Independent Labour Party 100th Anniversary – Bradford, UK - Murals on Waymarking.com

In the 19th Century working conditions for factory workers in the UK were pretty harsh. Working hours were long, conditions 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 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 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.

The mural is one of the items in the Bradford City For Peace Trail

City: Bradford Location Name: Side Wall of Bradford Playhouse Artist: Tom Cousins Date: 1993 Media: Brick Wall Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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