The year 2025 marked the 200th anniversary of the passing of the last of the Combination Acts, which while imposing severe restrictions on workers’ rights nonetheless allowed for unions to form. That landmark victory, and all the ups and downs that followed, form the focus of a new exhibition at the London School of Economics Library Gallery. Titled “Combining Efforts: 200 Years of Trade Union History” and running until the 31st of January, it draws upon two exceptionally rich archival resources: the labour history holdings of the LSE Library, which includes the personal papers of Walter Citrine and Arthur Cooke and the voluminous collection of trade union materials amassed by Sidney and Beatrice Webb; and the vast TUC Library Collection held at London Metropolitan University. What results is a small but meticulously curated glimpse into riveting and sometimes surprising moments in the history of workers’ collective action, from the Tolpuddle Martyrs and the Matchstick Girls to more recent and lesser known experiences, like oral testimonies of twentieth century Black trades unionists and the tale of one woman’s dogged campaigns for the rights of LGBTQ workers on the Isle of Man.
In this episode Marybeth Hamilton sits down with Indy Bhullar and Chelsea Collison of the LSE Library, Peter Fisher and Jenny Yu of the TUC Library, and historian Laura Schwartz to discuss the making of the exhibition and the unexpected stories that it unveils.
