Unionist state and the outdoor relief riots of 1932

Abstract

This paper breaks with the monolithic conception of the Unionist State in the inter-war period. It argues that the State apparatuses were characterised by an intense populist/anti-populist division. It takes a significant incident - the Outdoor Relief riots - when working-class unity seemed to be imminent to illustrate the operation of this internal conflict. This permits some general comment on the role of `objective? economic constraints in this epoch.