British trade unions and industrial politics: volume 1, the post-war compromise, 1945-64; volume 2,the high tide of trade unionism 1964-79

Edited by Alan Campbell, Nina Fishman, John McIlroy, Ashgate, vol 1 352 pages, hardback, £49.50; vol 2 384 pages, hardback, £49.50; both vols £90.00

A significant part in recent politics has been played by myths about the role of trade unions in the post-war era, for example, ideas about the so-called "winter of discontent" in 1978-79. New Labour has defined itself by a rejection of militant pre-1979 trade unionism. The authors believe that it is time to make a more rigorous scrutiny of the past, and these two volumes of essays are a major contribution to that task.

Written with sympathy towards the aspirations of trade unionists, the leaders, activists and members, these essays affirm the importance of trade union militancy as a major social force in the years 1945-79, and restore the trade union movement to a central role in the political scene.

Each volume contains a broad survey of the period it covers written by the editors, followed by case studies. Volume 1 includes essays on shop floor politics in the engineering industry, the role of the communist party and social democracy, the 1958 London busworkers' strike and the struggles in the docks.

Volume 2 deals with the relations of the Labour and Conservative parties with the unions and the role of the trotskyists, and includes fascinating studies of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders' work-in in 1971-72 and the "glorious summer of 1972, high tide of trade union militancy".

Volume 2 concludes with an afterword "What went wrong?". It says that to achieve over 50% union density by 1979 was a remarkable achievement, but the problem was that there was defensive militancy unrelated to any transformatory project. The left's "alternative economic strategy" never gained widespread support.

These essays are scholarly, critical and committed and greatly expand our understanding of the trade union movement in this period.