ABSTRACT
The tuc in the 1880s was administered by the Parliamentary Committee even before there was a combination of unions to form a political party. Although the majority of members of the unions organising manual workers agree with the need for unions to carry out some kind of political action, even in those unions only about two-thirds are politically affiliated. Trade unions must be ever seeking to establish the kind of economic and social framework within which they can best carry out their responsibilities on behalf of their members. Aside from the ‘non-political’ trade union arguments there is still the case to be examined of those who, while agreeing the unions must indulge in political action, are emphatically opposed to their being part and parcel of the Labour Party. Like many trade unionists, the Tories recognise that governments may come and go in the country, and frequently do, but the unions are always industrially in power to some extent.
