The strike concluded by the end of the year, and Gowdridge announced that the union could no longer afford to pay an agent. Smith was upset by what he saw as political manoeuvering, and the de-politicisation of the union. He resigned and formed the rival "New Miners' Union" in January 1927, immediately attracting somewhere between one hundred and 250 members, in a similar fashion to the later creation of the United Mineworkers of Scotland. He asked that his organisation be permitted to affiliate to the MFGB, but Cook instead decided that the two rival unions should be reunited. Smith disbanded his union in March, on condition that the LMA hold an election for a new agent, and accept his candidacy for the post. Gowdridge ultimately did not hold an election, and the unemployed Smith instead moved to Leicester and set up an ice cream-selling business. This not a success, and he moved on to London, where he slept rough, before returning to Coalville.
