The Independent Labour Party

Abstract

Abstract As the 1926 coal dispute entered its last month, Ramsay MacDonald reflected despondently on the state of the Independent Labour Party (ILP). His relationship with the pre-war ILP was often troubled. Differences over electoral and parliamentary tactics produced disputes with the ILP Left. In the period immediately before 1914, MacDonald, now chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), seemed to be loosening his ties with the ILP. His critical response to Britain's intervention in August 1914 meant his resignation from the PLP Chairmanship and his distancing from strongly patriotic Labour MPs and trade union leaders. He turned back to the ILP with its internationalist and anti-militarist sentiments. MacDonald's emphatic rejection by the West Leicester electorate in December 1918 confirmed his dependence on the ILP for organizational and emotional support. This chapter looks at the ILP's history and its role in politics in Britain during the 1920s.