The strategy of the British Labour Party and trade unions in the context of the socio-economic crisis of the turn of the 1910s–1920s

The article analyzes the complex socio-economic processes that took place in the UK in the first years after the end of the First World War, as well as the strategy of the Labour Party, which by that time had become one of the key elements of the British political system to solve the problems that arose. The subject of the study is the approaches of the leaders of the Labour Party and the closely related leadership of the largest trade unions to solving labor conflicts that arose in the post-war period, as well as issues related to improving the social situation of workers in key sectors of British industry. The author notes that by the time of the end of the First World War, the Labour Party, which positioned itself as an exponent of the interests of not only workers, but also representatives of broad strata of British society, put forward a program of broad transformations in the socio-economic sphere, including the expansion of the social insurance system and labor rights, increased state participation in regulating socio-economic processes, as well as the nationalization of some key sectors of British industry. At the same time, the majority of Labor members saw the achievement of these goals solely through parliamentary methods of political struggle and negotiations with the government. Based on the results of the review, the author concludes that the leadership of the Labour Party tried to use the socio-economic difficulties that arose after the First World War to strengthen its political influence and expand its electoral base. At the same time, Labor's fears about the possible radicalization of the labor movement led to weakness and inconsistency in the party's position regarding labor conflicts that arose during this period. The inconsistency of the Labour Party's socio-economic strategy was one of the factors in the rapid fall of the first Labour cabinet in 1924.