ABSTRACT
In his History of the Labour Party, published in 1948, G. D. H. Cole remarked that it would be a difficult task to gather the necessary material for a comprehensive picture of Labour’s involvement with local government before the First World War. Labour was making slow progress at the municipal polls and its programmes contained much that was acceptable to its opponents. The Independent Labour Party was the most successful of the socialist groups which contested local elections in the 1890s. Labour and socialist activists were intensely idealistic about the possibilities of local government. Labour and socialist councillors were particularly keen to introduce measures which would improve the health and conditions of working people. Pointing to the disparities between the groups Labour councillors argued on the grounds of ‘municipal economy’ that salary increases for top officials should be kept to a minimum. After 1910 there was some disillusionment with the parliamentary route to socialism being pursued by the Labour Party.
