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Trade Unions: The Discipline of Law?

In: Conservative Economic Policymaking and the Birth of Thatcherism, 1964–1979

Author

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  • Adrian Williamson

    (Trinity Hall)

Abstract

By 1979, Lord Denning was nearing the end of a distinguished judicial career. He had been instrumental in spreading the ‘discipline of law’ into numerous areas of British life. However, he complained that ‘the law can do nothing’ in the industrial field, for ‘Parliament has granted [the unions] immunity … Parliament must think … that the law should have nothing to do with trade disputes’.1 1979 also saw the death of Otto Kahn-Freund. It is impossible to discuss this story without acknowledging his role. An émigré from Nazi Germany, he had articulated in 1954 the central principle of voluntarism: that, in Britain, ‘the law and the legal profession have less to do with labour relations’ than in any other comparable country.2 Kahn-Freund emphasised the ‘specific national heritage’ that had created this (non-) system. Taft-Hartley might be all very well for Americans, but ‘such legislation does not work here’.3 1954 was, of course, during the high watermark of the post-war settlement. The need for the state to work in tandem with the unions was a key part of that settlement.

Suggested Citation

  • Adrian Williamson, 2015. "Trade Unions: The Discipline of Law?," Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance, in: Conservative Economic Policymaking and the Birth of Thatcherism, 1964–1979, chapter 6, pages 160-190, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-1-137-46026-4_6
    DOI: 10.1057/9781137460264_6
    as

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