DOCSLIB.ORG

Industrial Action Ballots: an Analysis of the Development of Law and Practice in Britain

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Industrial Action Ballots: an Analysis of the Development of Law and Practice in Britain INDUSTRIAL ACTION BALLOTS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF LAW AND PRACTICE IN BRITAIN Submitted for the degree of PhD by Jane Rosemary Elgar London School of Economics January 1997 UMI Number: U109678 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U109678 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 F Table of Contents Page Abstract 5 Preface 6 Research topic Outline of chapters Methodology Chapter 1 The Industrial Relations Context 20 1.1 Industrial relations background 1.2 Changing patterns of industrial action 1.3 The ’strike problem’ and the role of industrial conflict legislation 1.4 An approach to understanding the impact of industrial action ballots Chapter 2 Historical Development of Law on Industrial Action Balloting 44 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The voluntarist tradition 2.3 Compulsory strike ballot policies and proposals 2.4 Enforcement mechanisms 2.5 Conclusions Chapter 3 The Law 65 3.1 Legislation 3.2 Enforcement provisions 3.3 Judicial interpretation of the balloting requirement 3.4 Conclusions Chapter 4 The Development of Government Policy on Ballots in the 1980s 100 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Balloting legislation: ideology or pragmatism 4.3 Development of policy on industrial action ballots in the 1980s 4.4 Encouraging employers to use the law 4.5 Conclusions 2 Chapter 5 Trade Unions and the Balloting Requirement 131 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The TUC’s response to legislative policies on balloting 5.3 Industrial action balloting: the historical context 5.4 The nature of trade union democracy 5.5 Analysis of the results of the research: changes in union rules 5.6 Analysis of the results of the trade union negotiators’ questionnaire 1991-2: changes in union practice 5.7 Industrial action balloting and trade union procedures 5.8 Balloting, unofficial action and local disputes 5.9 Accommodating the balloting requirement: reasons for balloting on industrial action 5.10 Wider use of balloting in consultation with members 5.11 Conclusions Chapter 6 Industrial Action Ballots: Employer and Trade Union Strategies in Disputes 176 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Industrial action ballots won and lost 6.3 Prescriptive nature of the balloting requirement and maintaining flexibility in negotiations 6.4 Ballots and trade union negotiating strategies 6.5 Employers’ use of the law 6.6 Explaining employers’ limited use of legal proceedings 6.7 Balloting and management negotiating strategies 6.8 Sanctions against individuals 6.9 Conclusions Chapter 7 Conclusions 217 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Overview of findings 7.3 Impact of the balloting requirement: implications for trade union practice 7.4 Impact of the balloting requirement: implications for the processes and outcomes of negotiations 7.5 Impact of the balloting requirement: incidence of industrial action 7.6 Concluding observations 3 List of tables 1.1 Respondents to the trade union negotiators’ questionnaire 17 1.2 Official strike statistics 1976-1995 31 5.1 Number of negotiating officers reporting industrial action ballots within the last three years 150 5.2 Number of strike ballots held in the previous three years 152 5.3 Methods of consulting with members about taking industrial action 157 5.4 Trade union negotiators responsible for organising industrial action ballots 159 5.5 Sources of advice on industrial action ballots 162 5.6 Use by negotiators of advice on industrial action balloting 163 5.7 Most important reasons for using ballots to consult members about industrial action 169 5.8 The use of ballots in consultation on pay offers 171 6.1 ACAS figures on the number of industrial action ballots ’won’ and ’lost’ in the 1980s 177 6.2 Yes and no votes in ballots held in the previous three years 179 6.3 Strike ballots in negotiations 189 6.4 Threats of legal action by employers in response to industrial action taken or seriously considered 197 6.5 Grounds for employers’ threats of legal action 198 6.6 Employers’ experience of industrial action ballots based on interviews in six sectors 207 6.7 General picture of the 1980s: employer and trade union responses compared 211 4 ABSTRACT This thesis explores the impact of one particular change in industrial conflict legislation in the 1980s: that is, the requirement for trade unions to hold ballots before industrial action. It does so by analysing the results of an extensive postal questionnaire survey, covering 846 negotiators in 25 unions. This was part of a wider research project on the impact of changes in the law, incorporating interviews with employers and senior National Officers of trade unions. The conclusions in the thesis also draw on these findings. The fieldwork was carried out in 1991 and 1992. It took into account a number of modifications - notably in 1988 and 1990 - to the original balloting provisions in the 1984 Trade Union Act. The thesis provides an analysis of the impact of the industrial action balloting requirement on trade union practices and the role of balloting in negotiations, looking beyond injunctions and high profile court cases. The thesis is primarily concerned to examine the impact of ballots on the processes of collective bargaining. It concludes that the effects of the 1984 balloting laws, including their amendments, were far more complex than anticipated or claimed by the Government. Internally industrial action ballots were accommodated by trade unions into existing consultation processes. The potential for ballots to modify substantive decisions within trade unions, by centralising and formalising decision making, was thereby limited. Amendments to the balloting laws increased the difficulties for trade union negotiators in accommodating ballots in the collective bargaining process. Trade union negotiators, however, sought by and large to conduct industrial action in accordance with the balloting laws and, despite an increasingly restrictive legal framework, there was a widespread perception among trade union negotiators in the early 1990s that this could bring negotiating advantage. Generally, it is apparent that industrial action ballots were one aspect of a complex process of sometimes radical change in industrial relations throughout the 1980s. 5 PREFACE Research topic The voluntarist tradition of labour law included those who argued that in the particular circumstances of British industrial relations the law could not, as well as should not, be used as a tool of reform. This related in particular to the reform of collective bargaining or regulation of the use of industrial action. Above all it was argued that the law should abstain from attempts to intervene for the purposes of reform in the internal affairs of trade unions. The autonomy of trade unions and the absence of legal regulation and restriction were key elements of the voluntarist analysis. This was not to argue, of course, that the law could not have other auxiliary purposes, including legislation to promote and extend collective bargaining and to provide certain individual rights both to those within and outside the collective bargaining process. In 1979 it was still possible to argue that voluntarism reflected the dominant trend within labour law. From the perspective of the early 1990s it could be argued that voluntarism has in many respects broken down, following more than a decade of legislative intervention which has sought - among other objectives - to regulate and restrict not only the use of industrial action, but also the internal affairs of trade unions. It is widely assumed by proponents of this argument that the view that the law could not be used for these purposes was mistaken. On closer examination, however, the experience post 1979 raises interesting questions of a broader nature about the impact of the law, which warrant further investigation of the relationship between labour law and industrial relations practice. The thesis will conduct such an investigation in the context of the introduction of compulsory ballots before official industrial action by the Trade Union Act of 1984. 6 The thesis explores the role of strike ballots1 in regulating the behaviour of trade unions, drawing on two main strands of research, which looked firstly at the way in which unions have adapted to a more restrictive legal framework and secondly at the ’use’ of the law by employers. Employers’ rights of enforcement of the strike ballot provisions of the 1984 Trade Union Act represented a radical shift from earlier proposals and policies on balloting. These had focused on the power of the state to call for a ballot in the context of emergency powers legislation and had rejected the wider use of balloting as a policy option. In 1984 the introduction of a mandatory requirement on trade unions to hold ballots before industrial action, therefore, was to completely change the nature of the balloting requirement. After 1984, trade union immunities from the common law of tort depended on official industrial action being preceded by a lawful ballot. The 1980s also saw wide-ranging legislation on secondary action and picketing which exposed industrial action outside certain narrowly defined boundaries to economic tort liabilities. Part II of the Trade Union Act should be placed within the context of this industrial conflict legislation, in terms of its intention to circumscribe trade unions’ freedom to organise, and work groups’ freedom to take part in, industrial action.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Future of UK Labour Law
    The Future of UK Labour Law Report from History & Policy Trade Union Forum seminar 24 June 2017, Kings College, Lon- don. With the prospect of Britain’s departure from the EU looming, and its serious implications for the remaining protections of employment and union rights, the TUF arranged this seminar to provide a historical perspective on the issues which could arise. Speakers - Jim Moher, Adrian Williamson, Richard Whiting and Sarah Veale - were invited to provide a chronological account of the evolution of British labour law in four sessions. These covered, (i) ‘the Combination Laws to the Trade Disputes Act 1906’; (ii) ‘Trade Union law and practice 1914-1979’; (iii) ‘The Thatcher reforms of the 1980s’ and (iv) ‘Manifesto for a comprehensive revision of workers rights’ (recent Insttute of Employment Rights’ book) The seminar was chaired by John Edmonds, former General Secretary of the GMB union and member of the TUC General Council (including a term as President), during much of the later period. (i) The Combination Laws to the Trade Disputes Act 1906; Dr James Moher, a former national legal officer with the Transport & General Workers Union (1974-84) and Communication Workers Union (1984-2006), addressed the first topic. He was involved at a senior level during the critical period when the law governing trade unions underwent transformation - his later duties included responsibility for balloting arrangements and legal defence in a union regularly in- volved in disputes with Royal Mail and BT. This experience has been bolstered by a longstanding study of the history of unions and the law, as it has evolved from the time of the Combination laws.
    [Show full text]
  • ED389242.Pdf
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 389 242 HE 028 760 AUTHOR Saunders, Bob TITLE The Effects of Employment Legislation on Collective Bargaining. Mendip Papers MP-038. INSTITUTION Staff Coll., Bristol (England). PUB DATE 92 NOTE 18p. AVAILABLE FROM The Staff College, Coombe Lodge, Blagdon, Bristol BS18 6RG United Kingdom (3 British pounds). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.)(120) EDRS PRICE .F01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Collective Bargaining; Employment; Foreign Countries; Higher Education; *Labor Legislation; Labor Relations; Political Influences; Political Issues; Political Power; Unions IDENTIFIERS *United Kingdom ABSTRACT Employment legislation in the United Kingdom from before 1970 to the 1990s has changed and with it collective bargaining in higher education. Industrial relations before 1970 were treated as a voluntary activity virtually unregulated by law. Then the Remuneration of Teachers Act 1965 set up the Burnham Committees, which until 1987 were the forum for salary negotiations and associated matters. In the 1960s and 1970s the normal pattern of collective b&rgaining was that unions made demands and management resisted, trying to minimize the concession they needed to make. The Donovan Commission and the resulting Donovan Report (1968) led to a great deal of legislation between 1970 and 1978 aimed at encouraging better regulated collective bargaining at workplace level. Legislation from 1979 onwards was aimed at regulating the power of the trade unions and bringing about a shift in the balance of power between unions and employers. As a consequence employers are now likelier to take a tough line in their handling of disputes and resulting defeat for the unions.
    [Show full text]
  • Barbara Castle Transcript
    TUC INTERVIEWS Barbara Castle This transcript was proofed with the video on 11 August 2011 and some discrepancies were found. The new suggestions have been highlit in red Right, Barbara, I think we’re just about set up. The cameras are running and away we go. I ’m going back some way but in your upbringing, in your early working life, did the trade union movement figure prominently then? Well, of course I read Politics at Oxford Politics and Economics and so on. And the history of the trade union movement has always thrilled me. You know, the idea of you know the little Davids coming clubbing together to stand up to the all-powerful Goliath. And then when I came down from Oxford it was at the height of the depression years about 1932 and the only job I could get was one working in shops. And I promptly joined the shop assistant ’s union in Manchester. And it was to me absolutely thrilling. Here I was, in one of those organisations which had drawn working people together to stand up to their powerful masters. So I had an emotional identification with trade unionism from the very start. You believed in the solidarity of trade unions. Yes, and also the importance - I learned a very interesting lesson at that time. I remember working in the little shop, a very posh little shop. And I was in fact in demonstrating crystallised fruits for a big firm and the only other employee was a young girl. And I found her in tears one afternoon and I said, what ’s wrong? She said, it ’s my afternoon off and I ’d arranged to go out with my boyfriend and now the orders have come in and for a wreath they want it in a hurry, so he ’s cancelled it.
    [Show full text]
  • Harold Wilson Obituary
    Make a contribution News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle UK World Business Football UK politics Environment Education Society Science Tech More Harold Wilson obituary Leading Labour beyond pipe dreams Geoffrey Goodman Thu 25 May 1995 09.59 EDT 18 Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, as he came improbably to be called - will not go down in the history books as one of Britain's greatest prime ministers. But, increasingly, he will be seen as a far bigger political figure than contemporary sceptics have allowed far more representative of that uniquely ambivalent mood of Britain in the 1960s and a far more rounded and caring, if unfulfilled, person. It is my view that he was a remarkable prime minister and, indeed, a quite remarkable man. Cynics had a field day ridiculing him at the time of his decline. Perhaps that was inevitable given his irresistible tendency to behave like the master of the Big Trick in the circus ring of politics - for whom there is nothing so humiliating as to have it demonstrated, often by fellow tricksters, that the Big Trick hasn't worked. James Harold Wilson happened to be prime minister leading a left wing party at a time when the mores of post-war political and economic change in Britain (and elsewhere) were just beginning to be perceived. Arguably it was the period of the greatest social and industrial change this century, even if the people - let alone the Wilson governments - were never fully aware of the nature of that change. Social relationships across the entire class spectrum were being transformed.
    [Show full text]
  • Political Power of Nuisance Law: Labor Picketing and the Courts In
    Fordham Law School FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History Faculty Scholarship 1998 Political Power of Nuisance Law: Labor Picketing and the Courts in Modern England, 1871-Present, The Rachel Vorspan Fordham University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship Part of the Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, and the Labor and Employment Law Commons Recommended Citation Rachel Vorspan, Political Power of Nuisance Law: Labor Picketing and the Courts in Modern England, 1871-Present, The , 46 Buff. L. Rev. 593 (1998) Available at: http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/344 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The orF dham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of FLASH: The orF dham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BUFFALO LAW REVIEW VOLUME 46 FALL 1998 NUMBER 3 The Political Power of Nuisance Law: Labor Picketing and the Courts in Modern England, 1871-Present RACHEL VORSPANt INTRODUCTION After decades of decline, the labor movements in America and England are enjoying a resurgence. Unions in the United States are experiencing greater vitality and political visibility,' and in 1997 a Labour government took power in England for the first time in eighteen years.! This t Associate Professor of Law, Fordham University. A.B., 1967, University of California, Berkeley; M.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1975, Columbia University (English History); J.D., 1979, Harvard Law School.
    [Show full text]
  • The Curious History of Trade Union Law Andrew Hodge*
    The Curious History of Trade Union Law Andrew Hodge* Clarity of underlying principle Since 1970 the pace and scale of change in the field of collective labour law have been remarkable, and it seems likely that this process of reform will continue. 1 The 1980s have seen a number of important enactments which seem to reflect a radical view of collective labour relations.2 Sit John Wood has pointed out that, in this difficult and fast changing legal environment, it is important to achieve "clarity of underlying principle"3 both in our analysis of existing law and in our efforts to predict future developments. It may be that the search for underlying principle requires some examination of the lessons of history. Labour legislation and the arguments that have surrounded it have had an important influence on our social, economic and political history. Should the law be used to underline or to dilute managerial prerogative? Should it be used to encourage or restrain the organisation of workers into trade unions? Some of our most respected labour law commentators might argue that there is a sense in which both of the above questions are irrelevant, or even that it is inappropriate even to ask them. The traditional approach to the problems of industrial relations emphasises or even assumes that this specialised and vexed branch of human relations should not be interfered with by the law.4 In a democratic society where it is believed that state intervention should be avoided unless it is demonstrably necessary, this is clearly an important approach which recognises the limits of the law.
    [Show full text]
  • Economics and Labour Law in Britain: Thatcher's Radical
    632 ALBERTA.LAW REVIEW [VOL. XXVIII, NO. 3 ECONOMICSAND LABOURLAW IN BRITAIN: THATCHER'SRADICAL EXPERIMENT K.D. EWING* ProfessorEwing looks at the contributionof law Le ProfesseurEwing examine quelle est la con­ to economicpolicy. In particular, the role of labour tribution du droit a la politique economique. JI etu­ law in the great "radical economic experiment" die plus particu/ierementle role du droit du travail whichhas been conductedin Britainsince 1979,fol­ dans la grande ''experience economiqueradicale'' lowing the first of Prime Minister Thatchers three qui a ete menee en Grande-Bretagnedepuis 1979, generalelection victories is considered.First, Profes­ apres la premieredes trois electionsgenera/es histo­ sor Ewing outlinesthe political, legal and economic riquesqu 'a remporteesle Premierministre Thatcher. conditions inheritedby Prime Minister Thatcher in L 'auteurdecrit /es conditionspolitiques,juridiques 1979; next, the wide-ranging labour law reforms et economiquesdont ellea herite a I epoque,/es vastes pursued since 1979are examined;finally, the impli­ refonnes auxquelles elle a procede des 1979 en cationsand consequencesof these developmentsare matiere de droit du travail, et ii evalue en.finquels assessed. en sont /es implicationset /es consequences. We are here today to commemorate the achievements of John Alexander Weir, the first Dean of the Faculty of Law in this University. By all accounts Dean Weir was an accomplished scholar in the fine traditions of the common law. Early volumes of the Canadian Bar Review carry articles by Dean Weir on subjects as diverse as unjust enrichment; 1 contributory negligence;2 and mistake in the law of contract.3 It is appropriate that these should be amongst the many issues which are the subject of study by the increasingly influential law and economics community.
    [Show full text]
  • Labour Law and Human Rights: Legal and Philosophical Perspectives
    Labour Law and Human Rights: Legal and Philosophical Perspectives _________________________________________________________________ Joe Atkinson A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London, Faculty of Laws 1 Declaration ‘I, Joe Atkinson, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis.’ 2 Abstract There is a widespread belief that labour law is amid a protracted existential crisis, in part caused by uncertainty over the discipline’s justification and normative foundations. Against this background, the purpose of this thesis is to examine human rights as potential foundations for labour law and deepen our understanding of the relationship between labour law and human rights. It argues that human rights are an important justificatory idea for labour law and provide a normative benchmark and moral standard that can be used to evaluate existing legal frameworks and guide reforms. In developing this claim, the thesis first identifies a ‘normative gap’ in labour law’s traditional justificatory narrative, which is rooted in the idea of counteracting employees’ unequal bargaining power, and suggests that a pluralistic approach be pursued to filling this normative gap. It then argues that a normative and philosophical approach must be adopted to fully understand the relationship between human rights and labour law, with a specific philosophical conception of human rights being adopted as the basis for the analysis. A theory of human rights is then set out and used to identify the normative implications of human rights for labour law.
    [Show full text]
  • Private International Law: Foreign Money Liabilities Report
    The Law Commission (LAW COM. No. 124) PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW FOREIGN MONEY LIABILITIES REPORT ON A REFERENCE UNDER SECTION 3(1)(e) OF THE LAW COMMISSIONS ACT 1965 Presented to Parliament by the Lord High Chancellor, by Command of Her Majesty October 1983 - -- LONDON HER MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE $6.40 net Cmnd. 9064 The Law Commission was set up by section 1 of the Law Commissions Act 1965 for the purpose of promoting the reform of the law. The Commissioners are- The Honourable Mr. Justice Ralph Gibson, Chairman, Mr. Stephen M. Crelney, Mr. Brian J. Davenport, Q.C., Mr. Stephen Edell, Dr. Peter North. The Secretary of the Law Commission is Mr. J. G. H. Casson and its -: offices are at Conquest House, 37-38 John Street, Theobald’s Road, London, WClN 2BQ. ii FOREIGN MONEY LIABILITIES CONTENTS Paragraphs Page PART I-INTRODUCTION . 1.1-1.6 1 PART 11-AN OUTLINE OF THE PRESENT LAW . 2.1-2.53 4 A DEBTSPAYABLE IN ENGLANDIN FOREIGNCURRENCY . 2.1-2.2 4 B JUDGMENTSIN FOREIGN CURREXCY . 2.3-2.21 4 (1) The former rule: judgment had to be in sterling converted as at the " breach-date " . 2.3 4 (2) The new approach: judgment in foreign currency 2.4 5 (3) The principle underlying MiZiangos . 2.5 6 (4) The judicial development of the MiZiangos principle . 2.6 6 (5) The principles whereby the currency of the loss is to be ascertained 2.7-2.21 (a) Debts and liquidated damages . 2.7 (b) Unliquidated damages . 2.8-2.10 (i) Damages for breach of contract .
    [Show full text]
  • Trade Union Legislation 1979-2010
    BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP 7882, 26 January 2017 Trade union legislation By Doug Pyper 1979-2010 Contents: 1. Conservative trade union legislation 1979-1997 2. Labour trade union legislation 1997-2010 www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Trade union legislation 1979-2010 Contents Summary 3 1. Conservative trade union legislation 1979-1997 4 Employment Act 1980 4 Employment Act 1982 4 Trade Union Act 1984 5 Employment Act 1988 5 Dock Work Act 1989 6 Employment Act 1990 6 Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 7 2. Labour trade union legislation 1997-2010 9 Deregulation (Deduction from Pay of Union Subscriptions) Order 1998 9 Employment Relations Act 1999 9 Employment Act 2002 10 Employment Relations Act 2004 10 Employment Act 2008 11 Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 11 3 Commons Library Briefing, 26 January 2017 Summary This note summarises the major pieces of trade union legislation introduced under the 1979 - 1997 Conservative governments, and that enacted under Labour governments between 1997 and 2010. Most of this legislation is consolidated in the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as amended. Both the Coalition Government (2010-2015) and the current Conservative Government (2015 - ) have made further significant amendments to trade union law, which are discussed in the Library’s briefing on the Trade Union Bill 2015-16, now the Trade Union Act 2016. 4 Trade union legislation 1979-2010 1. Conservative trade union legislation 1979-1997 Employment Act 1980 • Encouraged secret ballots both on proposed industrial action and in electing union officials by making public funds available [sections 1-2].
    [Show full text]
  • Margaret Thatcher & the Miners
    Pierre-François GOUIFFES MARGARET THATCHER & THE MINERS 1972-1985 Thirteen years that changed Britain Creative Commons Licence 2009 This e-book is the English translation of “Margaret Thatcher face aux mineurs”, Privat, France (2007) Comments on the French edition Lord Brittan (Home Secretary 1983-5, former Vice-President of the European Commission) “The fairness and accuracy of the book are impressive both in the narrative and the analysis. I am not aware of anything comparable to what Pierre-François Gouiffès has produced.” Dr Kim Howells MP (now Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, spokesman for the NUM South Wales area in 1983-5) “Mr. Gouiffès’ book describes key events, such as the 'winter of discontent' and the industrial disputes of the eighties which had a major impact on the Labour party.” Other material available on www.pfgouiffes.net or www.mtfam.fr TABLE OF CONTENT Foreword 3 Prologue: the rise and fall of ‘King Coal’ 12 Coal: its economic, social and symbolic importance in the United Kingdom during the 19th century 13 The painful aftermath of World War One 18 The search for consensus after 1945 24 Tensions escalate from the 1960s 29 The NUM victorious: the strikes of 1972 and 1974 42 Crystallization of conflict 43 The 1972 blitzkrieg strike 51 1974: an arm-wrestling contest leading to strike and General Election 63 The legacy of the strikes of the 1970s 75 1974-1984 : the Labour interlude and Margaret Thatcher's early performance 80 The Labour interlude 81 The early years of Margaret Thatcher 108 The 1984-5 strike part one: from explosion to war of attrition 133 First steps in the conflict 134 The flashpoint 143 2 MRS.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter's Not Yet Gone
    Winter’s not yet gone Construction and Memory of the Winter of Discontent in Popular and Scholarly Discourse Sam Henick Columbia University Undergraduate History Thesis — Spring 2018 Seminar Convener: Professor Blackmar Second Reader: Professor Pedersen Introduction Control over the historiography is as important as control over the history itself. 1 — Donald McCloskey, If You’re So Smart (1990) On 28 March 1979, Margaret Thatcher, the leader of the Opposition, posed a vote of no confidence, declaring that: “The people witnessed the spectacle of a Government abdicating their authority to strike committees. The Prime Minister’s objectives were not achieved, and his strategy failed.”2 The motion passed 311 to 310, leading to the fall of the Labour government, the first administration to leave office because of a Commons division since 1924.3 How did the Labour Government find itself in this position five years after it had been elected? More specifically, how did the Government conduct itself leading up to and during the “Winter of Discontent” and how did the Government’s actions fit into broader narratives of economic decline and ungovernability? The Winter of Discontent is the name the British press assigned to the wave of industrial unrest that gripped the UK beginning at the end of 1978 and continuing through February 1979. January 22, 1979 was the biggest individual day of strike action since the General Strike of 1926, with an estimated 1.5 million public sector workers walking off their jobs. The strikes themselves and their coverage in the press reveal an underlying narrative; Colin Hay’s seminal article “Narrating Crisis” (1996) analyzes the discursive construction of the moment of “crisis” and the Winter of Discontent as “a strategic moment in the transformation of the British state.”4 The “metanarrative” of the crisis of ungovernability was established through the implicit linking of primary narratives of 1 Donald McCloskey, If You’re So Smart (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990), 50.
    [Show full text]