ABSTRACT
Tillett’s experiences as a new unionist had made him into a labour militant. The background to Tillett’s parliamentary bid, and likewise to his role in the bitter conflict with the Shipping Federation, had been his participation in the continual manoeuvring and political struggle within the labour movement as a whole. There the battle was primarily against the representatives of the older and more pacific craft unions whose political links were usually with the Liberals, or it was against those new unionists who, for whatever reasons, accepted ‘Lib-Lab’ arguments. The background to Tillett’s parliamentary bid, and likewise to his role in bitter conflict with the Shipping Federation, had been his participation in the continual manoeuvring and political struggle within the labour movement as whole. Tillett was the main loser as a result of the falling out, although arguably the labour movement as a whole lost the most. It took dockers’ leader twenty years to reach centre of political labour movement again.
