Mortimer Grimshaw nicknamed the ‘Thunderer of Lancashire’, was a revered orator and one of the strike leaders in the Preston Strike of 1853-54. He is thought to have inspired Dickens’ character of Slackbridge in Hard Times. Slackbridge is a union representative, whose job is to bring together the workers who are striking in Hard Times. In the novel, Slackbridge uses exaggerated language to gain support for the strike. Alongside this, he alienates the main character of Hard Times, Stephen Blackpool, from his fellow workers because he does not participate in the strike. Slackbridge’s portrayal as a ‘self-interested professional agitator’ is similar to the criticisms of Grimshaw that became popular after the dispute. (H.I. Dutton & J.E. King, Ten Per cent and no surrender, 1981).