R v Lovelass

R v Lovelass and Others
Tolpuddle Martyrs' museum and cottages
CourtDorchester Assizes
Citations(1834) 6 Carrington and Payne 596, 172 ER 1380; R v Loveless and Five Others (1834) 1 Moody and Robinson 349, 174 ER 119
Keywords
Trade unions, friendly societies, oaths, freedom of association, suppression, combination, conspiracy

R v Lovelass and Others (1834) 172 ER 1380 is a formative case in the history of UK labour law.[1] It saw the Tolpuddle Martyrs, farm workers who wished to form a union to prevent wage cuts, convicted and deported to Australia. It triggered protests, which led to the workers' eventual release and return to Britain.

  1. ^ McGaughey 2018, pp. 11–13.