Red Clydeside

Political cartoons

The great delusion

25 Feb 1915

The socialist newspaper Forward consistently reminded its readership that even during wartime the British government would continue to operate in the interests of the capitalist classes and not the interests of the workers.

Working-class living standards in the industrial heartland of west-central Scotland had deteriorated badly during 1914 and 1915. During this period, employers introduced wage reductions for workers at a time when the cost of rent and food was rising.

This fall in the living standards of workers and their families angered many within the labour movement because it was seen as another example of capitalist exploitation. Landlords were raising rents to capitalise on the demand for housing in munitions areas, and factory owners were profiting from large government orders for munitions, yet workers' living standards were being squeezed.

Source: Gallacher Memorial Library, Glasgow Caledonian University Special Collections and Archives