Glorious summer

Class struggle in Britain 1972

Ralph Darlington & Dave Lyddon, Bookmarks, 304 pages, paperback, £13.99

Despite the anti-union laws brought in by Edward Heath's Conservative government, 1972 saw an unprecedented number of successful strikes. It began with a miners' strike, which was supported by widespread solidarity action with railway workers refusing to transport coal to the power stations, dockers helping to stop coal imports and lorry drivers refusing to cross picket lines. The strike ended in victory.

Soon after that came the railwaymen's "work to rule" campaign, followed by engineering "sit-ins" in Manchester and elsewhere and dockworkers' action, which culminated in the infamous case of the "Pentonville 5" who were arrested and imprisoned but, following widespread protests, were set free. Meanwhile, a national building workers strike had begun.

This book makes a detailed study of what happened both in the workplace and among the union leaders. It also covers the controversies between left and right and the involvement of the TUC. A useful reminder of what happened nearly 30 years ago.