ABSTRACT
Trade Unions in a Neoliberal World provides readers with a detailed assessment of the state of British trade unions over the last decade. That period has been dominated politically by New Labour, particularly its foundational leader, Tony Blair, and the spread of neoliberalism across the globe. The book embeds a history of British trade unionism since 1997 in a history of New Labour and neoliberalism. It analyses where New Labour came from; how it transformed the Labour Party and neoliberalized its policies; how it performed in government; and how it influenced the fortunes of trade unions. These years witnessed the consolidation of neoliberalism internationally. Politicians such as Blair in Britain and Bill Clinton in America refined the achievements of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, China reinvented itself as a major capitalist power and the new global market extended its influence over millions of workers. The book sets the story of what happened in Britain after 1997 in a critical discussion of what neoliberalism is and how it developed. It discusses how neoliberalism became paramount in regulating the world economy, controlling political agendas across the globe and curbing the power of trade unions.
