Attitude of Government and Administration towards the ‘Hunger Marches’ of the 1920s and 1930s

Abstract

The so-called ‘hunger marches’ are a familiar feature of the depression and unemployment of the inter-war years. Their inspirer was the National Unemployed Workers' Movement (N.U.W.M.) which between 1922 and 1936 organized six national demonstrations consisting of contingents from various parts of the country, converging on London. They were protesting against unemployment and low rates of assistance, ‘work or full maintenance at trade union rates’ being the recurrent demand. There were also many local demonstrations and the organization won considerable support, particularly from younger unemployed workers frustrated by the inertia of the official labour and trade union leadership.