By AD 1800 the rapid industrialisation of Britain had created a new urban workforce who endured extremely long hours in often unsafe working conditions for very little pay. Political power rested with a few, usually aristocratic, men, and no middle or working class men or women had the right to vote. Politically powerless to effect change, men began banding together to attempt to force their employers to make improvements. The government was alarmed by the potential disruptive power of these early organisations, known as ‘combinations’, and outlawed them in the Combination Acts of 1799/1800.

The Acts were repealed in 1824 and trades organisations developed rapidly. By now they were seen by some as not only a way to improve working conditions, but also as a tool for change on a wider social and political scale. To further this cause, general unions were set up, the largest of these being the Grand National Trades Union, founded in 1833-4. Again the government attempted to remove these potentially powerful unions, this time by making an example of six GNTU members – farm workers from Tolpuddle, Dorset. Arrested, and accused and convicted of ‘administering illegal oaths’, they were transported to Australia. Contrary to government expectations, the episode raised a public outcry and contributed to the development of Chartism, a political movement founded on the principles of gaining rights for workers.