The group was founded in 1926, in response to the increasing number of non-trade union sponsored MPs in the Labour Party. In 1929, the
Trades Union Congress (TUC) became unhappy with the line of the Labour government on unemployment, and so it reformed the group in an attempt to put pressure on it. At the
1931 UK general election, almost all the Labour MPs were sponsored, so the group was suspended. The group was revived in 1937, on a far more professional basis. It began liaising closely with the TUC, holding its own meetings after each meeting of the
General Council of the TUC. It focused on discussion and information sharing, also bringing in visiting speakers from trade unions around the world, but did not attempt to lobby for any particular policies. In the 1980s, the Trade Union Group became less important, becoming divided over the best line to take on industrial policy, and seeing splits between an increasing number of left-wing former manual workers, the traditional right, and those sponsored MPs without an industrial background. It focused on organising meetings and arranging speakers. ==Leadership==