Formation of the State Policy of Labour Regulation in United Kingdom During the Post-War Crisis of 1919–1921

Introduction. This article covers the main political discussions on the regulation of relations in the United Kingdom industry during the post-war crisis of 1919–1921. Economic difficulties began in the country already during the First World War and persisted in the post-war years; they provoked mass strikes, which peaked in 1919–1921. Methods and materials. The article is based on the materials of government committees and commissions on labour relations. The documents of party conferences, the Trades Union Congress, journalistic works, and statistical and economic studies of the leading political figures of the United Kingdom of this period are used as additional sources. Analysis. The problem of labour conflicts and ways to prevent them was one of the central themes of the political discussions of the United Kingdom of the post-war period. Proposals to solve this problem ranged from stimulating a free economy (Conservatives) to nationalising leading industries (Labours). Government commissions dealing with the problems of labour conflicts began to be created already in the last years of the First World War, and in 1917–1919 there were three important commissions devoted to this issue (Barnes, Whitley and Sankey). Of these, the proposals of the Whitley Committee were of the greatest practical importance, on the basis of which the Industrial Court and the system of joint industrial councils were created; they remain in the United Kingdom to this day. Results. Most of the proposals of the commissions examining the problems of labour conflicts were ignored by the government of D. Lloyd George, and the system of advisory bodies and industrial courts created on the basis of the proposals of the Whitley Committee, although it proved its effectiveness, did not extend to the leading branches of industry, so that, despite active political discussions, no effective mechanisms for preventing major labour conflicts were created during this period.