The Union of Democratic Control was a British

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the develop ...

formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive

foreign policy A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...

. While not a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

organisation, it was opposed to military influence in government.

World War I

The impetus for the formation of the UDC was the outbreak of the First World War, which its founders saw as having resulted from largely secret international understandings which were not subject to democratic overview. The principal founders were Charles P. Trevelyan, a Liberal government minister who had resigned his post in opposition to the declaration of war, and

Ramsay MacDonald James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party, leading minority Labour governments for nine months in 1924 ...

who resigned as Chairman of the Labour Party when it supported the government's war budget. Also taking a key role in setting up the Union were politician Arthur Ponsonby, author Norman Angell and journalist E. D. Morel. Following an initial letter circulated on 4 September 1914, an inaugural meeting was organised for 17 November. While non-partisan, the UDC was dominated by the left-wing of the Liberal and Labour Parties.

List of early supporters

Liberal Party

* Charles Trevelyan MP * Philip Morrell MP * Arnold Rowntree MP * Arthur Ponsonby MP * Richard Denman MP * Hastings Lees-Smith MP * R.L. Outhwaite MP * Joseph King MP * E.T. John MP * Charles Buxton * Morgan Philips Price * E. D. Morel * Norman Angell * C. P. Scott * Graham Wallas * J. A. Hobson * Ottoline Morrell *

George Cadbury George Cadbury (19 September 1839 – 24 October 1922) was the third son of John Cadbury, a Quaker who founded Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company in Britain. He was the husband of Dame Elizabeth Cadbury. Background He worked at the schoo ...

* Konni Zilliacus * Bertrand Russell * Sophia Sturge

Labour Party

* James Ramsay MacDonald MP * Frederick William Jowett MP * Philip Snowden MP * William Crawford Anderson MP *

Frederick Pethick-Lawrence Frederick William Pethick-Lawrence, 1st Baron Pethick-Lawrence, PC (né Lawrence; 28 December 1871 – 10 September 1961) was a British Labour politician who, among other things, campaigned for women's suffrage. Background and education Bo ...

* Tom Johnston * David Kirkwood * Helena Swanwick * Isabella Ford * H. N. Brailsford * R. H. Tawney *

Mary Agnes Hamilton Mary Agnes Hamilton (née Adamson, 8 July 1882 – 10 February 1966) was a writer, journalist, broadcaster, civil servant, and the Labour Member of Parliament for Blackburn from 1929 to 1931. Early life Mary Agnes Adamson (known as Molly), wa ...

* Margaret Bondfield The Union did not call for an immediate end to the war but for a full examination of the war aims in public and by Parliament. It did strongly oppose

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

and wartime censorship along with other restrictions on civil liberties. As a result of this, the UDC was denounced by right-wingers such as '' The Morning Post'' newspaper as undermining the British war effort. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) provided general backing and most of the funds for the Union came from wealthy Quakers. There were also close links between the Union and the supporters of women's suffrage. By 1917 the UDC had more than a hundred local branches across Britain and Ireland, and 10,000 individual members; it also had affiliations from organisations which represented 650,000 more. It became increasingly influential in the Labour Party, to which its members increasingly graduated due to the continued support for the war from the Liberals. The UDC criticised the Versailles Treaty as being unjust to Germany, and also advocated the withdrawal of Allied troops from Russia. A. J. P. Taylor said the UDC was "the most formidable Radical body ever to influence British foreign policy".

Subsequent activity

At the end of the war, no thought was given to disbanding the Union and it continued to be active through the 1920s. In the first Labour government in 1924, fifteen Government ministers were members of the UDC. As time went on, the UDC became more supportive of outright pacifism and Arthur Ponsonby published his pacifist statement ''Now is the Time'' in 1925 under UDC sponsorship. Ponsonby also started a petition of those who "refuse to support or render war service to any government which resorts to arms", and in 1928 published

Falsehood in War-Time ''Falsehood in War-time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War'' is a 1928 book by Arthur Ponsonby,Arthur Ponsonby, ''Falsehood in War-Time: Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Througho ...

which claimed that public opinion was invariably peaceful unless roused by propaganda. In the 1930s the UDC was led by Dorothy Woodman who reshaped it as an

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

research and propaganda campaigning group. Membership was on a steep decline by this point. While the Union continued to exist in some form until the 1960s

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

was briefly a UDC member in the 1950s it had very little influence. It finally dissolved in 1966."A million to nothing", '' The Guardian'', 2 August 1966

Secretaries

:1914: E. D. Morel :1925: Stella Retinger :1928: Dorothy Woodman

References

External links

Catalogue of the Edmund Morel papers
at th

of the London School of Economics
Catalogue of the Union of Democratic Control papers
at

Hull History Centre The Hull History Centre is an archive and local studies library in Hull, England, that houses the combined collections of both the Hull City Council and Hull University archives and local studies resources. This collaboration between Hull Cit ...

{{Authority control Anti-fascist organisations in the United Kingdom Anti-militarism in Europe Peace organisations based in the United Kingdom Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1914 Organizations disestablished in 1966