Industrial Politics and the 1926 Mining Lockout

“This volume of essays provides a welcome contribution to our understanding of the history of the miners between the wars. It is scholarly and judicious, but often passionate, disputatious and eloquent…” –Tribune

“. . . the firm focus of this volume on the lock-out rather than the strike is path-breaking . . . The tragedy of 1926 is marvellously evoked in this meticulously researched, well written collection.” –History Workshop Journal

“The editors successfully orchestrate an impressive group of specialists to provide in-depth analysis that never neglects the importance of individuals . . . broadly conceived, argumentative and clear . . .” –British Journal of Industrial Relations

“This is a valuable addition to the literature and an enjoyable and interesting read. It provides the first detailed, analytical and scholarly examination of a key episode in British trade union, social and political history. This study brings out the short and long term consequences of the coal lockout with in-depth area studies as well as thematic expositions of the role of mineowners, women, the police and the Communist Party.” –Chris Wrigley, Professor of Modern British History, University of Nottingham

“The seven months of the miners’ lock-out have been overshadowed by the nine days of the general strike. This rich analysis of the longer dispute documents the heroism and endurance but also the complexity of the struggle. It provides a powerful account of miners and their leaders striving against the odds to control their own destiny.” –Richard Hyman, Professor of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics

“This book has three outstanding strengths. First, it places the general strike of 1926 in the context of the miners’ lockout. Second, it recovers the personal histories of the lockout; the tragedies and the heroics of ordinary people struggling for decent wages and conditions against the indecent forces of history. And third, it demonstrates the importance of the collective memory of the lockout for the wider history of industrial politics in Britain. Not until the demise of coal miners and the coal industry after 1984 did the experience of 1926 cease to resonate throughout the politics of twentieth century Britain.” –Richard Price, Professor of British History, University of Maryland