J. Mcilroy et A. Campbell, Organizing the militants: The Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions, 1966-1979, BR J IND R, 37(1), 1999, pp. 1-31
The Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions has been largely igno
red in conventional accounts of the campaigns against restrictive union leg
islation in the 1960s and 1970s. This article discusses the origins of the
LCDTU, provides an account of its activities centred on the union struggles
against stare intervention, and briefly explores some of the issues concer
ning rank-and-file movements. It concludes by suggesting that, although the
LCDTU merits recognition for the key role it played in defeating the legis
lation, it can best be characterized as a front organization of the Communi
st Party rather than as an independent rank-and-file movement.