Welsh Journals

WORKING-CLASS LEADERSHIP IN SOUTH WALES, 1900-1920 WORKING-CLASS leadership first emerged in its modern form in late-Victorian and Edwardian Wales.1 The vastly increased import- ance of trades unions and of the working-class vote in national and local politics created a new breed of working-class leaders, men who started out as ordinary workingmen but who went on to become important public figures. Such men have been prominent in the public life of Wales from that time onwards, but the essential role in society of working-class leaders was largely determined in a late- Victorian and Edwardian context and has changed very little since. South Wales at the end of last century and at the beginning of this was characterized by a very pronounced self-consciousness. There was a clear fascination with the structure of local society, with its development and, above all, with its values. This self- consciousness showed itself in a variety of ways. For example, there was a very strong group-consciousness: people thought of them- selves as belonging to clearly defined sections in society, whether defined in terms of religious affiliation, occupation or place of residence. At the same time, this self-conscious society had a tre- mendous awareness of its own identity and cohesion as a regional (or national) society. Welsh nationalism took many forms in Wales as a whole, even indeed in south Wales, but in the south we should not underestimate the great awareness of most people that they were members of a dynamic and vital regional society. In this situation, each group in society was not only aware of its own internal cohesion, but was also anxious to relate its values to the values of the wider society. This general point is best illustrated by the position of 'leaders' in the society of that time. Each group produced its own leaders, who acted as spokesmen for the group in the public affairs of the com- munity. There was great public interest in personalities, and yet in the press and elsewhere they were always related to the section they were thought to represent. At the same time, however, sectional leaders were regarded far more highly if they could be related to the values of the wider consensus. The careers of lords lieutenant and other 1 This article is reproduced here very much as it was first presented to the Welsh Labour History colloquium. It is in essence an argument and references have been restricted to the bare essentials.