The British tradition of minority government / Timothy Noël Peacock.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Peacock, Timothy Noël, author.

Series:

Manchester scholarship online.

Manchester scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Coalition governments--Great Britain.

Coalition governments.

Great Britain--Politics and government--1945-.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (254 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2018.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Minority governance has been dismissed as an aberration, an interlude between 'normal' and 'victorious' administrations, which have commanded the interest of politicians, political analysts and the general public. This book is a study that challenges these myths and established perceptions of minority government in the 1970s through a reading of declassified internal government and party files. It demonstrates that there is a distinctive 'British tradition of minority government' that provides a new perspective on the existing corpus of international theory regarding the subject. One of the single greatest myths arising from these sources of coverage, such as interviews, biographies , and political diaries and memoirs is that outside events superseded those in Parliament. The book questions this myth and shows that the strategy-making processes in the Labour and the Conservative Parties were geared towards minority government. It has often been assumed that the formation of the Wilson and Callaghan Minority Governments were inevitable, histories mainly concentrating on changes in personnel and policy. This long-standing myth is challenged by examining the prospect of alternative not adopted, including early elections or interparty coalitions. The book then questions the myths of 1970s minority governments' inability to pass significant legislation without the cooperation of opposition parties. It also explores the myths surrounding the inevitability and form of this 1977-78 Lib-Lab Pact. Myths about 1970s elections and Labour and Conservative post-electoral plans are discussed next. Finally, the book considers how the June 2017 minority government at Westminster may affect planning for future indecisive election.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Myths, methods and minorities

2. Myths about leaders: personalities and strategy-making

3. The birth of myths: alternatives to government formation

4. The myth of weakness: legislative management

5. The myth of coalition: the Lib-Lab Pact

6. The myth of exclusivity: informal interparty cooperation

7. The myth of binary choice: electoral timing

8. Myths and secret plans: future minority governments/coalitions

9. Dissolving myths: the day the Government fell

10. Rewriting political mythology in 2017.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 09 Mar 2026).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781526138903

1526138905

9781526123275

1526123274

OCLC:

1043555679