Come together : trades councils 1920-50

Think global, act local! Trades councils are the place workers and unemployed trade unionists, in local and national forums, can come together to pass resolutions and plan actions; in workplaces and on the streets; to change laws, change minds, show solidarity, lead and inspire; encourage demonstrations, occupations and industrial actions; to provide confidence and political tools to working people.

Union leaders have tended to constrict these assemblies while radicals have often wanted to further empower them.

Trades councils’ histories have often been marginalised, hidden from the very localities from which they sprang – until now. Come Together explores trades councils in Britain from 1920 to 1950 – their role in the General Strike of 1926, unemployment responses in the 1930s, the impact of World War II, their interactions with British communists – with lessons for today’s activists.