At a time of mass emigration to England and Scotland, it seems almost natural that Doherty should follow this path and in 1816 he relocated to Manchester, the home of the cotton industry, possibly in search of higher wages offered to workers with his significant experience.
Rather than deterring Doherty this merely enhanced his desire to obtain better conditions for himself and his fellow workers and he continued to be an active member of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton Spinners following his release.
Starvation forced the strikers back to work and although this was considered to be a failure, following low turnout, Doherty remained determined and soon founded the General Union of Cotton Spinners.
[1] Doherty was also involved with the creation of the National Association for the Protection of Labour but this ambitious project, intended to provide a general union of workers of all trades, was similarly poorly supported and collapsed in 1832.
[2] E. P. Thompson suggested, in The Making of the English Working Class, that in the history of working-class movements between 1780 and 1832, he was one of three, with Gravener Henson and John Gast, who had been outstanding leaders.
Although less involved with the general movement, Doherty continued to publish a radical journal entitled The Voice of the People which focused on the plight of the factory and mill workers and called for reform.
It was whilst working as a publisher that Doherty's interest in the factory reform movement peaked and following his release from prison due to slanderous comments made in The Voice of the People, he became involved with fellow radical Robert Owen.