Shortly after his re-election in 1966 Wilson faced a six week strike by one group of workers, whom he had described as 'a tight-knit group of politically motivated men'. To which union was he referring?

The world of employment and industrial relations was a volatile one between 1951 and 1979. Britain was heavily unionised during the period, and trade unions accordingly wielded considerable power. By the 1960s, however, relations between unions and governments deteriorated - even between the unions and their traditional allies, the Labour party. When a new Tory administration emerged in 1979, this tension was likely to come to a head.