General Strike 1926 research guide

In 1926 Britain experienced its first - and only - general strike. The strike had its roots in a long running dispute between coal miners and colliery owners, which was founded on the desire of mine owners to reduce the pay and working hours of miners to increase their profitability. Other forces that contributed to the strike including high unemployment in the 1920s (over 10% of Sheffield’s workforce were unemployed in this period) and ongoing industrial relation problems which had resulted in strikes in the pre Word War One years (c. 1911 to 1914) which had not been resolved.

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