Elections & Campaigns, Labor Studies - General & Miscellaneous, European Studies - Great Britain, Working Class, Great Britain - General & Miscellaneous - Politics & Government

Trade Unions and the British Electorate

Name: Trade Unions and the British Electorate
Author: Paul Webb
ISBN: 9781855212176

by Paul Webb

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Synopsis

While there have been many studies of the political role played by trade unions in Britain, few have considered their electoral influence in detail. Paul Webb rectifies this and in particular, highlights the breakdown in the electoral linkages between the Labour Party and the unions that has occurred since the 1960s. Rival explanations for this are considered in the course of a rigorous, but accessible, analysis of the political attitudes and partisanship of trade unionists. After examining all the evidence the author dismisses the view that organisational links between Labour and the unions have been significantly eroded. He illustrates how the interplay of social change and volatile party-union relations accounts for the loss of support among manual trade unionists, while emphasising the potential that unions have for affecting the outcome of elections.