Ewan Gibbs teaches history at the University of Glasgow.
This year marks the centenary of the 1926 general strike, the biggest episode of class struggle in British history. The response of Britain’s rulers showed their iron determination to keep the working class in its social and political place.
British railworkers’ leader Mick Lynch came to prominence as part of the 2022 strike wave. Lynch’s popularity shows the appetite for unapologetic class politics, although trade unions still face major obstacles to converting that mood into power.
The film adaptation of Poor Things darkly and effectively satirizes the depredations of capitalism and its abuses of technology in Victorian England. But like its source material, its critiques have universal relevance.
The last year has witnessed the highest level of strike action by British workers for the last thirty years. Workers are getting a taste of their collective strength: now they need to convert that strength into tangible victories.
Fifty years ago today, British miners concluded a national strike after defeating their Conservative government. The 1972 victory opened up a decade of working-class radicalism, before Margaret Thatcher’s counterrevolution crippled organized labor.
Coal mining regions were central to Britain’s labor movement, and the industry’s decline has left a gaping hole. This social crisis and political vacuum made Boris Johnson’s election victory possible — but the Tories haven’t conquered the coalfields yet.
Margaret Thatcher rose to power in Britain during an age of economic crisis and political polarization, much like the country today. By defeating its opponents at home and abroad, her government helped kickstart the neoliberal era. We’re still living with the consequences.