John Dempster was a career civil servant at the Department of Transport. Not only did he have an eagle eye's view of the political and industrial events which led to Margaret Thatcher deciding to abolish the Dock Labour Scheme, he played a major part in planning for it. With full access to government papers he plots the history of the Dock Labour Scheme, explains why its introduction was necessary in the 1940s, how its grip on many British ports led to industrial paralysis and why it needed to be scrapped. Having interviewed dozens of the major protagonists in the events of April-July 1989, which led to the abolition of the Scheme he paints a portrait of an industry in decline, but one which has, since then, experienced a renaissance.