The document provides an overview of several major protests and social movements in 20th century Britain: - The Suffragette movement fought for women's right to vote from the late 19th century through the early 20th century, employing increasingly militant tactics like hunger strikes when peaceful protest failed. - The 1926 General Strike involved millions of British workers and was triggered by a pay cut for coal miners, though it ultimately collapsed after 10 days due to lack of organization and government countermeasures. - The 1984-85 Miners' Strike saw coal miners strike against planned pit closures, but strong government opposition and divisions within the miners' union led to the strike's failure and many pit closures going ahead as

1. REVISION: Protest, Law and
Order in the Twentieth Century
Complete your sheets as you hear about each
protest

2. The Suffragettes
• Suffrage = the right to vote
• Womens’ rights had improved
after 1900: more women were
able to go to University and
worked in roles like nursing and
teaching
• Many (not all!) in society
believed that a woman’s role
was at home and that women
lacked the intelligence to vote

3. Two main groups:
National Union of
Women’s Suffrage
Societies (NUWSS)
•Founded in 1897.
•Led by Millicent Fawcett.
•Believed in peaceful
protest.
•Were prepared to work
with politicians
•Known as SUFFRAGISTS
Women’s Social and
Political Union (WSPU)
• Founded in 1903.
• Led by the Pankhursts.
• They were impatient with
the NUWSS’ lack of
progress
• They were nicknamed
“suffragettes” by the Daily
Mail newspaper
• Their motto was “Deeds
not Words”

4. “Deeds not words”

5. The Suffragettes’ Campaign
The Suffragette campaign became more
violent after 1906 because:
• They had realised that being sent to
prison got publicity, which = support
• The campaign had started in 1897 and
had achieved little – they were impatient
• When Herbert Asquith (a Liberal)
became Prime Minister, he challenged
the Suffragettes to show they were
popular. 500,000 women marched
through London on “Womens’ Sunday”
in 1908. Asquith did nothing.

6. Gaining further publicity
• Frustration grew – huge
demonstrations outside Parliament in
1908 and ‘rushes’ into Parliament
• Those who went to prison went on
hunger strike to create martyrs for the
cause
• They were force fed

7. The Conciliation Bill and Black Friday
• The Liberal Government (led by Asquith)
promised to give women the vote in Jan
1910
• This still had not passed into law by
November 1910
• An angry demonstration on 18th November
1910 turned into a riot. Police were heavy
handed and there were complaints bout
sexual and physical violence against
protestors. This was known as Black Friday.
• Asquith dropped plans to give women the
vote in November 1911. This triggered the
most violent phase of the campaign

8. Violence after 1911
• Bleach poured into post boxes
• Bombs
• Attacks on mens’ clubs
• In 1912 Mary Leigh threw an axe at the
Prime Minister
• Mary Richardson slashed a famous
portrait at the National Gallery
• In June 1913 Emily Davison threw
herself in front of the King’s horse
during the famous Derby race and died

9. 1914 – 1918: a very different kind of
campaign
• The campaign was suspended in
1914 because of the outbreak of
WW1
• As most men were away at war,
women stepped into “mens’” jobs
and some argue they “proved”
their equality through their
contribution
• Women over 30 were given the
vote in 1918 after the war. Women
over 21 received suffrage in 1928

10. The General Strike: 1926

11. The Background to the General Strike
• Union membership was growing
• The Triple Industrial Alliance
(TIA) had promised to support
each other in strikes – this was
the transport, railway and
miners’ unions
• There was a fear of revolution
(after the Communists had taken
over Russia in 1917)
• There was an economic slump,
which harmed Britain’s economy

12. The effect of WW1: Black Friday
• The Government had controlled coal
mines during the war. Miners were crucial
to success, so had high wages, good
working hours and safety improved.
• After the war in 1921, mines were
returned to their owners. This was
unpopular with miners.
• Miners thought pay would decrease and
hours go up. They called a strike but the
TIA thought they had done this too
quickly and didn’t support them. The
Strike failed and was known as Black
Friday.

13. Red Friday: 31st July 1925
• When owners proposed a further cut in
wages and an extra hour of work every
day, miners called a strike.
• The Government stepped in and:
• Paid the owners a subsidy to stop the
changes
• Set up the Samuel committee to investigate
problems in the mining industry
• This was a success for the miners but it
led to a belief that mine owners were
greedy.
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14. The Samuel Report and the trigger for the strike
• In March 1926, the Samuel Report
recommended that miners take a pay
cut
• The Trade Union Congress (TUC) steps
in and begins to organise a General
Strike to support the miners – they
thought the threat of a strike would be
enough to scare the government into
action
• The Daily Mail tried to print an article
in May 1926 attacking the strike. The
printers refused to print the article and
the Government broke off negotiations
with the TUC. The Strike had started…

15. How did the Strike unfold?
• The TUC’s plans were disorganised and
strikers did not follow the plans
• Local groups coordinated action in
their areas (rather than the TUC) and
were very successful in bringing
transport and other services to a
complete stop
• It was generally a peaceful strike but
5,000 were arrested for disorder

16. The Government’s response
• They launched The British Gazette, a
propaganda newspaper attacking the strike
• The BBC refused to let Labour politicians or
strikers on the radio
• The courts ruled that the Strike was illegal
• The government had coordinated local
resistance, including stockpiling supplies
• Emergency Powers Act (1920) allowed more
police to be called up
• The army was used to defend London

17. The end of the strike and its impact
• The TUC called off the strike after 10
days. They had been portrayed as
trying to overthrow the Government
• This was not their aim but their
decision was fuelled by the widespread
fear of communism
• The strike was too big to control
• The Miners remained on strike for
another 10 months, until hunger
forced them back to work. They failed
• Trade Union membership had fallen by
50% by 1930

18. The Miners’ Strike: 1984-5

19. Background to the Strike
• Miners had gone on strike in 1974 and forced
the Conservative party out of power.
• They had gone on strike again in 1979,
forcing the Labour party out of power, with
Margaret Thatcher becoming Conservative
Prime Minister
• Coal mining was in serious trouble – it was
cheaper to buy coal from abroad
• The Government announced plans in March
1984 to close 20 pits, including Cortonwood
in Yorkshire. This started the Strike.

20. Key figures
Margaret Thatcher, Conservative
Prime Minister
Arthur Scargill, NUM (National
Union of Mineworkers leader

21. BUT THERE WAS A BIG PROBLEM!
The Miners had not held a ballot
(vote) to decide whether to strike.
This made the Strike ILLEGAL.

22. Miners’ tactics
• Flying pickets helped to spread the
strike quickly
• Relied upon local media support
• Solidarity in mining communities
• NUM gave financial support to
striking miners
• Women supported by taking on
extra work and setting up soup
kitchens
• Tried to stop “scabs” from crossing
the picket line (going back to work)
• Posters, badges, leaflets

23. Government tactics
• The government had stockpiled coal
and bought from abroad
• Responded to the illegal strike by
confiscating £5 million from the NUM
• They promised the Miners’ of
Nottingham that their jobs were safe,
so they didn’t go on strike
• Brought in Police from all over the
country to support “scabs” in getting
back to work
• Road blocks used to stop flying pickets
• The Government fed the national
press stories about corruption in the
NUM

24. Outcomes of the Strike
• Support for the miners faded after a
number of violent incidents: the death of
a taxi driver in Wales
• In December 1984 the TUC began to
pressure the NUM into settling
• Miners began to drift back to work
• Mass pickets were banned in Yorkshire –
they could only now be 6 people
• In Feburary the NUM voted to end the
strike, against the will of Scargill
• It ended without the NCB (National Coal
Board) changing anything – they still
went ahead with planned pit closures.

25. The Poll Tax: 1990s

26. What was the Poll Tax?
• It replaced the rates system
• It was a charge on every
adult above 18
• The money raised was to be
spent on local government
• It was to be £417 per person
when introduced
• Surveys showed that 70% of
the population would be
worse off under the Poll Tax

27. Protest and Resistance
• The Poll Tax was
introduced in Scotland first
• The Labour Party and
trade unions tried to
organise traditional
marches and protests
• People handed out leaflets
and wrote to their MPS.
But others decided that
more needed to be done…

28. Grass-roots protest and Resistance
• Ordinary people set up
opposition to demonstrate
against and resist the poll
tax.
• This shows two kinds of
protest:
• Protest within the law:
campaigns to build public
protest e.g. demonstrations
• Resistance to the law: people
prepared to break the law (by
not paying the tax) and take
the consequences.

29. Methods of resistance
1. Non-registration: not registering
and ignoring the fines given as a
result of non-registration
2. Non-payment: local groups (Anti
Poll Tax Unions or APTUs) often
did this together so they could
support each other if taken to
court
3. Non-implementation: putting
pressure on your local council to
ignore the tax
4. Non-collection: asking trade union
members responsible for
collecting the tax not to do so.

30. How effective was resistance?
• By September 1989, 15% of Scottish
people were not paying the tax
• By April 1990, the government
declared that 1 million Scots had not
paid a penny of the tax
• By July 1990 in England there were
14 million non payers. 97,000 of
these were in Haringey
• By March 1991 over 18 million
people had refused to pay
• In total, £2.5 billion of the tax was
not paid before it was scrapped in
1993

31. The Battle of Trafalgar Square, 31 March 1990
• The All-Britain
Federation (a group of
APTUs) called for a
national demonstration
• They expected 20,000
people. 200,000
attended
• The protest began with
peaceful marches
including families, young
people and pensioners.
But then…

32. The Battle of Trafalgar Square, 31 March
1990
“The majority of those who
became embroiled in the
running battles had nothing
to do with our protest”
Tommy Sheridan, The Chair
of the All-Britain Federation
• Some protestors wanted
to deliver a petition to 10
Downing Street but the
Police refused
• Protesters then tried to
climb over railings into
Downing Street and the
Police charged on
protestors
• Most protestors left but
3,000 stayed in Trafalgar
Square and rioted

33. The end of the Poll Tax
• The response of the
Police made it look like
they had no control
• The Conservative party
then performed poorly
in local council elections
in May 1990
• Thatcher was forced to
resign in November 1990
• In April 1991 it was
announced that the Poll
Tax would be replaced
by Council Tax. But…

34. The end of the Poll Tax
• Protests continued as
the Poll Tax was still
charged until April 1993

35. The media’s role
• The media mostly
reported what protestors
were doing
• The media blamed left-
wing members of the
campaign, calling them
extremists and a “rent-a-
mob”. They were blamed
for turning protests violent
• These groups included
Militant Tendency and the
Socialist Workers Party
• The media criticised the
rioters in Trafalgar Square.