The Iron Lady

The wall to wall coverage of the death of Margaret Thatcher and subsequent debate about her political legacy is hardly surprising - after all she was a unique politician who inspired powerful emotions - love and affection, enmity and hate - but whatever else she did The Iron Lady forced people to choose sides.

I fought against everything her government stood for throughout the 1980's as a full-time (NUPE) union official in London, at the time, and one of the areas I covered was the London Borough of Barnet - which took in Margaret Thatcher's Finchley parliamentary seat.

I disagree still with many of Margaret Thatcher's key policies and some of the relationships she cultivated with other political figures around the world such as Chile's General Pinochet - but it would be foolish and blinkered to pretend that in certain crucial areas 'Maggie, Maggie, Maggie' - was anything other than absolutely right.

For example, it is hugely ironic that the biggest step forward in trade union democracy was introduced by a Conservative Government led by Margaret Thatcher - in the form of pre-strike ballots.

Now this key reform could and should have been ushered in by the trade unions themselves - without any need for government legislation and, of course, the previous Labour Government had tried to do just that.

But union leaders made the great mistake of believing their own propaganda - of regarding themselves as an alternative, 'unelected' government - and the rest is history, as they say.

Even now the official position of the TUC and Scottish TUC is that all so-called 'anti-union' legislation be repealed - despite the fact that pre-strike ballots are supported by the overwhelming majority of ordinary union members - and the wider public.

So much for democracy then - union or otherwise.

Which only goes to show that many trade union leaders are guilty of the same insane level of stubborness and obstinacy - the very charge that some people love to lay at Margaret Thatcher's door, albeit with some force it has to be said.     

Maybe if trade union leaders had faced up to this issue during the Miners' Strike, things would have turned out differently - though that would have required real guile and strong leadership instead of flying pickets and mass picketing, the strategy adopted by Arthur Scargill.

Who knows?

Yet the the fact is the trade unions were found wanting when it came to winning the general public over to their side - which is one of the main reasons they have continued to lose influence and relevance ever since.