Eighty years ago this week trade union power in Britain makes a major advance

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 The London Passenger Transport Board, predecessor to TfL, ended a dispute that had begun in 1937 by accepting a closed shop agreement under which only members of the Transport and General Workers union would be employed as operating or maintenance staff. It was the first major public corporation to bring in a closed shop and set a powerful precedent. By the 1960s it had become routine throughout industry. The formal closed shop has been made illegal but in practice still rules today on the London Underground.

Lord Wavell, the Viceroy of India, formed an interim government as set out in the programme for independence to replace the Executive Council. The government would administer the country's affairs. It was fatally flawed from the start. Congress participated but Jinnah's Muslim League refused to participate. Five of the fourteen seats were to be held by Moslems but three were appointed by Congress. In practice Jinnah was rejecting the continuance of India as a single entity.

The fighting between the Chiang Kai-Shek government in China and the communists flared up. The situation was now openly described as a civil war. The communists attacked the main railway line in Manchuria. 

 

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