New Labour was outwardly hostile to trade unions and their concerns. Yet the Blair government worked closely with the TUC on several key employment reforms. Steve Coulter analyses the dimensions of the often fractious Labour-union partnership and shows how the TUC pursued an 'insider lobbying' route to influence the shape of New Labour's policies.
"Steve Coulter's timely and very welcome book is directly relevant to this debate over trade union politics. The book examines the influence of British trade unions over government policy during the first two New Labour administrations from the late 1990s to mid-2000s." (Edmund Heery, Transfer, Vol. 22 (2), August, 2016)