ABSTRACT
This chapter describes historical analysis of the second Labour government by evaluating the reactions of the population at large as measured by local election results in one important region of Britain. It analyses trends in the Labour Party's electoral support in Yorkshire, focusing on the annual municipal elections between 1929 and 1932 in 12 county boroughs in the county. Although the National Unemployed Workers' Movement (NUWM) itself won little electoral support, its campaigning over the means test brought the issue to the fore, and consequently Labour in opposition was able to win many voters over. The textile towns were again less fertile territory for Labour, the only progress being made in Halifax where two seats were gained and Labour's share of the vote rose from 30 to 42 per cent. It was reported that 'there was a sense of great jubilation at the Independent Labour Party (ILP) rooms'.
