Why the Labour Party Funding British TUC Fails Workers Across England

From the beginning, Trade Unions were born in England.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs, the matchgirls of East London, the dockers’ strike, the engineers, all the first great struggles of organised labour took place here, in England.

When the first Trades Union Congress met in Manchester in 1868, it was a gathering of workers within England at the heart of the industrial revolution. England was the cradle of the movement.

Yet as the decades rolled on, that voice speaking for workers across England was erased. The TUC became a “British” body that started to fund and support just one political Party, The Labour Party come what may!! The Workers of England Union decided that meant workers of England were disadvantaged.

Scotland and Wales built their own TUC structures, recognised and respected in their devolved political systems.

But England, despite being home to the vast majority of Trade Union members, was left without any equivalent. The result is that workers across England feel invisible in their own country.

The British TUC presents itself as speaking for everyone, but in practice it fails to address England as a nation in its own right. When it lobbies government on schools, health, or transport, these are English policies. Education is devolved, the NHS is devolved, transport is devolved.

But the TUC doesn’t appear to want to admit it is dealing with England. By speaking in the language of “only Britain,” it erases the reality that it is discussing English devolved matters, and in doing so it fails to connect with many of the working class in England. The Workers of England is not against the concept of Britain, it just wants fairness for workers across England.

We believe that the British TUC fails Trade Unionists in England and is happy to follow the break up of England in regional areas where inequalities will exist everywhere across England.

This is not a small problem. It corrodes solidarity. It means that workers in Wales and Scotland hear their struggles named and recognised, while workers in England are treated as if their problems are generic.

It allows the false idea that “Britain” is the same thing as “England,” while Scotland and Wales are distinct. And it leaves a vacuum, that is why the English Trade Union Congress is being developed further and the WEU supports it the process.

It is needed, as there is an urgent need for Trade Unionists to speak for England when the British Trade Union movement does not.

We need recognise that ‘The British TUC’ cannot solve this problem because it is the problem.

Its whole structure rests on denying England an organised voice. It will not change from within it. The only way forward is for England’s workers to build their own Trade Union Congress, one that openly and proudly represents workers across England, campaigns on English issues, and tells the truth about where power lies and explains how and why the balance power needs changing.

This is not about an English Trade Union Congress (ETUC) turning away from solidarity with other Trade Unionists. On the contrary, solidarity is only real when it is rooted in honesty. Scotland and Wales have their own Trade Union voices, their own platforms, and their own influence with devolved governments.

England deserves the same. Without it, the largest section of the working class across Britain, ‘the workers who live and work in England’ will go on being treated as an afterthought, its struggles diluted under the “British” umbrella.

Our task now as Trade Unionists is to grow the English TUC. It must become the place where workers across England see themselves represented and defended.

It must give England’s majority Trade Union membership its voice back. It must put England’s Trade Unionism, long forgotten, at the centre of our Trade Union movement again. Nothing less will do. The WEU supports the development of the ETUC.

Stephen Morris
General Secretary
Workers of England Union (WEU)

Key Takeaways

• Historic Roots in England: Trade unionism was founded in England through historic struggles like the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the 1868 Manchester congress, yet English workers now lack a dedicated national body.
• Devolution Asymmetry: Scotland and Wales have established TUC organisations engaging directly with their devolved governments, while English domestic issues (NHS, education, transport) are diluted under a generic "British" banner.
• Party Political Bias & Regionalisation: The British TUC prioritises funding and supporting the Labour Party while backing regional fragmentation rather than addressing England as a cohesive nation.
• Building the English TUC: The Workers of England Union actively supports expanding the English Trade Union Congress (ETUC) to give the majority of the UK workforce an authentic, independent national voice.