Andrew Taylor 
What about the workers? 
The Conservative Party and the organised working class in British politics

The relationship between the Conservative Party and the organised working class is fundamental to the making of modern British politics. The organised working class, though always a minority, was perceived by Conservatives as a challenge and many union members dismissed the Conservatives as the bosses’ party. Why, throughout its history, was the Conservative Party seemingly accommodating towards the organised working class that it ideology would seem to permit? And why, in the space of a relatively few years in the 1970s and 1980s, did it abandon this heritage? For much of its history party leaders calculated they had more to gain from inclusion but during the 1980s Conservative governments marginalised the organised working class to a degree that not so very long ago would have been thought inconceivable.

Table of Content

Introduction 1 A strong taste for the despotism of numbers? 2 Peace and good will? 3 We shall get their help 4 War, conservatism and union power 5 Milk and water socialism? 6 The smack of firm government? 7 Confronting the British disease? 8 The enemy within Conclusions Bibliography Index

About the author

Richard Hayton is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Leeds