Lewis Mates
Durham University, SGIA, Department Member
- Lewis' PhD, on the politics of the left in north-east England, was supervised by Professor Martin Pugh at Newcastle U... moreLewis' PhD, on the politics of the left in north-east England, was supervised by Professor Martin Pugh at Newcastle University. While completing the thesis, he worked with Professor Douglas Davies (Theology, Durham University) on the Encyclopedia of Cremation. There followed two funded projects (AHRC and ESRC) on political activism in post-war Britain with Dr. Gidon Cohen (SGIA). Between 2008 and 2017 Lewis lived the neo-liberal dream, delivering zero-hour teaching in the disciplines of Politics and History to undergraduates and MA students in Northumbria and Durham universities, before securing a two-year teaching fellowship in SGIA. In autumn 2019 he started on a permanent teaching-track position with SGIA.
Lewis' varied research interests are both empirical (qualitative and mixed methods) and theoretical. He has published single-authored monographs and numerous journal articles and book chapters on the politics of the Spanish republican solidarity campaigns (1936-39) and of the Durham miners' union.
Currently he is writing up the findings of a project into teaching local mining history in primary schools and trying to find the time to write a monograph on anarchist ideology, using the life of one-time anarchist Durham miner turned 'right wing' national trade union leader Will Lawther as a lens. He plans to research anarchism and pedagogy once these projects are completed.
Teaching involves modules on the history of political thought, political theory (particularly democratic theory and ideology) and British politics seen in a long-term perspective through the themes of 'class' and nation'.
Lewis would welcome enquiries from students or prospective students interested in doctoral research on any topics related broadly to his research interests and he is comfortable with both discipline-specific and more interdisciplinary approaches.
Research Interests
* History of Political Thought
* Ideologies and political theory
* Mining History
* Pedagogy: theory and practice
* Modern British political, social and industrial history
* Political Activismedit - Prof. Martin Pughedit
The Great Labour Unrest examines the struggle between liberals, socialists and revolutionary syndicalists for control of Britain's best established district miners' union. Drawing widely on a vast and rich body of primary sources, this... more
The Great Labour Unrest examines the struggle between liberals, socialists and revolutionary syndicalists for control of Britain's best established district miners' union. Drawing widely on a vast and rich body of primary sources, this study reveals the debates that grassroots activists had during the fascinating and turbulent 'Great Labour Unrest' period. It charts the contexts in which the socialists challenged the union's Liberal leaders from the late 1890s and considers the complex strikes in 1910 against the implementation of the Liberal government's miners' eight-hour day. It analyses the emergence and development of a mass rank-and-file movement in the coalfield based around demands for a miners' minimum wage and, when this principle was won in March 1912, for an improved minimum wage. This book is of interest to academics, advanced students and lay people interested in political, social and economic history, political thought, economics, and industrial relations.
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Was the British left's support for the anti-Franco cause 'the most outstanding example of international solidarity in British history'? Here Lewis Mates considers this claim and argues that support for the anti-Franco cause was varied and... more
Was the British left's support for the anti-Franco cause 'the most outstanding example of international solidarity in British history'? Here Lewis Mates considers this claim and argues that support for the anti-Franco cause was varied and multi-faceted. He analyses the 'Aid Spain movement': activities undertaken at grassroots level in support of the Spanish Republic. He explores the nature of grassroots support, its extent and depth, the motivations of activists, the institutions they operated through, and importantly, the role and impact of ideas on activism. Those within the British Left who did not embrace the Republic's cause are also examined as are the consequences of these divisions for the labour movement at its different levels from grassroots to national.Mates provides new perspectives on an important period of twentieth-century British history, contributing to debates about the nature of the British left, grassroots activism and popular political engagement in a contradictory epoch.
The Encyclopedia of Cremation is the first major reference resource focused on cremation. Spanning many world cultures it documents regional histories, ideological movements and leading individuals that fostered cremation whilst also... more
The Encyclopedia of Cremation is the first major reference resource focused on cremation. Spanning many world cultures it documents regional histories, ideological movements and leading individuals that fostered cremation whilst also presenting cremation as a universal practice. Tracing ancient and classical cremation sites, historical and contemporary cremation processes and procedures of both scientific and legal kind, the encyclopedia also includes sections on specific cremation rituals, architecture, art and text. Features in the volume include: a general introduction and editorial introductions to sub-sections by Douglas Davies, an international specialist in death studies; appendices of world cremation statistics and a chronology of cremation; cross-referencing pathways through the entries via the index; individual entry bibliographies; and illustrations. This major international reference work is also an essential source book for students on the growing number of death-studies courses and wider studies in religion, anthropology or sociology.
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For the first two decades of the twentieth century, syndicalism (revolutionary trade unionism) was the most vigorous of the left's challenges to the capitalist order in many parts of the world. In Britain, syndicalism was reckoned to have... more
For the first two decades of the twentieth century, syndicalism (revolutionary trade unionism) was the most vigorous of the left's challenges to the capitalist order in many parts of the world. In Britain, syndicalism was reckoned to have had most impact in the South Wales coalfield but there have been no detailed studies of its influence in other British coalfields. This article explores the various ways in which syndicalism's influence can be gauged in the Durham coalfield, comparing it with the South Wales experience. While the two coalfields had a good deal in common, a number of considerations, most importantly relating to the agency of syndicalists on the one hand and Independent Labour Party (ILP) activists on the other, militated against syndicalism's relative influence in Durham.
It is well known the membership of British Conservative Party in the 1950s dwarfed that of other parties but there has been very little examination of the grassroots of the Conservative Party in this crucial period when membership peaked.... more
It is well known the membership of British Conservative Party in the 1950s dwarfed that of other parties but there has been very little examination of the grassroots of the Conservative Party in this crucial period when membership peaked. What literature there is on local Conservatives comes predominantly from the top-down focus of national politics and revolves around four disputed images of the local party. First, high-levels of membership are associated with commendable engagement with formal politics. Second, local associations are presented as inconsequential but autonomous. Third local activists are presented as uninterested in ideology and solely focused on campaigning and social activity. Finally, associations are presented as dominated by women precisely because of their primarily social nature. This article examines the debates about these conventional images through an analysis of the rival Conservative factions in two Newcastle-upon-Tyne Associations, the location of probably the most divisive splits in Twentieth Century Conservatism. It suggests that debates about a ‘golden age’ of activism are unhelpful in understanding mass participation, that the conventional conception of autonomy obscures informal relationships, that attention to the ideological dimension is central to understanding and that the nature of female participation can only be understood by challenging the false dichotomy of social and political motivations. Taken together it argues that the study of grassroots Conservatism needs to grapple with the meanings, motivations and practices as seen from below as well as the consequences of such activity for those above. In this way the study of politics from the bottom-up can have significant consequences for our understanding of the Conservative Party.
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This article compares and contrasts the roles of the South Wales Miners’ Federation and the Durham Miners’ Association regarding solidarity activities with the Spanish Republican government, 1936-1939. It firstly establishes that there... more
This article compares and contrasts the roles of the South Wales Miners’ Federation and the Durham Miners’ Association regarding solidarity activities with the Spanish Republican government, 1936-1939. It firstly establishes that there were far fewer Durham miners in the International Brigade than their South Wales counterparts, despite comparable socio-economic conditions. This is explained by the different political cultures of the two coalfields (although at times, both coalfields reacted in similar ways to analogous social and political circumstances). The fundamental difference was the strength of the Communist Party in South Wales and its weakness in the Durham coalfield. The nature of Communist influence in the Durham coalfield in the period is then explored. The final section studies the considerable and hitherto unappreciated institutional contribution of the Durham Miners’ Association to the Spanish Republican cause. It also notes the paradoxical effects of the Communist-supported popular front policy.
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This article examines the Popular Front campaigns in 1938 and 1939 at grassroots level. It does this by taking the North-East region as a case study. The north-east labour movement was traditionally moderate and loyal. Substantial support... more
This article examines the Popular Front campaigns in 1938 and 1939 at grassroots level. It does this by taking the North-East region as a case study. The north-east labour movement was traditionally moderate and loyal. Substantial support for the policy in regions like the North-East was vital if the labour movement as a whole could be won over to the Popular Front. The article concentrates on Stafford Cripps’s ‘Petition Campaign’ launched in February 1939 and compares it with the earlier United Peace Alliance campaign. It discusses the individuals and organisations that supported or opposed the Popular Front project and the problems with the nature of their reaction. The explanation of the failure of the Popular Front campaigns in the North-East necessitates the exploration of the attitudes of Labour, Liberal and Conservative Party supporters and grassroots activists, thereby throwing light on the political culture of the region.
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Though historians have generally regarded the British popular front (1935-39) as a failure, it has been suggested that the project had untapped potential. Most significantly, the geographically widespread and socially and politically... more
Though historians have generally regarded the British popular front (1935-39) as a failure, it has been suggested that the project had untapped potential. Most significantly, the geographically widespread and socially and politically diverse campaigns in support of the Spanish Republic in its struggle against a military rebellion (1936-1939) have been characterised as a de facto popular front. This article examines this claim by concentrating on one campaign in one locality. The Tyneside foodship campaign involved many from a wide variety of social and political backgrounds including those who were ‘non-political’. Though appearing to constitute a de facto popular front, the campaign message was consistently worded in solely humanitarian terms by the main organisers. This had a wide range of implications for the politics of the campaign and therefore the extent to which it can be regarded as a de facto popular front. Other grass roots campaigns in the north east region that appeared to be popular fronts shared the same essential characteristics as the Tyneside foodship campaign. The evidence suggests that these campaigns only managed to achieve this semblance of a popular front precisely because the majority of those from conservative or non-political backgrounds perceived the campaigns as humanitarian. Thus they did not share (either from the outset or after becoming ‘politicised’) what could be deemed a ‘popular front outlook’; an abhorrence of fascism and a critique of Chamberlain’s supposed pro-fascist foreign policy.
'Whole class' co-construction is proffered as a solution to the problem of involving the most disengaged students in pedagogical processes. Building on the arguments of Mates and Grimshaw (2024), this chapter suggests another approach,... more
'Whole class' co-construction is proffered as a solution to the problem of involving the most disengaged students in pedagogical processes. Building on the arguments of Mates and Grimshaw (2024), this chapter suggests another approach, specifically targeting the most disadvantaged students themselves. It explores this by critically reflecting on a co-construction project with first-generation (first-gen, 'first-in-family') students at an 'elite' British university and the specific problems they experienced at the time of the COVIDinduced online pivot. The chapter argues that co-construction remains highly effective in two key ways: first, in terms of substantive outputs, i.e. generating ideas about how to reform universities in egalitarian ways. Second, the process itself can offer disadvantaged student participants a degree of catharsis, a forum for selfreflection and understanding, a sense (and a reality) that their 'voice' is valued and the selfconfidence resulting from this. Co-construction offers staff participants the chance to better know these students as individuals and therefore improve individual working relationships with them, as well as an opportunity to bolster disadvantaged students' self-belief.
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While co-creation as a practice and a subject for study in HE has become increasingly popular in recent years, there remain problems with terminology and, relatedly, with underlying ideo-pedagogic understandings. The term co-creation has... more
While co-creation as a practice and a subject for study in HE has become increasingly popular in recent years, there remain problems with terminology and, relatedly, with underlying ideo-pedagogic understandings. The term co-creation has been used interchangeably with 'co-design', 'co-production', and/or 'co-construction'. Furthermore, there is complexity in terms of the varying understandings of students' roles in this process; as partners, as change agents, as consultants or as producers. This chapter explores the health, social care and community development literatures that have pioneered the techniques deployed in the co-paradigm practices, of which co-creation is one. Bringing to bear elements of political theory, it argues for the need for more conceptual and practical clarity in defining co-creation and similar terms used in HE. It argues that terminology needs to reflect and differentiate the diametrically opposed ideo-pedagogic foundations that support practices currently dubbed 'co-creation' and suggests three viable alternative terms for those who use co-paradigm practices to enact radical pedagogies.
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Lewis Mates’s essay considers a less complicated transference of radicalism in the form of the strong support which emerged in the North East of England for the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. Mates focuses on the area of... more
Lewis Mates’s essay considers a less complicated transference of radicalism in the form of the strong support which emerged in the North East of England for the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. Mates focuses on the area of Blaydon, whose radical pedigree was well established by the time that the civil war began. Echoing Bickford-Smith’s conclusions, he argues that whilst locality may be a useful factor in predicting radicalism, it is also a boundary for other identities, in this case the religious identity of Catholicism, which at one point threatened to undermine Republican support.
PJ James; Imperialism in the Neo-colonial Phase
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Published Book Reviews 2005 to 2010 The following reviews are given below, in this order. • Reviews of J.A. Piqueras, V.S. Rozalén, A Social History of Spanish Labour: New Perspectives on Class, Politics and Gender (Oxford: Berghahn,... more
Published Book Reviews 2005 to 2010
The following reviews are given below, in this order.
• Reviews of J.A. Piqueras, V.S. Rozalén, A Social History of Spanish Labour: New Perspectives on Class, Politics and Gender (Oxford: Berghahn, 2007) and Ángel Smith, Anarchism, Revolution and Reaction: Catalan Labour and the Crisis of the Spanish State, 1898-1923 (New York and Oxford: Berghahn, 2007) in Socialist History, 37 (2010) pp.105–110.
• Review of Hugo García, Mentiras Necesarias: la Batalla por la Opinión Británica durante la Guerra Civil (Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva, 2008) in Twentieth Century British History, 21 (2) (2010), pp.253–255.
• Review of David Deacon, British News Media and the Spanish Civil War: Tomorrow may be too late (Edinburgh University Press, 2008) in Contemporary British History, 23 (4) (2009), pp.599–601.
• Review of Tom Buchanan, The Impact of the Spanish Civil War on Britain: War, Loss and Memory (Sussex Academic Press, Eastbourne, 2007) in Twentieth Century British History, 19 (2) 2008, pp.253–254.
• Review of José Peirats, The CNT in the Spanish Revolution, Vol.2, (Christie Books, Sussex, 2005), Anarchist Studies, 14 (2), 2006, pp.179–182.
• Review of Andy Croft, Comrade Heart. A Life of Randall Swingler (Manchester University Press, 2003), North-East History, 37 (2005), pp.160–163.
The following reviews are given below, in this order.
• Reviews of J.A. Piqueras, V.S. Rozalén, A Social History of Spanish Labour: New Perspectives on Class, Politics and Gender (Oxford: Berghahn, 2007) and Ángel Smith, Anarchism, Revolution and Reaction: Catalan Labour and the Crisis of the Spanish State, 1898-1923 (New York and Oxford: Berghahn, 2007) in Socialist History, 37 (2010) pp.105–110.
• Review of Hugo García, Mentiras Necesarias: la Batalla por la Opinión Británica durante la Guerra Civil (Madrid, Biblioteca Nueva, 2008) in Twentieth Century British History, 21 (2) (2010), pp.253–255.
• Review of David Deacon, British News Media and the Spanish Civil War: Tomorrow may be too late (Edinburgh University Press, 2008) in Contemporary British History, 23 (4) (2009), pp.599–601.
• Review of Tom Buchanan, The Impact of the Spanish Civil War on Britain: War, Loss and Memory (Sussex Academic Press, Eastbourne, 2007) in Twentieth Century British History, 19 (2) 2008, pp.253–254.
• Review of José Peirats, The CNT in the Spanish Revolution, Vol.2, (Christie Books, Sussex, 2005), Anarchist Studies, 14 (2), 2006, pp.179–182.
• Review of Andy Croft, Comrade Heart. A Life of Randall Swingler (Manchester University Press, 2003), North-East History, 37 (2005), pp.160–163.
The unprecedented levels of industrial unrest in Britain in the years immediately before the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 presented revolutionaries with significant opportunities. The emergence of syndicalist ideas, influenced by... more
The unprecedented levels of industrial unrest in Britain in the years immediately before the outbreak of the Great War in 1914 presented revolutionaries with significant opportunities. The emergence of syndicalist ideas, influenced by ideas and movements from France and the United States, also appeared to herald a possible new spirit of cooperation between anarchists and Marxists, as syndicalism grew from and fed into both traditions. While the South Wales coalfield produced what has been considered the high point of British syndicalism, the Miners' Next Step, miner syndicalists were active elsewhere in this period, such as in the comparably important Durham coalfield. The two most significant Durham miner revolutionaries were Will Lawther and George Harvey, both of whom were well-educated propagandists, but who differed significantly in their approach to syndicalism. In one respect, the Durham coalfield seemed harsh ground for revolutionary syndicalism to flourish. The Durham miners had been regarded as moderates and their union was dominated essentially by Liberals or ‘Lib.-Labers’. Yet, a substantial rank-and-file movement emerged in this period, seeking to challenge the Durham Miners’ Association leadership’s policies, as well as the effects of much of the Liberal government’s legislation. The ways in which the two syndicalists interacted with this wider rank-and-file movement, and with each other, offers a cautionary tale to anarchists and Marxists alike, and suggests that, while the ideological divisions within syndicalism were about fundamentals (and to a great extent ran along anarchist/ Marxist lines), at times a degree of pragmatism is fruitful expedient.
This thesis examines the united and popular front campaigns in the north east of England. The region was important for the national success of both projects since it was dominated by a moderate and loyal labour movement. Chapter one... more
This thesis examines the united and popular front campaigns in the north east of England. The region was important for the national success of both projects since it was dominated by a moderate and loyal labour movement. Chapter one examines united and popular front activity in the region in 1936 and provides an explanation of why there was so little of it. The second chapter focuses on divisions within the labour movement which provided significant barriers to united and popular front supporters. Chapter three examines the divisions related to the significant number of Catholics within the labour movement. It argues that Catholic disquiet over the labour movement’s attitude to the Spanish civil war did not provoke serious internal divisions, though Catholics remained opposed to Communism and therefore to the united and popular fronts. The Unity Campaign of 1937 and its effect is discussed in chapter four. This campaign drew very little support from within the labour movement and failed to improve relations between the left parties. Its effect, however, was not as damaging as some have claimed.
The following four chapters deal solely with aspects of the popular front. Chapter five discusses the 1938 United Peace Alliance campaign and examines the fresh potential that the aftermath of the Munich settlement offered. The 1939 Cripps Petition campaign is examined in chapter six. Both campaigns failed to mobilise significant labour movement support in the region. Chapter seven considers the attitudes of Conservatives and Liberals to the popular front. Liberal support was almost non-existent. Liberal attitudes were generally characterised by opposition to both socialism and communism, therefore their natural allies were the Conservatives, who largely supported Chamberlain and thus opposed the popular front. Chapter eight, on the Tyneside foodship, assesses the argument that the ‘Aid Spain’ campaigns constituted the closest thing to a popular front in Britain. Generally speaking, these campaigns cannot be seen as de facto popular fronts as they were humanitarian and not political. The thesis concludes that the united front was not very united, nor was the popular front very popular in the region, reflecting their failures at national level.
The following four chapters deal solely with aspects of the popular front. Chapter five discusses the 1938 United Peace Alliance campaign and examines the fresh potential that the aftermath of the Munich settlement offered. The 1939 Cripps Petition campaign is examined in chapter six. Both campaigns failed to mobilise significant labour movement support in the region. Chapter seven considers the attitudes of Conservatives and Liberals to the popular front. Liberal support was almost non-existent. Liberal attitudes were generally characterised by opposition to both socialism and communism, therefore their natural allies were the Conservatives, who largely supported Chamberlain and thus opposed the popular front. Chapter eight, on the Tyneside foodship, assesses the argument that the ‘Aid Spain’ campaigns constituted the closest thing to a popular front in Britain. Generally speaking, these campaigns cannot be seen as de facto popular fronts as they were humanitarian and not political. The thesis concludes that the united front was not very united, nor was the popular front very popular in the region, reflecting their failures at national level.
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Whitehall and foreign policy as well as an innovative approach to some key events in British history. It is clearly organised, chronological, well written and engaging, and brings to life many of the characters and personalities of the... more
Whitehall and foreign policy as well as an innovative approach to some key events in British history. It is clearly organised, chronological, well written and engaging, and brings to life many of the characters and personalities of the Cabinet meeting room by describing their appearance and manner, as well as the decisions being taken; Ernest Bevin is described as ‘a big man in every way’ (p. 17) while Clement Atlee was ‘small, neat, unassuming, a man of few words either spoken or written’ (p. 20). Six Moments of Crisis is also accessible to the general reader, with the provision of a list of principal ministers and their held positions provided for quick reference, and would be a particularly worthwhile read for any student beginning their study of politics or contemporary British history.
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Research Interests: History, Sociology, Politics, Ideology, Conservatism, and 3 moreAutonomy, Grassroots, and Historical Studies
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Durham was the second largest and best unionised interwar British coalfield. With some leading pre-war Durham miner militants sympathetic to communist inspired movements after 1920, there seemed to be considerable potential for the... more
Durham was the second largest and best unionised interwar British coalfield. With some leading pre-war Durham miner militants sympathetic to communist inspired movements after 1920, there seemed to be considerable potential for the CPGB's growth. The 'communist moment' seemed to arrive in 1926. The Durham miners' leaders' inactivity during the general strike and after, contrasted with communists' apparent dynamism, made for excellent propaganda. Hundreds duly flocked to the CPGB throughout the coalfield in those heady months of late 1926. Yet the factors that aided communism's growth while the dispute raged had the opposite impact after the miners' defeat. A successful counter-attack by local Labour and miners' leaders, coal owner victimisation and the defeatism and demoralisation it engendered, as well as the general depressed state of the industry that brought short time and unemployment, saw Durham communism retreat rapidly in 1927. The distric...
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This article presents the findings of research into the teaching of local industrial history in a socially deprived primary school in post-industrial north-east England. The first of the article’s ...
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The literature on a ‘sense of place’ often sidelines the voices of children. Consequently, little is known about how children can be encouraged to develop a sense of place. This matters because a sense of place involves feelings of... more
The literature on a ‘sense of place’ often sidelines the voices of children. Consequently, little is known about how children can be encouraged to develop a sense of place. This matters because a sense of place involves feelings of belonging and attachment, and can contribute to children’s wellbeing and identity. Informed by the research of Bartos and Severcan, we deploy data from a qualitative research project in a primary school in a former coalfield area in the north-east of England to argue that children’s experiences of learning about their urban local history and heritage can help to develop their sense of place. Placing children’s voices centrally in our research, we explore how they engage with learning about local mining history, and the impact of place-based pedagogy. Emphasising the possibilities and importance of their deep involvement with their urban heritage, we show, firstly, the ways in which children’s sense of place is strengthened when they develop a feeling of o...
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Whitehall and foreign policy as well as an innovative approach to some key events in British history. It is clearly organised, chronological, well written and engaging, and brings to life many of the characters and personalities of the... more
Whitehall and foreign policy as well as an innovative approach to some key events in British history. It is clearly organised, chronological, well written and engaging, and brings to life many of the characters and personalities of the Cabinet meeting room by describing their appearance and manner, as well as the decisions being taken; Ernest Bevin is described as ‘a big man in every way’ (p. 17) while Clement Atlee was ‘small, neat, unassuming, a man of few words either spoken or written’ (p. 20). Six Moments of Crisis is also accessible to the general reader, with the provision of a list of principal ministers and their held positions provided for quick reference, and would be a particularly worthwhile read for any student beginning their study of politics or contemporary British history.
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The history and iconography of trade union banners has been surprisingly under-explored since it was first taken seriously as a subject of study in the early 1970s. The nostalgia evident in these early accounts for an age that seemed to... more
The history and iconography of trade union banners has been surprisingly under-explored since it was first taken seriously as a subject of study in the early 1970s. The nostalgia evident in these early accounts for an age that seemed to contemporaries then to be fleeting seems particularly incongruous given the more recent reinvigoration of the trade union demonstration. This article seeks to redress the balance by focusing on the Follonsby miners’ lodge banner. First unveiled in 1928, in a pit village on the northern edge of Durham coalfield in northeast England, the Follonsby miners’ banner was later hailed as a foremost candidate for the most revolutionary trade union banner in British history. This unsubstantiated claim is important in itself, as mass trade unionism in Britain is characterized by moderation and a reluctance to engage in radical politics; an observation that broadly stands for the influential British coal miners’ unions and, more specifically, for the miners of t...
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This article considers the use of trade union banners as tools for mainstream education in the context of the recent reclamation, recuperation, and rearticulation of industrial heritage taking place in localities in the former Durham... more
This article considers the use of trade union banners as tools for mainstream education in the context of the recent reclamation, recuperation, and rearticulation of industrial heritage taking place in localities in the former Durham coalfield, north-east England. It does so by focusing on the educational work undertaken by the Follonsby Miner’s Banner Association in partnership with a local primary school. It is divided into four substantive sections. The first locates our approach theoretically, primarily in the rich pedagogical literature, while the second briefly contextualizes the Association and the school. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with teachers and activists, it offers a chronology of a project that, catalysed by the replica Follonsby miners’ banner, developed spontaneously in several exciting directions. These included the school developing its own miners’-style banner, unveiled by the late Tony Benn, who featured on it. The third section offers some wider obser...
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Though historians have generally regarded the British popular front (1935-9) as a failure, it has been suggested that the project had untapped potential. Most significantly, the geographically widespread and socially and politically... more
Though historians have generally regarded the British popular front (1935-9) as a failure, it has been suggested that the project had untapped potential. Most significantly, the geographically widespread and socially and politically diverse campaigns in support of the Spanish Republic in its struggle against a military rebellion (1936-9) have been characterized as a de facto popular front. This article examines this claim by concentrating on one campaign in one locality. The Tyneside foodship campaign involved many from a wide variety of social and political backgrounds including those who were 'non-political'. Though appearing to constitute a de facto popular front, the campaign message was consistently worded in solely humanitarian terms by the main organizers. This had a wide range of implications for the politics of the campaign and therefore the extent to which it can be regarded as a de facto popular front. Other grass roots campaigns in the north east region that appe...
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This chapter addresses the complex interplay of disunities on three main levels; intra-organisational, inter-organisational and between labour organisations and spontaneous working-class protests. It does so by examining the struggle for... more
This chapter addresses the complex interplay of disunities on three main levels; intra-organisational, inter-organisational and between labour organisations and spontaneous working-class protests. It does so by examining the struggle for control of the well-established and influential Durham Miners’ Association’ as a case study. It firstly considers the historiographical debates and the applicability of the ‘leaders vs. led’ model to disunities within the union from the 1890s-1910. The focus then turns to spontaneous protest in relation to the mass unofficial striking and rioting that emerged with changed shift systems as part of the implementation of the eight hour day in 1910. Finally, it considers seven distinct forms of disunity that, taken together, show how a generally younger cohort of more radical socialists were able to emerge from the trauma of 1910 to build a mass movement around the miners’ minimum wage. It allowed them to undermine the Liberal DMA leaders on the one hand and outflank the syndicalists on the other.
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Capture-recapture methods are of general interest because they can be applied to conventional historical sources to address otherwise intractable questions about the size and dynamics of historical populations. When employed to assess... more
Capture-recapture methods are of general interest because they can be applied to conventional historical sources to address otherwise intractable questions about the size and dynamics of historical populations. When employed to assess alternative ...
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