The Union of Democratic Control was a British

pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

formed in 1914 to press for a more responsive

foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. While not a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The first two of his governments belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, where he led ...

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 Sir Ralph Norman Angell (26 December 1872 – 7 October 1967) was an English Nobel Peace Prize winner. He was a lecturer, journalist, author and Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. Angell was one of the principal founders of the Union ...

and journalist

E. D. Morel Edmund Dene Morel (born Georges Edmond Pierre Achille Morel Deville; 10 July 1873 – 12 November 1924) was a French-born British journalist, author, pacifist and politician. As a young official at the shipping company Elder Dempster, Morel ob ...

. 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 *

* C. P. Scott *

Graham Wallas Graham Wallas (31 May 1858 – 9 August 1932) was an English socialist, social psychologist, educationalist, a leader of the Fabian Society and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Biography Born in Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, Walla ...

* J. A. Hobson *

Ottoline Morrell Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell (née Cavendish-Bentinck; 16 June 1873 – 21 April 1938) was an English Aristocracy (class), aristocrat and society hostess. Her patronage was influential in artistic and intellectual circles, where she befri ...

George Cadbury George Cadbury (19 September 1839 – 24 October 1922) was an English Quakers, Quaker businessman and social reformer who expanded his father's Cadbury, Cadbury's cocoa and chocolate company in Britain. Background George Cadbury was the son o ...

Konni Zilliacus Konni Zilliacus (13 September 1894 – 6 July 1967) was a British politician, diplomat and writer who was the Member of Parliament for Gateshead from 1945 until 1950, and for Manchester Gorton from 1955 until his death. He was a left-wi ...

Bertrand Russell Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic ...

* Sophia Sturge

Labour Party

* James Ramsay MacDonald MP * Frederick William Jowett MP * Philip Snowden MP * William Crawford Anderson MP * Frederick Pethick-Lawrence * Tom Johnston *

David Kirkwood David Kirkwood, 1st Baron Kirkwood, PC (8 July 1872 – 16 April 1955), was a Scottish politician, trade unionist and socialist activist from the East End of Glasgow, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for nearly 30 years, and was as a ...

* Helena Swanwick *

Isabella Ford Isabella Ormston Ford (23 May 1855 – 14 July 1924) was an English social reformer, suffragist and writer. She became a public speaker and wrote pamphlets on issues related to socialism, feminism and workers' rights. After becoming concerned wi ...

* H. N. Brailsford * R. H. Tawney * Mary Agnes Hamilton *

Margaret Bondfield Margaret Grace Bondfield (17 March 1873 – 16 June 1953) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a priv ...

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 known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...

and wartime

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

along with other restrictions on civil liberties. As a result of this, the UDC was denounced by right-wingers such as ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning ...

'' newspaper as undermining the British war effort. The

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

(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 Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. 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 The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...

as being unjust to Germany, and also advocated the withdrawal of Allied troops from Russia.

A. J. P. Taylor Alan John Percivale Taylor (25 March 1906 – 7 September 1990) was an English historian who specialised in 19th- and 20th-century European diplomacy. Both a journalist and a broadcaster, he became well known to millions through his telev ...

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 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 op ...

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 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

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

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 2 August 1966

Secretaries

:1914:

:1925: Stella Retinger :1928: Dorothy Woodman

References

External links

Catalogue of the Edmund Morel papers
at th

of the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Catalogue of the Union of Democratic Control papers
at Hull History Centre {{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