The Labour Party Since 1945

This book provides a critical overview of the changing Labour Party in postwar Britain. Adopting a thematic approach within a structured, chronological framework, the book revolves around one central question: what has the Party been about and what specific objectives has it striven to realize? The author examines the so–called transformation from "Old Labour" to "New Labour", and not only identifies the key stages in its evolution, but highlights, too, the major determinants of the change. The author focuses on the key areas of debate which illustrate Labour′s unfolding aims and its responses to a range of pressures and constraints, namely economic policy, industrial policy, industrial relations and employment policy, and the nature of the welfare state. It is through discussion of these issues that the author investigates the most significant influences behind Labour′s organizational structure, rules and policy–making procedures; its distribution of power; its ethos and conventions; its electoral performance, and the evolving social, economic and political environment of postwar Britain. Setting the dynamics of the Party within the context of dominant theories of party political change, the book also provides a significant contribution to debates on the nature of postwar British politics, useful for all students of contemporary history and political science.

Preface. 1. The Early Years 1900–1945. 2. The Triumph of Labour 1945–51. 3. The Rise of Keynesian Social Democracy. 4. Keynesian Social Democracy in Power 1964–1970. 5. Keynesian Social Democracy in Retreat 1970–74. 6. The Unravelling of Keynesian Social Democracy 1974–1979. 7. Time of Troubles 1979–1987. 8. The Abandonment of Keynesian Social Democracy 1987–95. Conclusion: Labour Old and New. Bibliography.

Eric Shaw is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Stirling. He has written extensively on post–war British politics.

"This is an unpretentious, straightforward book intended as a student text and it fits the bill very well. Eric Shaw writes clearly and in this book he distils his detailed knowledge of the Labour Party and the issues and questions that arise in its post–war history into a readable and clearly organised account. It should certainly be on all relevant reading lists." David Denver, EPOP Newsletter