INTRODUCTION
‘Democracy is protected’, wrote Nye Bevan, ‘by extending its boundaries’. In this time, in 1952, Britain had around 70% collective bargaining cover. This paved the path to fair pay, better conditions, and equality, and the UK government was committed to full employment. But Bevan knew that democracy’s boundaries were too restricted, because in the economy workers did not elect directors on the boards of companies that set pay and conditions, or of pension funds that held workers’ capital, or in publicly owned public services. The Herbert Morrison and Hugh Gaitskell wing of the Labour Party actively opposed extension of democratic voice, and their politics won the day. So when Margaret Thatcher took power in 1979, it was easier to undo union rights, slash working class wages and pensions, and privatise public services, because people did not have an internal economic voice to stop it …
Ewan McGaughey, Executive control of labour rights: the dangerous path of the Employment Rights Act 2025, King’ Law Journal. Published online: 7 July 2026.
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