Memorial Hall Articles

The trade unionists and socialists gathering at the Memorial Hall in 1900 were animated by twin objectives. For the trade unionists, the key goal was to improve the economic position of their members.

Keir Hardie’s first manifesto included three key aims: home rule, a minimum wage and temperance. It took until the Blair-Brown governments to achieve the first two. The third aim slipped into quiet obscurity.

What was it like for you, Brother? How one wishes to have been the proverbial fly on the wall 111 years ago today, on Tuesday 27 February 1900 in the Memorial Hall in Clerkenwell. It was one of those meetings we all know and love or hate according to taste.