Founded in March 1889, it grew rapidly under the inspirational leadership of Will Thorne (1857-1946), to become a national union, winning a series of disputes in 1889 and gaining concessions on pay, conditions, and the introduction of the Eight Hour Day for its members.

[5] For several years following the highly contested merger boilermaker members retained a distinct identity in GMB's Craft Section.

Trading as TCU Money, it began life as GMB Lancashire Region Credit Union and was rolled out nationwide in 2000.

Ultimately, like the banks and building societies, members' savings are protected against business failure by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

[20] General Secretary, Tim Roache, described it as: another nail in the coffin of the exploitative, bogus self-employment model which is increasingly rife across the UK ...

Workers' rights were hard won, GMB isn’t about to sit back and let them be eroded or removed by the latest loophole employers have come up with to make a few extra quid.

[21] GMB gives Labour up to £2m a year in affiliation fees and other funds, making it the third largest union donor to the party.

GMB has two representatives on the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Labour Party, Kathy Abu-Bakir and Gavin Sibthorpe.

In 2005 Paul Kenny was appointed the acting general secretary, in place of Kevin Curran who stepped down after being suspended on full pay during an inquiry into ballot-rigging during the union's leadership election.

Tim Roache was elected as general secretary and treasurer in November 2015, receiving 56.7% of the vote on a turnout of 4.2%, beating the one other candidate, Paul McCarthy.

In 2020, following the resignation of general secretary Tim Roache and subsequently receiving anonymous allegations, the union conducted a barrister-led internal inquiry.

A GMB spokesman said: "He has openly voiced support for Mussolini so it beggars belief that Swindon could have appointed him, especially given the multi-ethnic nature of the team and the town.