The Political Representation of the Labour Interest in Britain

This article analyses the condition of the labour alliance of the Labour Party and its affiliated unions in the light of a recent typology of union-party links, and of Lewis Minkin's seminal study of the British union-party link. We conclude that, while the link appeared to have stabilized before the general election in 2001, it has become much more volatile since, although the new group of more left-wing leaders of major unions remains determined to reassert the union position inside the party rather than radically change the union-Labour relationship.