The failure of socialist republicanism in the Irish revolution and its aftermath - Part 8
A Sinn Féin poster from the 1918 general election. Picture from www.dail100.ie . CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS POST. The 1918 general election It is argued by some historians that the Irish Labour Party’s decision not to stand in the general election of 1918 was triggered by the fact that what would have been a ‘war election’, involving issues such as opposition to conscription – to which Labour was already deeply committed – became, after 11 November, with the signing of the Armistice between the allies and Germany, a ‘peace election’, in which national independence now appeared to be the main issue before the country. However, according to newspaper reports of the manifesto which was published by the Irish Trade Union Congress and Labour Party in September 1918, prior to the decision to withdraw from the electoral race, even at this time, with the war still ongoing, Labour had considered the issue of national independence to be the primary question over which the elec