In the Cause of Labour – A History of British Trade Unionism¶

Rob Sewell¶

Core Argument¶

This book argues that the history of British trade unionism is fundamentally a history of class struggle between capital and labour, a conflict rooted not in individual bad managers or particular industries but in the systemic logic of capitalism itself. The capitalist system, driven by the relentless pursuit of profit and competition for finite markets, compels employers to cut production costs by squeezing wages, destroying jobs, and intensifying exploitation. Trade unions emerged as the necessary defensive organisations of the working class against this onslaught, and their development has been shaped by the constant tension between revolutionary and conservative tendencies—between those who see unions as instruments of class struggle and those who seek accommodation with capital.

The book sets out to prove that every gain won by the working class—from the Ten Hour Act to the welfare state—has been achieved through struggle and remains temporary under capitalism. It argues that the British labour movement carries two contradictory souls: a revolutionary tradition stretching from the illegal Combinations through Chartism and the 1926 General Strike, and a conservative, "respectable" tradition fostered by British imperialism's super-profits and the consequent creation of an "aristocracy of labour". The central thesis is that trade unionism alone is insufficient; lasting change requires political transformation, a Marxist understanding that problems flow from a system prioritising shareholders over workers and profit over need, and the reclaiming of the Labour Party as a genuine instrument of working-class emancipation.

Overview¶

The book traces the development of British trade unionism from its violent birth in the Industrial Revolution through to the early twenty-first century, organising its argument around the dialectical relationship between working-class militancy and ruling-class counter-offensive. The opening chapters establish that the British proletariat was forged in blood: the Enclosure Acts created a landless reserve army forced into industrial towns where average death ages fell to fifteen, children worked twelve-hour days from age seven, and the Combination Acts drove early trade clubs underground. Yet from this repression emerged modern trade unionism, and the struggle over the length of the working day became the heroic battle that forged collective working-class consciousness.

The book's theoretical grounding lies in classical Marxism, drawing extensively on Marx, Engels, Trotsky, and Lenin to analyse the labour movement's development. Engels's concept of strikes as the "military school of the workingmen" and unions as "schools of war" provides a framework for understanding how workers were transformed from a "class in-itself" into a "class for-itself". The analysis of the labour aristocracy—a privileged layer bought off by imperialist super-profits—explains the persistent conservative tendency within the movement, while Trotsky's observation that the British proletariat carries two souls illuminates the constant struggle between revolutionary and subservient traditions. The book places particular emphasis on the role of Marxist activists—from the Chartist left through the New Unionism pioneers to the Communist Party—in providing conscious leadership to the working class's unconscious will to change society.

The argument develops through a series of historical turning points, each demonstrating the interplay between objective conditions and subjective leadership. The collapse of the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in 1834 marked the end of revolutionary trade unionism and the turn to independent political action through Chartism. The defeat of Chartism in 1848 inaugurated a quarter-century of conservative "pompous trades" unionism, sustained by Britain's industrial monopoly. Engels predicted this would end when that monopoly was broken, and the book shows how the 1880s crisis of British capitalism produced the explosive New Unionism of unskilled workers, led by Marxists like Tom Mann and Will Thorne. The Great Unrest of 1910-14, the First World War, and the Russian Revolution pushed the movement to the brink of revolution, with the Councils of Action of 1920 representing the closest Britain has come to Soviet power.

The 1926 General Strike stands as the book's pivotal moment—both the supreme demonstration of working-class power and the greatest tragedy in its history. The TUC General Council's betrayal, the miners' subsequent defeat, and the 1927 Trade Dispute Act marked a catastrophic turning point. The book argues that the absence of a revolutionary party capable of providing leadership meant that the strike, which could objectively have taken power, was dissipated. The subsequent decades saw the trade union bureaucracy become increasingly integrated into the capitalist state, a process accelerated by the Second World War and the post-war Labour government's decision to manage capitalism rather than overthrow it. The 1972 miners' strike and the 1974 defeat of the Heath government represented a revival, but the 1984-85 miners' strike—the most bitter class war since 1926—ended in defeat, shattering working-class confidence.

The book's final chapters trace the long aftermath of that defeat: the consolidation of "New Realism", the capitulation to Thatcher's anti-union laws, the rise of Blairism and its attempt to break the Labour-union link, and the beginnings of a leftward shift in the early 2000s. The conclusion argues that the pendulum is swinging left again, that the working class is not shrinking but expanding into new sectors, and that the battle to transform the unions and the Labour Party has begun. The book insists that trade unions, as the embryo of future society, must become schools of socialism as well as solidarity, and that the working class must break with the market economy entirely.

Chapter Guide¶

Foreword — Jeremy Dear situates the book as an essential intervention at a moment of militant resurgence, arguing that workers' problems are systemic consequences of capitalism, not individual failures.
Introduction — The book draws lessons from the events that shaped the Labour movement, arguing that capital and labour are fundamentally incompatible and that Marxism provides the necessary scientific world outlook.
The Birth Pains — The British proletariat was forged through the violent destruction of the peasantry, horrific exploitation of child labour, and brutal factory discipline that transformed workers from a "class in-itself" into a "class for-itself".
Into the Abyss of Capitalism — State terror during the French Revolutionary wars drove unions underground, but the Combination Acts could not extinguish organisation, and the repeal in 1824 unleashed a strike wave.
Schools of War — The repeal triggered explosive union growth and ferocious strikes, with Engels identifying unions as "schools of war" that educated workers in class consciousness, culminating in the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union.
Breaking the Yoke — The 1832 Reform Act's betrayal drove workers to Chartism, the first independent working-class political party, whose six demands and three mass petitions defined a generation of struggle.
The "Pompous Trades" — Britain's industrial monopoly created a conservative labour aristocracy and "new model unions", while Marx and Engels built the International Working Men's Association to provide revolutionary leadership.
From a Spark to a Blaze — The breaking of Britain's industrial monopoly in the 1880s shattered the conditions for the labour aristocracy, producing the New Unionism of unskilled workers led by Marxist socialists.
"The First Giant Step" — New Unionism doubled membership and led to the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900, establishing independent working-class political representation.
The Great Unrest — The imperialist epoch produced explosive militancy from 1910-14, with strikes across Britain and Ireland, the Dublin lockout, and the formation of the Triple Alliance.
War and Revolution — The First World War saw the historic betrayal of the Socialist International, but the Russian Revolution electrified the movement and produced the "Hands off Russia" campaign.
On the Brink of Revolution — After the war, mutinies, Councils of Action, and the threat of general strike forced the government to abandon military intervention against Bolshevik Russia.
"Black Friday" — The 1921 miners' lockout saw the Triple Alliance collapse, the Communist Party founded, and the first Labour government pursue orthodox capitalist policies.
"Bayonets don't cut coal" — The return to the Gold Standard and the coal owners' demands for wage cuts set the stage for the 1926 General Strike, with the state preparing while the TUC dithered.
"Nine Days That Shook The World" — The 1926 General Strike was betrayed by the TUC leadership, who capitulated unconditionally while the strike was actually strengthening, leaving the miners isolated.
"Never Again" — The defeat brought the 1927 Trade Dispute Act, mass victimisation, and the Communist Party's sectarian turn, while the union bureaucracy embraced class collaboration.
"Road to Wigan Pier" — Mass unemployment and the 1931 Labour betrayal pushed the movement leftwards, but the TUC kept Labour firmly under control and supported non-intervention in Spain.
"Labour in the War" — The trade union bureaucracy became an integrated arm of the capitalist state during the Second World War, suppressing militancy while the Labour government chose to manage capitalism.
Post War Dreams — The 1945 Labour landslide delivered the Welfare State and nationalisation, but this was state capitalism, not socialism, and the Cold War brought a witch-hunt against Communists.
Business (Unionism) as Usual — The 1950s boom reinforced class collaboration, with right-wing leaders ruling autocratically and the Communist Party's Stalinist leadership abandoning revolutionary perspectives.
In Place of Strife — The Wilson government's incomes policy and anti-union legislation provoked massive resistance, forcing the abandonment of In Place of Strife in 1969.
"Close the Gates!" — The Heath government's war on the unions was met with defiance, culminating in the 1972 miners' strike and the Battle of Saltley Gate, a historic victory.
The Road to Pentonville — The imprisonment of five dockers in 1972 provoked spontaneous strikes, forcing their release, while the 1974 miners' strike brought down the Heath government.
The Turning Point — The 1974 slump shattered the post-war boom, and the Labour government's Social Contract imposed the largest fall in real wages in British history.
Preparing the Class War — Thatcher's 1979 victory initiated a sustained ruling-class offensive, with the Ridley report outlining plans to defeat the unions by isolating them one at a time.
"The Enemy Within" — The 1984-85 miners' strike was the most bitter class war since 1926, defeated by the full apparatus of the capitalist state and the failure of the TUC and Labour leaders to organise national action.
Aftermath of Defeat — The miners' defeat shattered working-class confidence, the TUC capitulated to Tory laws, and the print unions were broken at Wapping.
"Ignorance is Strength" — The 1990s saw the consolidation of right-wing dominance, the destruction of manufacturing, and the growth of casualisation and zero-hours contracts.
Blairism and the Unions — Blair's "New Labour" represented a bourgeois entrism designed to break the union link, retaining Tory anti-union laws and pursuing privatisation.
The Class Divide Grows — Under New Labour, inequality reached levels unseen since 1886, public infrastructure crumbled, and industrial militancy began to revive.
Militancy is Back! — By 2002, a wave of strikes and left-wing election victories in the unions marked the end of right-wing domination, with the one-million-strong council workers' strike the largest since 1926.
Should the Unions Disaffiliate? — The chapter argues against disaffiliation from Labour, insisting the fight against Blairism must be a political struggle within the party to reclaim it for the working class.
Future of the Unions — The working class is expanding into new sectors, the pendulum is swinging left, and the battle to transform the unions and Labour Party has begun.
The New View of Society — The movement must break with the market economy entirely, adopt a socialist programme of nationalisation with workers' control, and prepare for the ruling class's inevitable resistance.

Key Concepts¶

Aristocracy of Labour — A privileged layer of skilled workers bought off by imperialist super-profits, providing the social base for conservative, class-collaborationist trade unionism.

Class in-itself / Class for-itself — Marx's distinction between workers as an objective economic category and as a conscious political force, with trade unions as the school through which this transformation occurs.

Councils of Action — Rank-and-file workers' organisations that emerged during the 1920-21 "Hands off Russia" campaign, functioning as embryonic soviets that coordinated strike action and supply.

General Strike — The supreme demonstration of working-class power, which poses the question of state power itself, as demonstrated in 1926 and threatened in 1972-74.

Labour Aristocracy — The material basis for reformism, created by the super-profits of British imperialism that allowed the ruling class to buy off a section of the working class.

New Model Unions — The conservative craft unions of the mid-nineteenth century, characterised by high dues, centralised control, friendly benefits, and class collaboration.

New Realism — The post-1983 policy of the TUC leadership, abandoning militant resistance to Thatcherism and accepting anti-union laws.

New Unionism — The mass organising of unskilled workers in the late 1880s, led by Marxists, which transformed British trade unionism and established independent working-class politics.

Rank-and-Fileism — The mistaken belief that the union bureaucracy can be bypassed by building alternative organisations, which the book argues weakens unity and strengthens the right.

Social Contract — The Labour government's 1974-77 incomes policy, which imposed wage restraint and the largest fall in real wages in British history.

Syndicalism — The rejection of parliamentary action and official leadership in favour of industrial militancy alone, criticised for lacking understanding of the party's role in conquering political power.

Trade Union Bureaucracy — A conservative layer of full-time officials whose material interests separate them from the rank and file, acting as mediators between capital and labour.

Chapters¶

34 chapters