#WORLD #WORLDWIDE #UK #LIVERPOOL #ANARCHISM #News #Journal #Update - (en) UK, #Liverpool #Anarchist XVII - The 1921 Liverpool Unemployed Protests, Featured in Issue XVII - November 2021

 The Walker Art Gallery Occupation, on September 12th. ---- Following the First

World War, ex-servicemen returned to Britain with high hopes, but despite
promises of "homes fit for heroes", the reality they faced was rampant
unemployment and attacks on working conditions. In Liverpool, unemployment was
particularly high at 60,000, and the benefits system was not designed for mass,
long-term unemployment. Benefits were limited, and after they ran out you had to
rely on the Board of Guardians, where you got a food voucher that was worth far
less than benefits.
Since February 1921, unemployed rallies had been demanding "work or maintenance",
to no avail. Before this, unemployed agitation in Liverpool had unhelpfully
targeted female and "coloured" workers, arguing they had stolen "their jobs". Bob
Tissyman, an ex-policeman who had been fired for going on strike in 1919, called
for a gathering at the Exchange Flags. All the top businessmen met here, it was
effectively forbidden ground to the poor. A crowd of 10,000 gathered at the
Exchange on September 7th, electing a delegation of 10 to present their demands
to the mayor. A Labour Councillor intervened at the rally, calling for everyone
to go home, but he was heckled and roughed-up slightly by the crowd. In the end,
the crowd forced the mayor to meet their delegation on the balcony of the Town
Hall, but nothing was achieved.

The deputation went on to become the Liverpool Unemployed Workers Committee
Movement (LUWCM) and agitated primarily to improve the benefits system. All of
the committee, except a Baptist minister, were unemployed, and held a variety of
political views ranging from Catholicism to Communism. They organised another
protest where 20,000 people blocked Lord Street and slowly walked around the city
centre for 2 hours, disrupting traffic, trams and shop entrances, hoping the
expense would pressure the authorities into giving in. So far the police had not
interfered, but some committee members were concerned it was only a matter of
time. However, Tissyman insisted there would be no trouble since the police were
sympathetic and the protests were peaceful.

Voting at a mass meeting of the unemployed, outside St George's Hall.
On September 12th, the largest gathering so far took place at St Georges Plateau.
The committee were giving speeches but were concerned that the crowd was losing
interest and that the movement was stalling. So, without consulting anybody,
Tissyman suggested the crowd occupy the Walker Art Gallery, which was open to the
public, until the council agreed to let them use St Georges Hall for their mass
meetings. Around 200 people went into the gallery, although 50 left immediately.
Without provocation, mounted police cleared the crowd outside and the occupiers
were locked in the gallery. Inside, police brutally batoned them, including
gallery workers, breaking Tissyman's arm and bashing his head in. A 23 year-old,
David Davids, died weeks after being struck on the head by police. Around 150
protesters were arrested, the committee was rounded up, and a highly visible
court case followed. Some of the protesters used the opportunity to spread their
ideas, or simply to make jokes. One of the defendants was continuously late; one
time he claimed he couldn't afford a ticket and so had to walk 5 miles, the next
day he said he'd had to pawn his clock to pay for supper and lost track of the
time. The press insisted that Russians were funding the movement, so the
syndicalist George Garrett was asked if he was being paid by a government to
cause trouble - he responded yes, "the British government, I'm on the dole". In
the end they were all effectively released without punishment.

Bob Tissyman, depicted with his injuries. Many of the unemployed regarded him
with suspicion due to his time with the police.
During the trial, a second committee had sprung up (and later another two back-up
committees). The second committee registered 8,000 of the unemployed, and
organised them locally, with ex-army officers being elected to act as leaders for
the marches, not to encourage but to prevent conflict. Following the trial, both
committees organised three weeks of almost daily "slow-walks" of around
8,000-10,000 in the city. Due to their military-style discipline on these marches
the police did not dare to attack them again: protesters would stop-and-start on
command to ensure maximum disruption, had been instructed not to fight police but
to disarm officers if they attacked, and selected men followed plain-clothed
detectives within the march. At a mass gathering outside of the Toxteth Board of
Guardians, they forced the board to agree to pay the unemployed the same amount
as they received before their benefits had expired (in fact an increased rate for
women, although still less than men). Following this, due to the disruptive
"slow-walks" the Conservative leader of the city council illegally and against
the wishes of the government managed to get all three boards in Liverpool to
agree to pay the same rates after insurance-based benefits expired (half in
vouchers, half in cash); however, the increase for women won in Toxteth was
reversed. While women participated in the marches and the committee, the movement
was overwhelmingly male dominated.

Unemployed marching down Ranelagh Street, September 1921.
Following this huge victory, the numbers attending protests dwindled to an
average of 1,000; many were satisfied with the increase, and the rate of
unemployment had decreased. However, throughout 1921 and 1922 the LUWCM managed
to secure further victories through direct action. Another slow-walk forced the
council to let them use Pudsey Street Stadium for mass meetings. There were also
attempts to force the unemployed to work for free (like Workfare in the 2010s),
in response to which the LUWCM organised a strike of these unemployed workers
(despite legal threats), putting an end to these schemes.

https://liverpoolanarchist.wordpress.com/2021/10/31/the-1921-liverpool-unemployed-protests/
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