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Examines trade unionism and working class politics in Great Britain since the Second World War with implications for Canada. Discusses national developments and local workplace experience with emphasis on the Labour government of Harold Wilson in the period after the Donovan Commission of 1968, that saw openness to pluralist approaches to industrial relations. Explores union and class consciousness, bureaucratization, sectionalism, and the current state of unions in the aftermath of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government. Also considers the position of white collar workers, women, and black workers. Concludes that the British and Canadian labour movements are in a similar situation, with both remaining in a defensive, reactive mode unless there is a much broader movement toward syndicalist/workers' control of production and services.