A Dictionary of British and Irish History

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LABOURERS, ORDINANCE AND STATUTE OF

In England, legislation passed by the royal COUNCIL and PARLIAMENT (respectively June 1349, Feb. 1351) to counter the labour shortage and higher wages that resulted from the BLACK DEATH (1348–9). The Ordinance required able‐bodied landless men and women to accept any available work at pre‐plague rates (among other restrictions). The Statute fixed rates for agricultural work. The legislation was enforced vigorously until the 1370s. See also PEASANTS’ REVOLT; ECONOMY, STATE INVOLVEMENT, BRITAIN.

LABOURIST

Term applied to British working‐class politicians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries who were keener to advance trade union rights and working‐class representation than to pursue socialism. Labourists collaborated with the LIBERAL PARTY and were later involved in the LABOUR PARTY.

LABOUR MOVEMENT

Term used to refer generally to campaigns and organizations which sought to improve the conditions of, and opportunities for, working people in industrial society. In Great Britain the term encompasses CHARTISM (early 19th century), TRADE UNIONISM (from early 19th century), the CO-OPERATIVE MOVEMENT (from late 19th century), public EDUCATION, and the LABOUR PARTY (founded 1900). In Ireland a significant movement began to develop from the later 19th century (see TRADE UNIONISM, IRELAND; LABOUR PARTY, IRISH).

LABOUR PARTY

A British political party founded in London on 27 Feb. 1900 as the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). It linked ...