Part 1 Historical perspectives: early trade unionism - radicalism and respectability, John Stevenson; trade unions and the development of independent labour politics 1889-1906, John Lovell; trade unions, politicians and public opinion 1906-1914, David Rubinstein; trade unions and politics in World War I, Chris Wrigley; the Depression years 1918-1931, Patrick Renshaw; trade unions and the slump, Richard Shackleton; a new relationship - trade unions in World War II, Denis Barnes and Eileen Reid; the vagaries of participation 1945-1960, Ken Coates. Part 2 Consolidation and crisis: the trade union "problem" in the age of consensus 1960-1979, Robert Taylor; trade unions and the second coming of CND, Ben Pimlott; the decline of working-class politics - a reappraisal, Barry Hindess; the influence of the trade unions on the ethos of the Labour Party, H.M.Drucker; trade unions and the media, Jean Seaton; the changed political role of unions under a hostile government, William Brown; British unions and Europe, Denis Maschane; unions and labour in the 1980s and 1990s, Philip Bassett.
