Labour, British Radicalism and the First World War

As politicians and the general public alike debate the meaning of the First World War, this volume offers thirteen essays considering the conflict’s impact on various areas of British life from the parliamentary left to women and work. Based on new archival research, this work offers bite-sized analyses of several issues that remain of critical importance to the development of modern Britain.

This book contains essays on both the Labour Party and the wider trade union movement at local and national levels. It considers debates over the righteousness of conflict at both the start and throughout the war, and thereby sees broad discussions of figures such as Ramsay MacDonald, Philip Snowden, and Arthur Henderson.

Elsewhere, it looks at the evolving position of women through campaigners like Sylvia Pankhurst and Ellen Wilkinson, whilst also discussing the passage of legislation which gave women the right to become Members of Parliament. Finally, it situates the British experience of the war through several transnational studies taking in Ireland, Russia, and the United States. Through such chapters, those interested in the eugenics movement or the role of cinema will also find much of value.

This collection will be of interest to anyone seeking a greater understanding of the British left during the First World War. Undergraduate students seeking wider background to their reading on suffrage or the home front will also find the work of particular importance.