IN 1917, as the first world war raged on, JT Murphy of the Sheffield Workers’ Committee wrote a passionate pamphlet calling for radical change in the trade union movement. More than a century later, his searing manifesto remains powerfully relevant. 

At the heart of Murphy’s vision was the need for genuine power and democracy for ordinary union members. He saw that while officials spoke about representing workers, it often felt like real control lay in the hands of distant bureaucracies. 

The vital first step was therefore to empower the grassroots. “The initiative should be taken by the workers in the various districts,” Murphy wrote. “It is immaterial whether the first move is made through the local trade union committees, or in the workshops and then through the committee, so long as the stewards are elected in the workshops and not in the branches.”