A history of the British Labour Party / Andrew Thorpe.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thorpe, Andrew, 1962-

Series:

British studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Labour Party (Great Britain)--History.

Labour Party (Great Britain).

History.

Great Britain--Politics and government--20th century.

Great Britain.

Politics and government.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1997-2007.

Physical Description:

xi, 393 pages ; 27 cm.

Edition:

Third edition.

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

The retirement of Tony Blair in June 2007 offers a new perspective through which to see the history of the British Labour Party. First published in 1997, Andrew Thorpe's book rapidly established itself as the leading single-volume study of the party's development. This timely third edition now analyses Blair's thirteen-year premiership, placing it in its historical context.

The stimulating new edition: covers the whole of the party's history, from 1900 to Gordon Brown's appointment as the new Labour Prime Minister, analyses the reasons for the party's formation, its aims and achievements, explains the party's failure to achieve office more often, explores Labour's remarkable recovery from its problems in the 1980s, assesses the record and legacy of the Blair government, discusses the main events and leading personalities of the Labour Party, such as MacDonald, Attlee, Gaitskell, Wilson, Blair and Brown. Approachable and authoritative, this is essential reading for students of political history and all those who wish to understand the nature and evolution of Britain's governing party.

Contents:

1 Creation and Early Years, 1900-14 8

2 The Surge to Second-Party Status, 1914-22 36

3 Progress and Collapse, 1922-31 59

4 Remaking the Party? 1931-39 84

5 The Impact of the Second World War, 1939-45 104

6 The Attlee Governments, 1945-51 120

7 Searching for a New Direction, 1951-64 142

8 Wilson in Power, 1964-70 163

9 Drift to Defeat? 1970-79 186

10 Down and Out? 1979-87 209

11 Modernization and New Labour, 1987-97 230

12 Blair and New Labour in Power, 1997-2007 256

Appendix 1 Seats and Percentage of Votes Won at General Elections, 1900-2005 298

Appendix 2 Labour Party Leaders 301

Appendix 3 Labour Cabinets 302.

Notes:

Previous ed.: 2001.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780230500112

0230500110

0230500102

9780230500105

OCLC:

181422238