Neoliberal Industrial Relations Policy in the UK : How the Labour Movement Lost the Argument

From attempts to control inflation in the 1970s, through the reforms of the Thatcher years, to the rise and fall of New Labour, this book shows how different theories and conceptual models have been critical to the development of industrial relations in the UK. The transformation of the terms of the industrial relations policy debate was among the most significant and lasting effects of Margaret Thatcher's eleven years in office. By the time she left power, radically new ideas about management and the employment relationship had taken root. This book argues that the success of the Conservatives' ideological project was at least partly due to the failure of the labour movement to come up with an intellectually adequate response to this transformation. While it is commonplace to observe that the British labour movement lost the political battle with the Thatcher governments, it is less frequently recognised, still less explained, that the TUC and the Labour Party also lost the public policy argument Review: 'Cradden's fascinating reconstruction of the intense debates on British industrial relations from the Donovan Commission until New Labour reveals that its neoliberal development was much less natural and linear than it is generally assumed, especially in international comparisons. The sharp historical account clarifies complex debates with masterly literary elegance. Importantly, the book is placed in a convincing critical theoretical framework, which by considering industrial relations as a political - before an economic - realm, explains why the winning ideas are often not the best, only the simplest ones. It is an indispensable book for anybody wanting to understand industrial relations better, whether only the convoluted and often misrepresented British case, or the labour issue in general - and whether only to interpret it, or also to change it.' - Professor Guglielmo Meardi, Director of the Industrial Relations Research Unit, University of Warwick, UK 'The author provides refreshing new insight on the sea change in industrial relations policy in the United Kingdom. This book challenges both scholars and the labour movement to strengthen the intellectual foundations of industrial relations policy and expand the agenda for union action beyond collective bargaining. His brilliant analysis of the contestation of ideas and how the terms of the policy debate were redefined holds important lessons for organized labour and policy makers in other parts of the world.' - Susan Hayter, Senior Specialist, Industrial and Employment Relations, International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland 'Conor Cradden has written an incisive and deeply researched book on the evolution of pluralist industrial relations theory and practice in the United Kingdom. It's a 'big picture' book that raises fundamental philosophical and policy questions regarding the place and role of trade unions in a modern market economy and, indeed, of the role of the market economy itself.' - Bruce Kaufman, Professor of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, USA Front Matter....Pages i-xii The Warp and Weft of Ideas and Political Action....Pages 1-18 Institutionalist Pluralism and Public Policy....Pages 19-40 Industrial Democracy....Pages 41-58 The End of Institutionalist Pluralism....Pages 59-83 Post-pluralist Collective Industrial Relations....Pages 84-104 Where to Now?....Pages 105-120 Back Matter....Pages 121-133