1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 General Strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 to 12 May 1926. It was called by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners. Some 1.7 million workers went out, especially in transport and heavy industry.
Tyldesley miners outside the Miners' Hall during the strike
The Subsidised Mineowner—Poor Beggar! from Trade Union Unity Magazine (1925)
Special Committee of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress at Downing Street, ready to discuss the mining crisis with Baldwin
Foraging for coal during the strike
A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions of political, social, and labour organizations and may also include rallies, marches, boycotts, civil disobedience, non-payment of taxes, and other forms of direct or indirect action. Additionally, general strikes might exclude care workers, such as teachers, doctors, and nurses.
Constantin François de Chassebœuf, whose early conception of the general strike lay the groundwork for its systematic formulation in the 19th century
William Benbow pictured in Punch in 1848
Statue commemorating the 1842 general strike
Mikhail Bakunin, leader of the anti-authoritarian faction of First International, which advocated for a revolutionary general strike to overthrow the state and capitalism
