Labour and the Unions

This timely pamphlet, published for the Campaign Group, argues that the Labour Party's links to the trade unions are a vital part of its strength. John Kelly suggests that Labour's failure to tap potential trade union support was a critical weakness of its build-up to the June 1987 general election. He shows that Britain's trade unions, despite setbacks, retain considerable organizational strength. There are also signs of a new political awareness amongst trade unionists, as evidenced by the response to ballots on political funds. The author argues that the attempts by Labour Party leaders to sell wage restraint to the trade unions are utterly misconceived, and that the economic roots of class politics have been dangerously neglected, even by some of those on the left.

Labour and the Unions concludes that, whether in government or in opposition, Labour must renew itself as the authentic representative of the trade unions and of a diverse and many-skilled working class.

". . strikes a radical, realistically optimistic note, not only in its analysis but in the remedies which it advocates." Jim Mortimer