After the 1926 general strike was called off, the British government vowed ‘never again’. The following year, it passed the Trades Dispute Act, banning mass picketing and sympathy strikes. While this legislation was later repealed, a succession of laws since the 1980s have severely limited British workers’ right to strike, making the collective action of 1926 legally almost impossible today.
Franck Magennis has spent much of his career navigating – and challenging – the legal structure that restricts industrial action. A barrister specializing in employment law and a former legal lead at the militant trade union United Voices of the World (UVW), Magennis has also experienced firsthand how these laws are enforced, including being arrested while on a picket line.
