--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Britain's unions were broken and battered…" description: "\"Britain's unions were broken and battered by Thatcherism and never recovered.\" — Owen Jones" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/owen-jones-3992_britain_britain-s-unions-were-broken-and-battere_2436467.png" --- # Britain's unions were broken and battered by Thatcherism… ![“Britain's unions were broken and battered by Thatcherism and never recovered.” quote by Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/owen-jones-3992_britain_britain-s-unions-were-broken-and-battere_2436467.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/owen-jones-3992_britain_britain-s-unions-were-broken-and-battere_2436467.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/784/owen-jones-3992_britain_britain-s-unions-were-broken-and-battere_2436467.png) > “Britain's unions were broken and battered by Thatcherism and never recovered.” [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author asserts that Thatcher’s policies weakened British unions beyond repair. **In simple terms:** Thatcherism damaged unions irreversibly. Key Takeaway Recognize long‑term policy impacts. Themes labor politics history Mood analytical historical Type political reflective When to use this quote - union negotiations - political campaigns - academic research - public policy debates Key Concepts neoliberalism industrial relations Questions to Reflect On - How have unions responded to neoliberal policies? - What strategies could revitalize labor movements? A Different Perspective Some unions have adapted and survived. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Unions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unions/) ## Related quotes > [After the rise of Thatcherism, the smashing of the trade unions, and the post-cold war sense that any alternative to free-market capitalism was permanently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/after-the-rise-of-thatcherism-the-smashing-of-the-trade-unions-and/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [Blair - except at the edges - was a Thatcherite. Brown, in contrast, regarded Thatcherism as something that had to be taken on board…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/blair-except-at-the-edges-was-a-thatcherite-brown-in-contrast/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [Like Marxism, Thatcherism is, in fact, riddled with contradictions. Mrs. Thatcher, on the other hand, is free of doubt; she is the label on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-critchley/like-marxism-thatcherism-is-in-fact-riddled-with-contradictions-mrs/) [Julian Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-critchley/) > [Spare me this sanctimony about politeness, please. There are millions of people in this country who hate the very word 'Thatcher' and 'Thatcherism,' which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/spare-me-this-sanctimony-about-politeness-please-there-are-millions/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [Everything I had been taught to regard as a vice - and I still regard them as vices - under Thatcherism was in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/everything-i-had-been-taught-to-regard-as-a-vice-and-i-still-regard/) [Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/) > [People talk about Thatcherism all the time. I felt it was important to record the memories of those almost written out of history who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-loach/people-talk-about-thatcherism-all-the-time-i-felt-it-was-important-to/) [Ken Loach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-loach/) > [I am sure future historians will say the biggest and most astonishing change in politics has been the embracing of all the tenets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/i-am-sure-future-historians-will-say-the-biggest-and-most-astonishing/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [I think the truth is that the Labour Party isn't believed any more because people suspect it will say anything to get votes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-benn/i-think-the-truth-is-that-the-labour-party-isn-t-believed-any-more/) [Tony Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-benn/) > [I think, historically, the term 'Thatcherism' will be seen as a compliment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/i-think-historically-the-term-thatcherism-will-be-seen-as-a-compliment/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [While every effort is being undertaken to make the memory of the Thatcher government disappear, Thatcherism is still working its way through the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hall/while-every-effort-is-being-undertaken-to-make-the-memory-of-the/) [Stuart Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-hall/) > [Thatcherism has become bigger than she ever was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-coe/thatcherism-has-become-bigger-than-she-ever-was/) [Jonathan Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-coe/) > [We will pave the way for a transformation and roll back the years of Thatcherism...We will turn economic ruin into economic recovery, and above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-scargill/we-will-pave-the-way-for-a-transformation-and-roll-back-the-years-of/) [Arthur Scargill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-scargill/) > [Thatcherism, as an ideology, addresses the fears, the anxieties, the lost identities, of a people. It invites us to think about politics in images.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-hall/thatcherism-as-an-ideology-addresses-the-fears-the-anxieties-the-lost/) [Stuart Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-hall/) > [Blair worshipped Thatcherism, could see little or no wrong in it, believed that that was what the country needed, thought that there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/blair-worshipped-thatcherism-could-see-little-or-no-wrong-in-it/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [During the 1980s, many people mistook Thatcherism and Reaganism - actually a wild form of liberalism - for conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hitchens/during-the-1980s-many-people-mistook-thatcherism-and-reaganism/) [Peter Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hitchens/) ## More by Owen Jones > [We live in a country where there is a lot of animosity. If your politics is radical it antagonises. People might think I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/we-live-in-a-country-where-there-is-a-lot-of-animosity-if-your/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [“May you always look as beautiful as this last time I saw you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/may-you-always-look-as-beautiful-as-this-last-time-i-saw-you/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [A society should be judged by how it treats its children. A country that fails to invest in its children is imperilling its future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/a-society-should-be-judged-by-how-it-treats-its-children-a-country/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [From a very young age, boys are taught that real men get into fights, say demeaning things about girls and women, show extraordinary athletic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/from-a-very-young-age-boys-are-taught-that-real-men-get-into-fights/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [Dieting is long-haul. Many rapid weight loss programs actually only squeeze the water out of you. Just like a wet sponge. But a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/dieting-is-long-haul-many-rapid-weight-loss-programs-actually-only/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [The vast majority of people back higher taxes on the rich. Yet these are fringe ideas within most of the mainstream media, which marginalises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/the-vast-majority-of-people-back-higher-taxes-on-the-rich-yet-these/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [David Cameron set impossible targets and relentlessly portrayed immigration as a social burden while pursuing an economic strategy that suppressed wages. 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It sucks the political oxygen away from the issues we should all be discussing: like low wages, insecure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/if-only-brexit-would-go-away-it-sucks-the-political-oxygen-away-from/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [We recognise that, like us, other humans have insecurities and ambitions; we fall in love and have relationships that end in heartbreak; we worry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/we-recognise-that-like-us-other-humans-have-insecurities-and/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [We live in an age where in politics, people can't disagree with each other without good faith being questioned, there is always an ulterior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/we-live-in-an-age-where-in-politics-people-can-t-disagree-with-each/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [In the 00s, it was often claimed that political apathy had replaced political participation. Membership of political parties and electoral turnout were both said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/in-the-00s-it-was-often-claimed-that-political-apathy-had-replaced/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [Donald Trump's mini-me, Boris Johnson, is in the ascendant: the Tory crown is his to lose. But his colleagues know he's an incompetent, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/donald-trump-s-mini-me-boris-johnson-is-in-the-ascendant-the-tory/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) > [We should all expect to be able to die with comfort, dignity and love. Our society does not lack the wealth to realise this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owen-jones/we-should-all-expect-to-be-able-to-die-with-comfort-dignity-and-love/) [Owen Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) [Explore all 118 Owen Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owen-jones/) ## More Britain quotes > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. 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I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ As for whether what happened in Britain improves\[Donald\] Trump's chances of winning, I don't think so. He has the same chances; we may just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/as-for-whether-what-happened-in-britain-improves-donald-trump-s/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/britain-like-other-european-states-is-not-and-never-will-again-be-in/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It was very hard breaking into the film industry in Britain. I had been to art school, and I was painting and doing commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/it-was-very-hard-breaking-into-the-film-industry-in-britain-i-had/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. 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