ABSTRACT
Elements within the government, including the Prime Minister, felt some obligation to support Labour’s Trade Disputes Bill in 1906, if only because of the backing apparently given to it by many Liberal candidates during the election campaign. Widespread agreement among most sections of the labour movement on educational ideas was partly explained by the fact that many people were fully aware of their own limited formal education and the manner in which it had contributed to their restricted job opportunities. Labour’s main efforts at that time were directed towards ensuring that as many free places as possible were offered and to gaining some form of maintenance grants which would allow poor children to take up a place. Several issues which did lead to some controversy by small minorities at Labour conferences were the raising of the school leaving age and secular education. Medical welfare was one part of the general education policy discussed at Labour’s conference in 1907.
