Why did the General Strike fail?

Why did the General Strike fail?

1. The General Strike only lasted only 9 days until the TUC called it off.

   • The strike failed and the coal miners had to accept terms.
     • In 1927 the government mad general strikes illegal

2. There were 3 main factors as to why the strike failed. These were..

   • Factor 1- The government was really well prepared for the strike.
     • The Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) was set up to train and recruit volunteer labour to break the strike.
     • The government hired special constables the help police the strike
     • Plans were made to use the armed forces to maintain supplies and guard key facilities.
     • Resources were stockpiled- including food and emergency electricity generation was organised.
   • Factor 2- people feared a revolution
     • The Communist Revolution (1917) meant that people in Britain feared a revolution.
     • The government portrayed the strike as a revolution.
     • Even the TUC feared that the could become a revolution- which was one of the reasons the TUC stopped the strike after only 9 days.
   • Factor 3- the media
     • The government controlled the media during the general strike. The BBC refused to allow union leaders to speak on the radio.
     • The government produced a paper called The British Gazette attacking the General Strike as a threat to destroy Britain.
     • The TUC's newspaper The British Newspaper was only 4 pages because the government controlled supplies of newspaper.
     • This meant the media was heavily biased in favour of the government during the General Strike.