trade unions and labour divisions

Question 1

how were Trade Unions influential in the 1960s?

Answer 1

-Wilson appointed TGWU leader Frank Cousins as minister of technology
-they were reasonably popular with the public - 60% of people viewed them positively

Question 2

what industrial unrest was there in the 1970s?

Answer 2

-series of wildcat strikes
-1966 seamen strikes
-2967 dockers’ strikes

Question 3

what was the aim + proposals of in place of strife?

Answer 3

-aim was to keep unions strong but protect the economy
-proposals = 28 day cooling off period, strike ballots could be imposed, creation of an industrial relations court

Question 4

what were the different reactions to in place of strife?

Answer 4

-supported by much of the public and senior labour MPs e.g. Jenkins
-however there was significant opposition from TUs e.g. Jack Jones and 50 labour MPs (e.g. Callaghan)
-eventually Wilson and castle were forced to back down - newspaper headlines read ‘surrender’

Question 5

how did wilson initially unite the party?

Answer 5

he emerged as a ‘centrist’ leader uniting left and right through his focus on technology

Question 6

what personal rivalries caused difficulties?

Answer 6

-wilson feared a leadership challenge from brown, callaghan and jenkins
-brown was salty about losing the leadership election to wilson
-wilson didn’t trust Jenkins because he feared his push for devaluation was an attempt to undermine wilson
-tensions between callaghan and jenkins - they had opposing views on the EEC, social policy, devaluation and union reform