British Worker
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Owner(s) | Trades Union Congress General Council |
| Editor | Hamilton Fyfe |
| Founded | 5 May 1926 |
| Ceased publication | 17 May 1926 |
| Circulation | 320,000 to 700,000 |
The British Worker was a newspaper produced by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress for the duration of the 1926 United Kingdom General Strike. The first of eleven issues was printed on 5 May and publication stopped on 17 May after the official cessation of the strike. The principal objective of the newspaper was to circulate information and maintain the strikers' morale throughout the stoppage.
On 3 May 1926, the TUC General Council called a general strike in an unsuccessful attempt to force government action in the ongoing miners dispute over wages and worsening conditions. The printing press workers were among those withdrawn at the outset, effectively preventing the publication of most daily national newspapers (most London national newspapers continued in truncated form, with many local newspapers also producing strike sheets. The TUC, therefore, did not initially anticipate the use of a newspaper and instead issued bulletins, through its Press and Publicity Committee, containing brief news and instructions.
The production of a newspaper was not initially favoured by the Publicity Committee. Suggestions were first made on the eve of the strike by the national officers of the Printing and Kindred Trades Federation. It was more seriously considered on the first day of the strike. The editor of the Daily Herald, Hamilton Fyfe, accompanied by his night editor, William Mellor, and General Manager, Robert Williams, approached the TUC General Council’s Press and Publicity Committee to discuss the production of a newspaper to articulate the TUC's case. The decision to create the Worker was, however, mostly reactionary, as Fyfe disclosed government plans to produce a publication called the British Gazette.
The cabinet newspaper, edited by Winston Churchill, attempted to diminish strike credibility and morale. With its launch, the Publicity Committee quickly appreciated the advantages of producing a newspaper: it enabled communication with the workers on strike, it afforded the General Council a powerful instrument of control over strike conduct and could combat any misleading messages published in the Gazette. The Daily Herald offices on Tudor Street in London were preferred for printing as the newspaper was forced to cease production during the strike, while Hamilton Fyfe oversaw the editorship. The first issue therefore appeared just before midnight on 5 May, containing eight pages of strike news and information, costing one penny.
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