His television plays
Cathy Come Home (1966), and his film
Poor Cow (1967), caused national debate about housing provision, social deprivation, and lone motherhood. He has also directed numerous television plays in support of trade unionism, of which
The Big Flame (1969),
The Rank and File (1971) and
The Price of Coal (1977) are indicative. He also raised the issue of mental health provision and methods in his television play
In Two Minds (1967).
In 1990, he risked and subsequently received a battering from the establishment media for representing British state terrorism and the assassination of Irish Catholics in the north of Ireland in his film
Hidden Agenda. Loach’s