Winter of Discontent

The "Winter of Discontent" is a nickname given to the British winter of 1978–79, during which there were widespread strikes by Trade Unions demanding larger pay rises for their members. The strikes were a result of the attempted enforcement of a government rule that pay rises be kept below 5%, and began in private industry before spreading to the public sector; many of them seriously disrupted everyday life. Whilst the strikes were largely over by February 1979, the government's inability to contain the strikes earlier helped lead to Margaret Thatcher's victory in the 1979 general election and legislation to restrict unions.

External links

• Labour faces vote of confidence (BBC On this day, December 14, 1978).
• 'No chaos here' declares Callaghan (BBC On this day, January 10, 1979)
• Public sector strike paralyses country (BBC On this day, January 22, 1979)
• The Winter of Discontent: An Introduction by D. Walton is a Marxist analysis of the strikes.