ABSTRACT
Often referred to as ‘Uncle Arthur’, Arthur Henderson was a major figure of the trade-union wing of the Labour Party, Labour Party Secretary between 1911 and 1934 and, with Sidney Webb and Ramsay MacDonald, played a major role in formulating the 1918 Labour Party Constitution. He was for most of his political career a moderate trade unionist and Labour loyalist. He dominated the Labour Party’s organization for most of the first third of the twentieth century, shaping its policies and practice. He also filled the role of Foreign Secretary in the second Labour government of 1929 to 1931. Indeed, it was his commitment to the Labour Party that led him to split with Ramsay MacDonald in the financial crisis of 1931 and saw him act briefly as Labour Leader at the end of 1931 and in early 1932.
