Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T18:10:01.888Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Morality and Politics: the free churches and the Labour Party between the wars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Peter Catterall
Peter Catterall
Affiliation:
Institute of ContemporaryBritish History
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

The inter-war period saw the decline of the Liberal party, the traditional political ally of the free churches, and the rise of the Labour party. This article traces the responses of the free churches to these developments. The relationship of the free churches with the Labour party in this period is examined at three different levels; that of the free church leadership, that of the chapels and the ordinary people in the pews and that of the nonconformists who became active in the Labour party. Whilst attitudes towards the Labour party changed within free church institutions during the inter-war years they did not become important supporters of the party, or greatly influence it. The number and proportion of individual nonconformists who were active and influential in the party in this period was however considerable. In the process not only did Labour M.P.s become the main carriers of the nonconformist conscience on issues such as drink and gambling. They also made a distinctive and important contribution to the development and ideals of the Labour party.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 667 - 685
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 I am grateful to the Twentieth-Century Policy and Administration seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, the Modern History seminar at Birmingham University, the BSA Sociology of Religion Group and the Sociology of Religion seminar at the London School of Economics for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

2 Henderson, Arthur, ‘British Labour and religion’, in Davis, Jerome (ed.), Labor speaks for itself on religion (New York, 1929), pp. 144–5Google Scholar; Attlee, Clement, The Labour party in perspective (London, 1937), p. 27Google Scholar; Labour party, A guide to the elements of socialism, by Cole, G. D. H. (London, 1947), p. 2Google Scholar.

3 Christian World, 14 Dec. 1922.

4 Cited in New Leader, 22 Aug. 1924.

5 Cited in Jordan, E. K. H., Free Church unity: history of the Free Church Council Movement 1896–1941 (London, 1956), pp. 47–8Google Scholar.

6 See for instance Winterton, Wilfrid, The harvest of the years (Birmingham, 1969), pp. 52–6Google Scholar.

7 Bebbington, David, The nonconformist conscience: chapel and politics 1870–1914 (London, 1982), p. 160Google Scholar; Horne, C. Silvester, A popular history of the free churches with additional chapter 1903–1926 by Albert Peel, Congregational Union of England and Wales (London, 1926), pp. 427–9Google Scholar; Jordan, p. 126.

8 Christian World, 5 Aug. 1926.

9 Arthur and Jessie Leach, interview with author, 7 Aug. 1986.

10 , Horne, Popular history, p. 429Google Scholar.

11 Free Church Tear Book, 1926, p. 55.

12 SirStamp, Josiah, The Christian ethic as an economic factor (London, 1926), p. 66Google Scholar; see also Gregory, Olinthus, The works of Robert Hall A.M. (London, 1841), VI, 458Google Scholar.

13 Preston, William C., The bitter cry of outcast London (London, 1883), pp. 14–15Google Scholar.

14 Bolton Congregationalist, June 1926.

15 Congregational Year Book, 1921, p. 68.

16 Garvie, Alfred E., Memories and meanings of my life (London, 1938), p. 183Google Scholar.

17 See for instance Pitt, Margaret R., Our employed: can the past teach the present? work done with the unemployed in the 1920s and 1930s (Harrow, 1985 edn)Google Scholar; Naylor, Barrie, Quakers in the Rhondda 1926–1986 (Chepstow, 1986)Google Scholar.

18 Christian World, 29 Nov. 1923.

19 Minutes of the methodist conference, 1934, pp. 391–400.

20 Bradford Pioneer, 2 May 1924.

21 The Crusader, 25 April 1924.

22 Merseyside Free Church Federation, Report for the year 1926, p. 6Google Scholar.

23 See for instance Sellers, Ian, ‘Nonconformist attitudes in later nineteenth century Liverpool’, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, CXIV (1962), 232Google Scholar.

24 Temperance sermon 1916, Norwich Record Office, Sir George Edwards Papers; Alliance Year Book, 1930, p. 188.

25 Salter, Alfred, The prospect before the temperance movement in this country, lecture delivered to the United Kingdom Alliance (London, 1939), p. 3Google Scholar; Minutes and proceedings of the London Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends, 1937, pp. 128–30; Christian World, 15 Oct. 1931.

26 See Simpson, P. Carnegie, Recollections (London, 1943)Google Scholar; Lidgett, J. Scott, My guided life (London, 1936)Google Scholar.

27 Bebbington, pp. 80ff.

28 SirShakespeare, G. H., Let candles be brought in (London, 1949), p. 125Google Scholar.

29 Christian World, 23 Nov. 1922.

30 Ibid. 23 Oct. 1924.

31 Cook, Chris, The age of alignment: electoral politics in Britain, 1922–1929 (London, 1975), p. 259CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

32 British Weekly, 6 Nov. 1924.

33 Bradford Pioneer, 28 Mar. 1924; Turner, Ben, About myself (London, 1930), pp. 175–6Google Scholar.

34 Edwards, George, From crow-scaring to Westminster (London, 1922), p. 208Google Scholar.

35 See for instance Thomas, George, Mr Speaker (London, 1985), p. 23Google Scholar.

36 Methodist Times, 23 Nov. 1922.

37 Bolton Congregationalist, Dec. 1920.

38 The Friend, 18 Jan. 1924, 2 Apr. 1926; Socialist Review, Mar. 1926, pp. 50–1.

39 Taylor, Eric, ‘An interview with Wesley Perrins’, Bulletin of the Society for the Study of Labour History, XXI (1970), 18–19Google Scholar.

40 Methodist Times, 13 June 1929, 1 Nov. 1935; Methodist Recorder, 6 June 1929; United Methodist, 20 Nov. 1924; Wood, H. G. and Bell, Arthur F., Tom Bryan (London, 1922), pp. 22–3Google Scholar.

41 Soper, Donald, Calling for action: an autobiographical enquiry (London, 1986), pp. 137–8Google Scholar.

42 Pearce, Cyril, ‘An interview with Wilfrid Whiteley’, Bulletin of the Society for the Study of Labour History, XVIII (1969), 16Google Scholar.

43 Henderson, Arthur writing in Haw, George (ed.), Christianity and the working classes (London, 1906), p. 119Google Scholar.

44 Bradford Pioneer, 19 Sept. 1919.

45 Ernest Armstrong, written communications, Nov. 1986. Armstrong was a Labour M.P. 1964–87 and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference 1974–5.

46 Simmons, C. J., Soap box evangelist (Chichester, 1972), p. 101Google Scholar.

47 House of Commons Debates, 5th ser., CLXXIV, 221–5 (27 05 1924)Google Scholar.

48 Christian World, 15 Jan. 1931.

49 Griffiths, Dan, letter to New Leader, 28 06 1929Google Scholar.

50 Christian World, 12 Nov. 1931.

51 New Leader, 3 Aug. 1928.

52 Arthur Amis, interview with the author, 10 Sept. 1986.

53 J. H. Hudson, general election handbill, 1922, Friends House library, Box v, 1/3.

54 Methodist Times, 3 Dec. 1936.

55 Congregational Year Book, 1939, p. 72.

56 Free Church Year Book, 1923, p. 56.

57 Donoughue, Bernard and Jones, C. W., Herbert Morrison: portrait of a politician (London, 1973), pp. 16ffGoogle Scholar.

58 See for instance Rowntree, B. Seebohm, Poverty and progress: a second social survey of York (London, 1941), pp. 425–6Google Scholar.

59 Bradford Congregational Association, Report of the commission set up to inquire into the condition of the churches of the Bradford Congregational Association (Bradford, 1936), p. 9Google Scholar.

60 Methodist Times, 11 July 1929.

61 Win, Griffiths M.P. writing in the Christian Socialist Autumn 1987Google Scholar, quoting Amos v. 24.