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The Labour Party Since 1979: Crisis and Transformation
Contributor(s): Shaw, Eric (Author)
ISBN: 0415056152     ISBN-13: 9780415056151
Publisher: Routledge
OUR PRICE:   $60.79  
Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats
Published: September 1994
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Annotation:

When Neil Kinnock assumed leadership of the Labour Party in 1983, he inherited a divided organization, saddled with an array of unpopular left-wing policies. When he resigned in 1992, Labour was a radically different party, tightly organized and committed to working within the frame-work of a privately-owned market economy. "The Labour Party Since 1979" narrates the Labour Party's struggle to survive during its turbulent years in opposition. It charts the internal strife of the 1980s, the transformation of Labour's structure, the strategies of Neil Kinnock, and the party's rise to a position at the brink of power in 1992.
Eric Shaw presents the first systematic analysis of the evolution and modernization of the Labour Party during the 1980s and up to the present day. He looks at how and why the shift to the political middle ground occurred, analyzing such key events as the miners' strike and the 1987 Policy Review. He argues that the disavowal of kew social democratic policies has rendered Labour bereft of clear purpose and that its drive for moderation is a flawed and ill-thought out effort to seize electoral power.
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- Political Science | Political Process - Political Parties
Dewey: 324.241
LCCN: 94-8635
Lexile Measure: 1630
Physical Information: 0.63" H x 5.5" W x 8.5" (0.79 lbs) 280 pages
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:
The Labour Party since 1979: Crisis and Transformation challenges the claim that Labour's only real hope for the future lies in shedding its ideological baggage. It rejects the notion taht the 'shadow budget' was the prime cause of its 1992 defeat and argues that the strategyof seeking an image of 'responsibility' and 'respectability' - which under the new leadership has become a paramount concern - does not offer the best route forward for the party.
The effect of this strategy - of abandoning traditional tenets, and adopting a policy profile more to the tastes of its critics in business and the media - will be to deprive Labour of its sheet-anchor; and even if successful electorally, the price will be that the hopes and aspirations of its supporters will be highly unlikely to be fulfilled.