Osborne judgment

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In the United Kingdom in 1909 the Osborne judgment ruled that trade unions could no longer use their funds for political purposes. The judgement threatened one of the Labour party's main funding sources. This was especially detrimental to the Labour party as it supporters were generally poorer than other political parties. The two elections in 1910 saw Labour gain 40 seats and 42 seats respectively.

In 1911 David Lloyd George's government decided for the first time that MPs should receive a salary. Previously, only people with savings or funding organizations behind them could become members of parliament. Lloyd George gave MPs a wage of £400 per annum, which partly helped to alleviate the financial problems and the Osborne judgment was overturned in 1913, by the Trade Union Act (1913).