Changing Pressure-group Politics: The Case of the TUC 1994–2000

Since, the election of a Labour government in 1997 there has been a renewed interest in the changing relationship between the TUC and the government. This article uses the TUC General Council Reports to establish the number of contacts that took place, who initiated the contact, at what level of government the contact occurred and what kind of contact took place for the years 1994 to 2000. The data indicates that the number of contacts between the TUC and government has increased significantly since Labour came to power. As such, it provides the first detailed quantitative evidence about the nature of the relationship between the TUC and the Labour Party in power. However, I also argue that, although the data I present is useful for addressing the question of the extent and type of contacts between the government and the TUC since 1997, its limitations also need to be acknowledged. In contrast to earlier claims by Neil Mitchell, my view is that such data can tell us little, if anything, about the changing power of the unions.