1926 and 2026 industrial relations: where are we headed?
Join us for the annual lecture by the George Lansbury Memorial Trust.
Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the NASUWT (The Teachers’ Union), and David Torrance, British political journalist, author, and historian, will discuss industrial relations of the past, present, and future.
There will also be an opportunity to view some items from the Library’s archive of George Lansbury’s papers, and the talk will be followed by a drinks reception.
Meet our speaker, discussant and chair
Matt Wrack is the General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union, having been elected by members in July 2025. He previously served as General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union and was President of the Trades Union Congress in 2023–24. With a long-standing background in trade union leadership, he has decades of experience in representing public sector workers.Matt is also part of the TUC Executive Committee.
David Torrance is a British political journalist, author, and historian.
Tony Travers is Professor in Practice in the LSE Department of Government, Interim Dean of the LSE School of Public Policy and Director of LSE London. His key research interests include local and regional government, elections and public service reform. Professor Travers' knowledge is frequently sought by policy makers and he has advised a range of select committees and think tanks. He also provides expert analysis for broadcast and print media, regularly appearing on major television and radio networks.
More about the George Lansbury Memorial Trust
The George Lansbury Memorial Trust was founded in 2012 to commemorate the life, work and legacy of George Lansbury (1859–1940). A pioneering campaigner for peace, women’s rights, local democracy and improvements in labour conditions, Lansbury was an adopted East Ender who made a great contribution to local as well as national life. George Lansbury, MP for Bow & Bromley, led the Labour Party from 1932–1935 and spent his political life campaigning for social justice, women’s rights and world disarmament. The Lansbury Estate in Poplar is named after him. It was built as part of the 1951 Festival of Britain, as an example of ‘housing for the people’ after the Second World War. LSE Library are the proud custodians of the papers of George Lansbury, which have been digitised and are available on the Digital Library.
Further information
The British Library of Political and Economic Science, known as LSELibrary, was founded in 1896, a year after the London School of Economics and Political Science. It has been based in the Lionel Robbins Building since 1978 and houses many world class collections, including The Women's Library and the Hall-Carpenter Archives.
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