The strange death of Labour Scotland / Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hassan, Gerry.

Contributor:

Shaw, Eric, 1949-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Scottish Labour Party.

Politics and government.

Scotland--Politics and government--20th century.

Scotland.

Scotland--Politics and government--21st century.

Physical Description:

x, 358 pages ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2012]

Summary:

The Scottish Labour Party is in an unprecedented position. Having been the leading party in Scotland for 50 years, it lost an election and office to the SNP in 2007, and slipped further in the polls in 2011.

This book gives a detailed account of the last 30 years of Scottish Labour, from the arrival of Thatcherism in 1979 to the aftermath of the party's crushing defeat in the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. It asks fundamental questions about the nature of Scottish Labour and its dominance of Scottish politics, and examines the future of Scottish politics and the nature of British Labour and Britain itself.

Drawing on extensive research including archival sources and over 70 interviews with key participants in Scottish Labour, this path-breaking book substantially enlarges our understanding of one of Scotland's major parties, and of Scottish politics.

Key Features

Investigates Scottish Labour's ideology, culture, organisation, membership and power structures

Charts the sometimes tense relationship and faultlines between Scottish and British Labour

Chronicles the evolution of policy in key areas: healthcare, education and long-term care for the elderly Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The 'Myth' of 'Labour Scotland' 5

Part 1 The Context of Scottish Labour: The Opposition Years

2 Fighting for What Really Matters: The Politics of Scottish Labour 1979-87 21

3 'What Do You Do When Democracy Fails You?'-'The Scottish Dimension' and Thatcherism 43

4 Northern Discomfort: Scottish Labour, New Labour and the Coming of Blair 63

Part 2 The Context of Scottish Labour: Devolution Days

5 The High Tide of New Labour, New Scotland 81

6 Scottish Labour and 'the Early Days of a Better Nation' 96

7 The Politics of Stability and the Slow Demise of New Labour 109

8 A Different Political Landscape: Scottish Labour in a Cold Climate 126

Part 3 Scottish Labour in Power

9 How Distinctive is Scottish Labour? The Cases of Education and Health 153

10 Ideology, Institutions and the Programmatic Trajectory of Scottish Labour 169

11 The Paradox of Free Personal Care for the Elderly 187

Part 4 Dynamics of Scottish Labour

12 Still the People's Party? Scottish Voting Behaviour and the Scottish Party System 203

13 The Evolution of Scottish Labour 222

14 The Internal Politics of Scottish Labour 245

15 Power and Policy-making 262

16 Power in the Scottish Labour Party: The Case of Candidate Selection 277

17 The Territorial Dimensions of Labour 299.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780748640010

0748640010

0748640029

9780748640027

OCLC:

762989811