Red Clydeside

Political cartoons

The Labour press in Britain enthusiastically seized the potential which the political cartoon gave them to get across their message to their supporters and potential supporters. Radical and left-wing cartoonists used their skills to highlight the perceived injustices of the established political order and to put forward socialist, Marxist or anarchist solutions to the major political problems of the period.

In terms of propaganda, the left-wing cartoon was invaluable to those who sought to propagate socialist and Marxist thinking amongst the working classes. Importantly, its message could be carried in window displays, on leaflets and banners, and as posters, at a time when the majority of newspapers were hostile to the aspirations of the labour movement.

Cartoon comparing aristocratic consumption with workers poverty	Cartoon comparing the fate of politicians and working men	Cartoon depicting a greedy landlord
Cartoon depicting capitalists and landlords versus workers	Cartoon depicting twin evils of landlordism and capitalism	Solving the Irish question
Death and the profit-ghouls	Enlist!	The patriot
Business : better than usual	Cartoon depicting eviction of soldier's family	Forward turns the searchlight on the robbers
The great delusion	Postcards depicting consciencious objectors in prison	The Labour Party rescues the unemployed