Class mobilisation and class consciousness in the British strike wave of 2022–23

Abstract

For a brief period, the British strike wave of 2022-23, which broke out during the inflationary surge and subsequent ‘cost of living crisis’, both reflected and enabled the articulation of a heightened level of class consciousness, given expression by the left of the trade union movement. The widespread collapse in living standards interacted with the longerterm weakening of consumption-based identities in the wake of the financial crash, and the manifest profiteering of big business, to create a moment where it was possible for union leaderships to describe the strike wave and the plight of working people in terms of a class struggle. The longer-term legacy of this moment is yet to become clear.