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The collapse of consensus

Household appliances of 1962.

Consumer goods became more widely available in the 1960s and the standard of living rose.
©TopFoto

Industrial unrest and strike action marked the unions' relationship with government, causing a state of national emergency, the defeat of the conservatives and a three-day week.

Related documents

Union relations with Labour

Cabinet Conclusion 7. Industrial Affairs. 2 May 1968 (PDF, 2.554MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. A Policy for Industrial Relations: Draft White Paper. Note by the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity. 30 December 1968 (PDF, 10.053MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Industrial Affairs. 3 January 1969 (PDF, 3.399MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Commission on Industrial Relations: Terms of Reference. Note by the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity. 15 January 1969 (PDF, 0.332MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Parliamentary Affairs. 7 May 1969 (PDF, 1.850MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Industrial Affairs. 9 June 1969 (PDF, 2.175MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. Industrial Relations. Note by the Secretary of the Cabinet. 6 June 1969 (PDF, 1.049MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Industrial Affairs. 18 June 1969 (PDF, 1.090MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Industrial Relations Bill. 7 April 1970 (PDF, 1.831MB)

Conservatives and industrial relations

Industrial Affairs. 3 September 1970 (PDF, 2.551MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Industrial Affairs. 26 October 1970 (PDF, 1.937MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Industrial Affairs. 3 December 1970 (PDF, 1.579MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. Industrial Affairs. 12 December 1970 (PDF, 1.518MB)

Industrial Relations Bill: Consultative Document. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity. 25 September 1970 (PDF, 7.099MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Trade Union Attitudes to the Implementation of the Industrial Relations Act. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Employment. 1 December 1971 (PDF, 0.570MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 4. Industrial Affairs. 16 March 1972 (PDF, 2.234MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 7. Industrial Relations. 18 March 1971 (PDF, 2.199MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Industrial Affairs. 11 January 1972 (PDF, 2.161MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. Industrial Affairs: Coalminers' Strike. 18 February 1972 (PDF, 0.902MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Industrial Affairs. 24 February 1972 (PDF, 2.710MB)

Cabinet Conclusions. Discussions between the Government, the Confederation of British Industry and the Trade Unions Congress. 3 November 1972 (PDF, 1.423MB)

Miners' Strike and the fall of government

Cabinet Memorandum. Prices and Pay - The Next Phase. 16 January 1973 (PDF, 6.355MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Programme for Controlling Inflation: Stage 3 - Draft White Paper. 2 October 1973 (PDF, 7.667MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 2. Industrial Affairs. 13 November 1973 (PDF, 1.713MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 7. Industrial Affairs. 29 November 1973 (PDF, 2.072MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 6. Industrial Affairs. 17 January 1974 (PDF, 2.417MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Dissolution of Parliament and Industrial Affairs. 7 February 1974 (PDF, 2.237MB)

Labour's Social Contract

Cabinet Conclusion 5. Mineworkers' Pay Dispute. 7 March 1974 (PDF, 1.258MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Discussions with the TUC. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Employment. 18 March 1974 (PDF, 0.450MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Regeneration of British Industry. Note by the Secretary of State for Industry. 14 August 1974 (PDF, 2.180MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. The Development of the Social Contract on Pay. Memorandum by the Secretary of State for Employment. 12 June 1975 (PDF, 2.771MB)

Cabinet Memorandum. Draft TUC Statement on the Development of the Social Contract. Note by the Secretary of State for Employment. 13 June 1975 (PDF, 5.154MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 6. Public Expenditure. 25 March 1975 (PDF, 2.389MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 3. Public Expenditure. 10 April 1975 (PDF, 1.592MB)

Cabinet Conclusion 1. Public Expenditure. 3 August 1976 (PDF, 0.410MB)

Search using In place of strife Commission on Industrial Relations Social Contract

Further reading

Pelling, H., The History of British Trade Unionism (London: Macmillan, 1987)
Taylor, R., The TUC: from the General Strike to the New Unionism (London: Palgrave, 1987)
Dutton, D., British Politics since 1945: the Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Consensus (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997)
Wrigley, C., Trade Unions, Strikes and the Government In Coopey, R & Woodward, N. ed., Britain in the 1970s: the Troubled Economy (London: UCL Press, 1996)

Content

The collapse of consensus
Industrial unrest
The Miners Strike and the Social Contract

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