Power to the People

The first episode focuses on John MacLean, the Glasgow schoolteacher who became a leading figure in the British Socialist Party during World War One, and whose revolutionary thinking led to him being dubbed 'Britain's most dangerous man' by Lloyd George.

After the Red Clydesiders failed to start a revolution in Scotland, a new wave of socialist campaigners, including Jimmy Maxton, chose to take their fight to the House of Commons. The programme examines their conflict with Ramsay MacDonald, the first Labour Prime Minister, and their influence on working class politics over subsequent generations.

When Scots returned from WWII they were determined to build a better country for all. A Labour government won a landslide victory, nationalised much of British industry and brought in the welfare state. The trade unions were by their side, representing the working man and pushing for better conditions and pay for all. But could the socialist utopia last?

In the 1960s union power had never been so great. While trade union leaders mixed with prime ministers, shop stewards controlled the shop floor as industrial relations reached boiling point. New factories, such as the Linwood plant near Paisley, found themselves at the heart of a struggle between management, politics and union power. Everyone would pay a heavy price.

A look back at Scotland's 100-year war for worker power.