November 15th 2022 marks a significant milestone in the history of the movement in Wales.;xNLx;;xNLx;100 years ago, the Labour Party became the largest Party in Wales and continues to be to this day.
The National Union of General and Municipal Workers (NUGMW) formed in 1924 with the merger of the National Union of Gas and General Workers, the National Amalgamated Union of Labour, and the Municipal Employees’ Association.
The Labour Party was founded in 1900, under the name 'The Labour Representation Committee'. The LRC emerged from the Independent Labour Party set up by Keir Hardie in 1893. It was Hardie's mission to persuade the trade unions to withdraw their support for the Liberal Party and back the emerging labour movement. By 1900 Hardie had gained the backing of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the left-leaning Fabian Society to help set up the LRC. The purpose of this new party was to get working men elected to represent the interests of the working classes and the Labour movement in Parliament.
Keir Hardie was elected to Parliament in 1900 for Merthyr Tydfil. In the same year he helped to form the union-based Labour Representation Committee, which was later renamed the Labour Party. After the 1906 election, Hardie was chosen as the Labour Party's first parliamentary leader. He resigned in 1908 in favour of Arthur Henderson, and spent his remaining years campaigning for causes such as women's suffrage, self-rule for India, and opposition to World War I. He died in 1915 while attempting to organise a pacifist general strike.
Keir Hardie was elected leader of the party in the House of Commons, but was not very good at dealing with internal rivalries and he resigned from the post in 1908. From then on he devoted his energy to promoting the Labour Party and championing equality, particularly in the cause of women's suffrage. In 1910, 40 Labour MPs were elected to parliament and Keir Hardie gave up the party leadership to George Barnes.
After winning 29 seats in the 1906 general election, the Labour Representation Committee became the 'Labour Party'.
With Keir Hardie, MacDonald created the Labour Representation Committee in 1900 and, in a pact with the Liberals, was among the first Labour MPs to be elected in 1906. He was Leader of the Parliamentary Labour Party in 1911-14 and 1922-31. He was Labour's first Prime Minister, serving in 1924 and again between 1929 and 1931. After the collapse of the Labour Government in 1931, he served as Prime Minister in the National Government until 1935.
Lloyd George accepted an invitation to form a government in December 1916. He was acclaimed as the man who had won the war, and in 1918 the coalition won a huge majority. It was the first election in which any women were allowed to vote. In 1919 he signed the Treaty of Versailles, which established the League of Nations and the war reparations settlement.
The Representation of the People Act of 1918 granted the vote to women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification. The same Act gave the vote to all men over the age of 21.
Thomas Griffiths was appointed a Divisional Officer of Iron and Steel Trades Confederation and in the 1918 General Election he became the Member of Parliament for Pontypool. Between 1919 and 1925 he was a Labour Party Whip and in 1924 he briefly became the Treasurer of the King's Household.
Sir Charles Edwards was elected at the 1918 general election as Member of Parliament for the newly created Bedwellty constituency in Monmouthshire. He held the seat until he retired from Parliament at the 1950 general election. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1940, and from 1940 to 1942 he was government chief whip in the war-time Coalition Government.
