The Origins of the Independent Labour Party

Have a little read: ... The Origins of the Independent Labour Party The origins of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) can be traced from Scotland in the late 1880's and the industrial areas of Yorkshire and Lancashire in the early 1990's. It was not the creation of a few leaders with political ambitions, but the result of a range of initiatives taken in various communities by both men and women. A cotton worker turned journalist, Joseph Burgess, wrote an article on the need for an ILP. He believed this strongly and attempted to make it a reality by pursuing it. Burgess had many sympathisers on this idea and when the Trade Union Congress met in 1892 a conference was organised by an Arrangements committee. At this meeting in Bradford people were very optimistic of this new idea and it was believed that it was optimistic in itself. For the ILP to be a success it had to fit into the existing political system which meant fitting into certain criteria, for example, the exclusion of women and between 1885 and December 1910, about 40% of adult males. These excluded males were mainly working class, which meant it would be difficult for this new party to pick up useful support and votes because it's primary support would surely be working class being as that was who it was set up to help. Most trade union officials, working class politicians and most of the people who helped in the formation of the ILP had previously been Radical Liberals. Most kept their firm beliefs in Free Trade, Land Reform and Irish Home Rule. This meant that the ILP had a mixture of beliefs about different things within it and often caused electoral clashes with the Liberals. A key event in the formation of the ILP came about when foreign countries began to under-cut the once powerful woollen industry in Bradford. This led to a decrease in wages for workers against which they held a strike in 1890-91. This strike failed because the police and politicians worked together to stop the strikers from meeting publically Their Union was weak and consequently the workers felt they needed to form a new body to give them more of a 'voice'.