The Awkward Squad is a term that came into common currency in the
United Kingdom in
2002/
2003 to describe what was perceived as a new wave of
left-wing trade union leaders. In a series of leadership elections, British union members elected candidates who were deeply critical of
New Labour. They stood for a return to what they saw as the traditional function of trade unions - to stand up for their members against the power of big business - and opposed the
Blairite[?] ideology of "reform" and "partnership". They have also taken up a wider, left-wing
internationalist political agenda, by, for example, speaking out against the
2003 Invasion of Iraq and in support of the
Palestinians' struggle against
Israel.
"It's a well known secret that many of us meet up to discuss. We'll support each other on specific issues and follow each other's lead." (Andy Gilchrist)
All Wikipedia text
is available under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License