Independent Labour Party – 100 Years – Bradford, UK - Commercial Commemorations on Waymarking.com

In the 19th Century working conditions for factory workers in the UK were pretty harsh. Working hours were long, conditions in the factories were poor and the use of child labour was common.

Bradford had particularly bad conditions as the city had expanded rapidly from a largely rural community to a large city with many woollen mills and warehouses.

A number of local MPs had advocated change. Then in 1890 the United States imposed a tariff on foreign cloth and this led to a general cut in wages throughout the British textile industry. This led to a strike in Manningham Mills, the largest mill in the Bradford area. The workers were eventually starved back to work.

The Independent Labour Party was formed because of the realisation by the workers that they need representation if their conditions were to improve.

Although formed locally in Bradford the party soon spread nationwide. When the Labour Party formed in 1906, the Independent Labour Party affiliated with it, but they found the Labour Party too timid in their ideals and split from them in 1912.

The ILP were opposed to the Boer War and both the First and Second World Wars, which although true to their principles caused them to lose a lot of support.

From then they were never a mainstream organisation and disbanded in 1975.

This building started life as the Bethesda Chapel, a Wesleyan chapel that opened in 1870. After the inauguration meeting in 1893, the Independent Labour Party stayed in these premises until 1921. The building has a glass roof and this can still be seen through the top windows.

The building is currently empty but was last used as a warehouse by Biscor Ltd, a specialist textile manufacturer.

The centenary plaque on the right hand side of the entrance was unveiled by the Rt. Hon. Jon Smith M.P. who at that time was the leader of the Labour Party.

The plaque includes an engraving of the building and the following text.

This plaque marks the site of
THE LABOUR INSTITUTE
Peckover Street

On January 13th 1893
this building was the base from
which the Inaugural Conference
of the
Independent Labour Party
was organised

Unveiled by the Rt. Hon. John Smith, M.P.
January 13th, 1993

Anniversary Year: 1993 Year of Event, Organization or Occurance: 1893 Address: 36 Peckover Street Bradford, West Yorkshire United Kingdom Website: [Web Link]

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