UnionMaps presents estimates of trade union membership for detailed geographical areas and reveals the fascinating differences in union membership that exist between different parts of the UK. Data on trade union membership are provided for the Unitary Authority and Local Authority Districts of Great Britain: there are over 400 such areas.
Simply click on the map or use the search tool to produce area reports of union membership for a particular location or create your own maps to see how the different measures of union membership vary across Great Britain.
What do the data tell us? Union membership within an area reflects both the historical legacy of traditional industries such as mining, steel and shipbuilding, and the continuing importance of unionised sectors within the modern economy.
Where is union membership highest? The most unionised place in the UK is Copeland in Cumbria. Partly located in what was the Cumbrian Coalfield, Copeland has long been the home of the Sellafield nuclear processing site, with its highly unionised workforce. The neighbouring areas of Barrow-in-Furness and Allerdale are also in the top 5. Interestingly, each of these areas are represented by Conservative MPs. Neath Port Talbot, Merthyr Tydfil, West Dunbartonshire, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Durham, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend and Wansbeck in the North East are also characterised by very high levels of union membership.
