Labour and the Left in the 1980s

Rohan McWilliam

ISBN 10: 1526151448 / ISBN 13: 9781526151445

Published by Manchester University Press, GB, 2020

About this Item

This volume of essays constitutes the first history of Labour and left-wing politics in the decade when Margaret Thatcher reshaped modern Britain. Leading scholars explore aspects of left-wing culture, activities and ideas at a time when social democracy was in crisis. There are articles about political leadership, economic alternatives, gay rights, the miners' strike, the Militant Tendency and the politics of race. The book also situates the crisis of the left in international terms as the socialist world began to collapse. Tony Blair's New Labour disavowed the 1980s left, associating it with failure, but this volume argues for a more complex approach. Many of the causes it championed are now mainstream, suggesting that the time has come to reassess 1980s progressive politics, despite its undeniable electoral failures. With this in mind, the contributors offer ground-breaking research and penetrating arguments about the strange death of Labour Britain.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781526151445

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Labour and the Left in the 1980s
• Publisher: Manchester University Press, GB
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526151448
• ISBN 13: 9781526151445
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 331 grams

About this title

Synopsis

This volume of essays constitutes the first history of Labour and left-wing politics in the decade when Margaret Thatcher reshaped modern Britain. Leading scholars explore aspects of left-wing culture, activities and ideas at a time when social democracy was in crisis. There are articles about political leadership, economic alternatives, gay rights, the miners’ strike, the Militant Tendency and the politics of race. The book also situates the crisis of the left in international terms as the socialist world began to collapse.

Tony Blair's New Labour disavowed the 1980s left, associating it with failure, but this volume argues for a more complex approach. Many of the causes it championed are now mainstream, suggesting that the time has come to reassess 1980s progressive politics, despite its undeniable electoral failures. With this in mind, the contributors offer ground-breaking research and penetrating arguments about the strange death of Labour Britain.

About the Author

Jonathan Davis is a Senior Lecturer in Russian History at Anglia Ruskin University

Rohan McWilliam is Professor of Modern British History at Anglia Ruskin University