• Miners complained that the system by which they were paid per ton of coal removed, rather than by hours of work, was unfair. The mine owners refused to discuss the matter.


• The miners threatened to go on strike, and so the owners posted a lockout notice at the mine. This meant that the site was closed to all 950 workers.


• Mine workers in other local pits went on strike in support, and the strike spread.


• Police were called to deal with the increasingly tense situation. Troops were also deployed as a reserve, if necessary.


• This was the most bitter industrial dispute of the period.

1911

Constitutional Crisis and the Parliament Act 1911 (political change)

• The Parliament Act 1911 was one of the most significant pieces of legislation of the 20th century. It was intended to solve the constitutional crisis which had begun in November 1909, when the Conservative-dominated House of Lords rejected the Liberal government’s People’s Budget.


• The Parliament Act was intended to reduce or remove the power of the House of Lords to reject financial legislation, and to replace the Lords’ veto over other public bills with the power of delay.


• The Parliament Act was passed by the House of Lords by a 131–114 vote in August 1911. The Parliament Act did not alter the Conservative-dominated composition of the House of Lords, but it did suggest that the upper house might be reformed in the future.

1911

Llanelli Railway Strike and Riot (economic conflict)

• The strike began in August 1911, in protest at average wages of £1 per week. These wages were around 20% lower than what skilled manual workers might expect to be paid at the time.


• The strikers were joined by sympathetic local colliers and tinplate workers. Approximately 500 men blockaded Llanelli and stopped trains from passing through the town.


• Local councillor and magistrate, Thomas Jones, requested assistance from the military and two detachments were sent to the town – the Lancashire Fusiliers and the Worcester Regiment.


• One protester called out in Welsh: ‘Popeth yn iawn! Blanc yw hi, bois! Peidiwch â symud. Saethan nhw ddim.’ (This translates to: ‘It’s all right! It’s blank, boys! Don’t move. They won’t shoot.’). Unfortunately the troops did shoot. Two young men, John ‘Jac’ John and Leonard Worsell, were killed.

1913

Senghenydd mining disaster (economic change)

• An explosion killed 439 miners at the Lancaster shaft, owned by Universal Colliery, in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly.


• The largely Welsh-speaking community was devastated by the tragedy. It was stripped of a generation of its workers, many of whom were young men and boys.


• A contemporary poem reads: “The collier’s wife had four tall sons / Brought from the pit’s mouth dead, / And crushed from foot to head; / When others brought her husband home, / Had five dead bodies in her room.”


• The coal owners had ignored warnings of the dangers in the mine only a short time before the disaster.

1914

Welsh Home Rule Bill (political change)

• The introduction of the Welsh Home Rule Bill in Parliament was mostly due to the efforts of a single MP,
  E. T. John.


• However, the Bill was unsuccessful, and the proposal of the Pontypridd-born MP for East Denbighshire was largely ignored by the House of Commons.


• John was a radical Welsh Liberal Party politician who later joined the Labour Party.


• John’s arguments in favour of the economic benefits of a separate Wales would be revisited in the 1997 referendum.

1914–18

Wales and its role in the Great War (military conflict)

• Large numbers of Welshmen volunteered to fight in the war. In percentage terms, more Welshmen were recruited than Englishmen, Scotsmen or Irishmen.


• Welsh troops fought in some of the most fierce battles of the war: the Somme, Mametz Wood, Ypres and Passchendaele.


• Welsh workers and Welsh industry made a huge contribution to the war effort. The Royal Navy was powered by Welsh steam coal.


• A Welshman, David Lloyd George, became Prime Minister in 1916 and led the war effort until victory in 1918. He implemented the policy of total war – victory at all costs.

1914–18

Women and war work (social change)

• The war provided women with employment opportunities. The number of women employed in the dockyards and factories rose from 2,000 in 1914 to 247,000 by 1918. Their war work helped pave the way for victory.


• The number of women employed in the transport industry increased to roughly 100,000.


• Between 1914 and 1918, just over one million women had been added to the British workforce. Many of these jobs involved working on the land to generate food supplies.


• According to the Suffragette campaigner Millicent Fawcett, ‘the war had revolutionised the industrial position of women.’


• Many women developed new skills, self-confidence and contacts in their war jobs. They were able to capitalise on these gains after the war in terms of greater freedom, both at work and in their personal lives.

1916–18

Lloyd George’s coalition (political change)

• This coalition replaced the earlier wartime coalition under Herbert Asquith, which had been held responsible for failing to achieve victory in the early part of the Great War.


• The formation of Lloyd George’s coalition split the Liberal Party, with those Liberals who continued to support Asquith serving as the Official Opposition.


• The coalition brought the war to a successful conclusion.


• The government continued in power after the end of the war in 1918, though Lloyd George was very reliant on the Conservative Party for support.

1918

Representation of the People Act (political change)

• This is sometimes known as the ‘Fourth Reform Act’, because it was intended to reform the electoral system.


• The Act widened suffrage by abolishing practically all property qualifications for men and by enfranchising women over 30 who met minimum property qualifications. The enfranchisement of women was in recognition of their contribution in the war factories. However, women were still not politically equal to men.


• The size of the electorate almost tripled from the 8 million who had been entitled to vote in 1910 to 21 million by the end of 1918. Women now made up 43% of the electorate.


• Despite its shortcomings, the Act was seen as a major victory for the suffragist movement. Millicent Fawcett called the passing of the Act the greatest moment in her life.

1918

General election (political change)

• The election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918. This was the first election in which some women over the age of 30 and most men over the age of 21 were allowed to vote.


• The election saw a split in the Liberal Party between those who followed Lloyd George and the government, and those who remained loyal to Asquith.


• The coalition won a landslide victory and Lloyd George remained Prime Minister.


• The Labour Party greatly increased its share of the vote and made a net gain of seats in the Commons.


• This election is often called the ‘Coupon election’. Lloyd George and the Conservative leader, Bonar Law, gave a letter of endorsement to candidates who agreed to support them. These letters, known as 'coupons', were signed by both men. Coupons were issued to 159 Liberal candidates and 364 Conservatives.

The consequences of the Boer War (social change)

The growth of trade unions (political and economic change)

The workshop of the world (economic change)

Demographic change (social, economic and cultural change)

Women and the campaign for political emancipation (social and political change)

The growing influence of the Labour Party (political change)

Taff Vale Railway dispute (economic conflict)

Penrhyn Quarry dispute (economic conflict)

Booth and Rowntree (social change)

Religious revival in Wales (religious change)

Conservative government reforms (political, economic and educational change)

General election (political change)

New Liberalism: Liberal government social and welfare reforms (social and economic change)

The National Library of Wales and National Museum of Wales (cultural change)

The People’s Budget (social and political change)

Tonypandy riots (economic conflict)

Constitutional Crisis and the Parliament Act 1911 (political change)

Llanelli Railway Strike and Riot (economic conflict)

Senghenydd mining disaster (economic change)

Welsh Home Rule Bill (political change)

Wales and its role in the Great War (military conflict)

Women and war work (social change)

Lloyd George’s coalition (political change)

Representation of the People Act (political change)

General election (political change)