The best source on statistics of union membership, density and combativity is the government monthly Labour Market Statistics based on the Labour force Survey. They do an annual assessment, sometime around May I think. You can phone the Office of National Statistics for the latest figures.
'In 1998 there were 7.1 million trade union members in Great Britain, according to the Labour Force Survey, 20 per cent fewer than in 1989 [if they had compared with 1979, the decline would be starker, then membership was around 17 million]. During this period the proportion of employees who were union members fell from 39 per cent to 30 per cent.' Britain 2000, official yearbook of the United Kingdom, Office of National Statistics, p160
Since this was written, however, as a consequence of rising employment, union membership has for the first time in 20 years, risen, by 50 000. Density, however, has probably not increased.
'In the past 20 years there has been a substantial decline in working days lost through industrial disputes. In 1998 there were 166 stoppages of work arising from industrial disputes, and 282,000 working days were lost as a result. Many of the stoppages were over pay. ... the number of days lost per 1000 employees compares favourably with the EU average [sic]' Ibid. p160
A good article is Seumas Milne's 'Old Pals' Act' Guardian, 18 September 1998, which I think falls into their online existence and can be found in their archives at www.newsunlimited.co.uk.
You can also check the trade union congress www.tuc.org
The best book on the Labour Party membership is Labour's Grass Roots, P Seyd and P Whiteley, Oxford, Clarendon, but it was published in 1992.
A more up-to-date article is 'Stuff that envelope' Ewen MacAskill, Guardian 23 June 1998.
The best insiders account of the New Labour project is Philip Gould's The Unfinished Revolution: How the modernisers saved the Labour party, Abacus, 1999.
The best critique of New Labour (apart from my own articles in LM, at www.informinc.co.uk, obviously) is Norman Fairclough's New Labour, New Language, Routledge, 2000.
On the far left, you can read a pirated copy of the Socialist Workers' Party's May Party notes, which I think is at
www.angelfire.com/journal/iso
This gives an unduly optimistic assessment of the 'anti-capitalist mood' after the London elections, in my view, but it is worth a look.
All of the far left parties have websites, that you can ifnd on a search engine.
The important ones are Labour Left Briefing, Socialist Labour Party (though this is on its last legs) and the SWP. Socialist Action might yield some ok analysis, if a bit formal - they used to have a strong relationship with Ken Livingstone. His website is www.livingstoneforlondon.org, I think.
Also interesting in its own waspish way is environmentalist writer Goerge Monbiot's assessment of the Carnival Against Capitalism, 'Streets of Shame' Guardian 10 May 2000. -- James Heartfield
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