The Lincolnshire Labour League or Amalgamated Labour League was a

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

representing agricultural labourers in Eastern England. A large number of local unions of agricultural labourers were established in England early in 1872. In Lincolnshire, this started with meetings held early in February in

Barton-upon-Humber Barton-upon-Humber () or Barton is a town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population at the 2011 census was 11,066. It is situated on the south bank of the Humber Estuary at the southern end of the Humber Bridge. It is s ...

Brattleby Brattleby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 111, having slightly fallen from a figure of 113 quoted on the 2001 census. It is situate ...

, Butterwick,

Cammeringham Cammeringham is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north from the city and county town of Lincoln, and just off the A15 road near RAF Scampton. According to the 2001 Census the vi ...

Frieston Frieston is a village in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated just west of the A607 road, and north from the market town of Grantham. Frieston is conjoined to the southern part of the village of Caythorpe. Fr ...

Hibaldstow Hibaldstow is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,433. It is situated on the B1206 road, south from Brigg and the M180. The site of the deserted medieval villag ...

, Leverton,

Long Bennington Long Bennington is a linear village and civil parish in South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, just off the A1 road, north of Grantham and south of Newark-on-Trent. It had a population of 2,100 in 2014 and 2,018 at the 2011 Census. ...

, North Carlton,

Redbourne Redbourne is a village and civil parish in the North Lincolnshire district of Lincolnshire, England. The village is situated near the A15 road, and south from Brigg. According to the 2001 Census Redbourne had a population of 386, rising slig ...

Scampton Scampton is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish including Brampton and Broadholme at the 2011 census was 1,358. It is situated north of Lincoln, south-east of Ga ...

and

South Carlton South Carlton is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated on the B1398 road, approximately north from the city and county town of Lincoln. The population (including Broxholme) at the 2011 ...

. Typically, these meetings discussed a minimum wage and maximum hours for which the labourers were prepared to work. Over the following months, several local unions were established: the Alford Labourers' Protection and Emigration Society, Bourn Agricultural Labourers' Society, Caistor Labourers' Protection Society, Louth and District Agricultural Labourers' Society, Lincoln Labour League, Long Sutton Nine Hours Labour League, Market Rasen Labourers' Protection and Emigration Society, and Swineshead Agricultural Labourers' Society. In September, the main local unions in Lincolnshire met at the Spread Eagle in

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

to establish a county union. It was named the Lincolnshire Labour Emigration League, with William Banks as secretary, and offices on Witham Street in Boston. George Allen was elected as treasurer, replaced later in the decade by Edward Bradbury, and then by William Taylor. Meanwhile, a

National Agricultural Labourers' Union The National Agricultural Labourers Union (NALU) was a trade union representing farm workers in Great Britain. Foundation The union's origins lay in a meeting at Wellesbourne in Warwickshire, held in February 1872. Joseph Arch, a well-known ...

(NALU) was established, based in Warwickshire, attracting many members in surrounding counties, but relatively few from Lincolnshire. NALU differed by holding almost all its funds centrally, while the Labour League allowed each branch to control most of the funds it raised. In September 1873, a meeting was held in Nottingham, with the aim of merging the Labour League with NALU, but NALU would not consider any changes to its system of government, and negotiations broke down. The Labour League instead joined with a number of other county unions in the Federal Union of Labourers, a much looser organisation. The Labour League began building up branches in Norfolk and Suffolk, and by 1874 had reached a peak membership of about 15,500, spread over 25 districts. The union initially won wage increases, but by 1874 farmers were ready to work together to defeat the union. A lock out of unionised labourers led to defeat for the workers, and wages were reduced. Some members emigrated, while others left the defeated organisation. Membership began falling, dropping to 5,500 by 1877. It nearly collapsed in 1880, but relocated its office to its strongest remaining area of

Eye, Suffolk Eye () is a market town and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk, about south of Diss, north of Ipswich and south-west of Norwich. The population in the 2011 Census of 2,154 was estimated to be 2,361 in 2019. It lies ...

, and had about 200 members throughout the decade. Membership of the union fell again in the 1890s, and in 1896, when it had only 38 members, it decided to dissolve.

Districts

References

{{reflist Agricultural organisations based in the United Kingdom Agriculture and forestry trade unions Defunct trade unions of the United Kingdom Trade unions based in Lincolnshire Trade unions established in 1872 Trade unions disestablished in the 1890s