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How Far Was the Government to Blame for the General Strike of 1926?

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How Far Was the Government to Blame for the General Strike of 1926?
How far was the government to blame for the general strike of 1926?

The general strike took place in 1926; It had lasted 9 days from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening conditions for coal miners. There are many reasons for the causes of the General strike including; the government, the TUC; Coal mines and the return of the gold standard.

The most significant cause of the General strike in 9126 is the Government. The conservative party who was run under the power of Stanley Baldwin contributed immensely to the General strike and could be said to escalate what was happening. Baldwin who was known for his lack of strength in comparison to Lloyd George did not handle the General strike very well; For instance, when the government offered the miners subsidy to bring their wages back up to the previous level, they only offered it for a small amount of time and did not meet the needs of the miners which in turn accumulated the situation and caused what is now known as 'Red Friday' as it is seen as a victory for the working class solidarity. Baldwin was seen to 'run his hand at the sorry state of affairs' and claimed that the miners had t take wage reductions in order to help the economy get back on its feet. The reintroduction of the gold standard in 1925 by Winston Churchill made the British pound too strong for effective exporting to take place from Britain, and also, because of the economic processes involved in maintaining a strong currency, raised interest rates, hurting all businesses. This caused other competitors of industries abroad to win as the fall in prices resulting from the 1925 Dawes Plan that, among other things, allowed Germany to re-enter the international coal market by exporting free coal to France and Italy as part of their reparations for the First World War. Another reason

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