Politics, Pragmatism and Ideology : The Well Springs of Conservative Union Legislation

There is a need to open out the debate on the Conservative government's employment policy, to move away from thematic analysis of the legislation of the 1980s and to pay more attention to the 'wellsprings' of the Conservative government's 'reform' of industrial relations since 1979. Where attention has been paid to the 'ideology' underlying the Conservatives' legislative 'programme', this has centred on the debate over the extent to which the Conservatives' reforms have reflected Hayek's philosophy. There has not been a wider consideration of the sources of their ideas, apart from the controversial recent work by Auerbach. In this paper, we will consider a range of influences on Conservative thinking rather than focus on the question of 'Did they or did they not read Hayek?' and additionally we shall examine the Conservatives' strategy for implementing their desired reforms.