Red Clydeside: A history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

Events

Political Developments at Municipal Level

During this period the Labour group in Glasgow, which consisted of various socialist organisations and political parties, as well as trade unionists, was beginning to make inroads into the municipal hegemony of the Liberal Party.

In the Glasgow municipal elections of 1911 and 1914 the Labour group increased its representation on the city council, and by the outbreak of the war in 1914 the Labour group had 19 representatives on Glasgow Council.

The Glasgow Central Labour Party was formed in 1912. Instead of the previous loose alliance of socialist parties and trade unionists there would be a modern party machine to formulate a unified socialist policy and to coordinate a common election strategy.