The General Strike – The Revolution That Wasn’t

The General Strike – The Revolution That Wasn’t

From Origin Story by Podmasters

April 8, 2026 · 1h 25m · Season 8 · Episode 22

About this episode

This episode explores the General Strike of May 1926, its key figures, and its impact on British society.

Hello and welcome to another bonus episode. It’s the centenary of the General Strike of May 1926, the most important industrial dispute in British history, but what really happened and did it really change Britain? One strange thing about the General Strike is that it happened when industrial relations, which had reached their fiery nadir before and after the First World War, seemed to be cooling down. But tensions between coal miners and mine owners got so bad that the Trades Union Congress had no choice but to join the fight, even though its leaders did not expect to win. It was a showdown that very few people wanted. The strike began at one minute to midnight on 3 May. The following nine days were intense, exciting and unprecedented. Future Labour leader Hugh Gaitskell and future fascist Oswald Mosley backed the workers, Evelyn Waugh and the Mitford sisters joined the army of volunteers trying to keep Britain moving, and Virginia Woolf just complained. In some places, the strike became a proxy war between communists and fascists. Meanwhile, the BBC faced the first existential crisis of its short life, struggling to maintain impartiality while under the threat of a government…

Topics covered

  • General Strike
  • British history
  • industrial dispute
  • political tensions
  • BBC impartiality
  • Labour movement

Keywords

  • General Strike
  • May 1926
  • Hugh Gaitskell
  • Winston Churchill
  • BBC
  • industrial relations
  • Trades Union Congress

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Trades Union Congress, BBC

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