In this episode, Phil Tinline asks Professor Jon Lawrence to explain how Victorian working men struggled to form unions with real power - and why they trusted judges more that governments. Bike courier Max Dewhurst, Vice President of the recently-formed Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, talks about their efforts to unionise the 'gig economy' - and reflects on how the foundational struggles of the mid-19th century compare with the situation today.

First broadcast in 2019.

Producer: Phil Tinline Show less