The downfall of the Glastonbury Festivals was hastened when Boughton, sympathising with the miners' lock-out and general strike of 1926, insisted on staging his very popular Nativity opera "Bethlehem" (1915) at Church House, Westminster, London, with Jesus born in a miner's cottage and Herod as a top-hatted capitalist, flanked by soldiers and police. This play was heavily attacked by the "Daily Mail", provoking a "hue and cry". Boughton also joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) and let the details of his membership be widely known. These event caused much embarrassment to the people of Glastonbury who withdrew their support from Boughton, causing the Festival Players to go into liquidation.