The Labour governments 1964–1970 volume 1


Book Description

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. This book looks at how the British Labour Party came to terms with the 1960's 'cultural revolution', specifically changes to: the class structure, place of women, black immigration, the generation gap and calls for direct political participation.




The Labour Governments 1964-70, Volume 1


Book Description

This book looks at how the British Labour Party came to terms with the 1960's 'cultural revolution', specifically changes to: the class structure, place of women, black immigration, the generation gap and calls for direct political participation.




White Heat


Book Description

'An active pleasure to read' Mail on Sunday Harold Wilson's famous reference to 'white heat' captured the optimistic spirit of a society in the midst of breathtaking change. From the gaudy pleasures of Swinging London to the tragic bloodshed in Northern Ireland, from the intrigues of Westminster to the drama of the World Cup, British life seemed to have taken on a dramatic new momentum. The memories, images and colourful personalities of those heady times still resonate today: mop-tops and mini-skirts, strikes and demonstrations, Carnaby Street and Kings Road, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, Mary Quant and Jean Shrimpton, Enoch Powell and Mary Whitehouse, Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger. In this wonderfully rich and readable historical narrative, Dominic Sandbrook looks behind the myths of the Swinging Sixties to unearth the contradictions of a society caught between optimism and decline.




The Labour Governments 1964-70


Book Description

Part of The Labour Governments 1964-70 series, this text concentrates on Britain's international policy during Harold Wilson's Labour governments in the 1960s. The coverage ranges from defence policy and the government machine to European integration, NATO and the Vietnam War. Harold Wilson and his ministers have often been accused of betraying the sense of promise that greeted their victory in 1964. Using recently released archival evidence, Young argues that a more balanced view of the goverment should recognize the real difficulties that surrounded decision-making, not only on Vietnam, but also on Aden, the Nigerian Civil War and Rhodesia. tensions and the need to placate allies all placed limits on what a once-great but clearly declining power could achieve. Fruthermore, the government proved of pivotal importance in the history of Britain's international role, in that it presided over a major shift of focus from positions east of Suez to European concerns, a focus that has remained until the present day. international relations during this exciting period. Together with the other books in the series, on domestic and economic policy, it provides a complete picture of the development of Britain under the premiership of Harold Wilson.




Parliamentary Socialism


Book Description

Of political parties claiming socialism to be their aim, the Labour Party has always been one of the most dogmatic-not about socialism, but about the parliamentary system. This is not simply to say that the Labour Party has never been a party of revolution: such parties have normally been quite willing to use the opportunities the parliamentary system offered as one means of furthering their aims. It is rather that the leaders of the Labour Party have always rejected any kind of political action which fell, or which appeared to them to fall, outside the framework and conventions of the parliamentary system. The Labour Party has been a party deeply imbued by parliamentarism. And in this respect, there is no distinction to be made between Labour's political and its industrial leaders. Both have been equally determined that the Labour Party should not stray from the narrow path of parliamentary politics. The Labour Party remains, in practice, what it has always been-a party of modest social reform in a capital-ist system within whose confines it is ever more firmly and by now irrevocably rooted.




The Great Inflation


Book Description

Controlling inflation is among the most important objectives of economic policy. By maintaining price stability, policy makers are able to reduce uncertainty, improve price-monitoring mechanisms, and facilitate more efficient planning and allocation of resources, thereby raising productivity. This volume focuses on understanding the causes of the Great Inflation of the 1970s and ’80s, which saw rising inflation in many nations, and which propelled interest rates across the developing world into the double digits. In the decades since, the immediate cause of the period’s rise in inflation has been the subject of considerable debate. Among the areas of contention are the role of monetary policy in driving inflation and the implications this had both for policy design and for evaluating the performance of those who set the policy. Here, contributors map monetary policy from the 1960s to the present, shedding light on the ways in which the lessons of the Great Inflation were absorbed and applied to today’s global and increasingly complex economic environment.




Harold Wilson


Book Description

This year marks the centenary of Harold Wilson's birth, the fiftieth anniversary of his most impressive general election victory and forty years since his dramatic resignation as Prime Minister. He was one of the longest-serving premiers of the twentieth century, having won a staggering four general elections, yet, despite this monumental record, his place in Labour's history remains somewhat ambiguous. By the end of his two periods in power, both the left and right of the party were highly critical of Wilson - the former regarding him as a traitor to socialism, the latter as contributing directly to British decline. With contributions from leading experts in the fields of political study, and from Wilson's own contemporaries, this remarkable new study offers a timely and wide-ranging reappraisal of one of the giants of twentieth-century politics, examining the context within which he operated, his approach to leadership and responses to changing social and economic norms, the successes and failure of his policies, and how he was viewed by peers from across the political spectrum. Finally, it examines the overall impact of Harold Wilson on the development of British politics.




Anglo–German relations during the Labour governments 1964–70


Book Description

Speaking at West Point in 1962, Dean Acheson observed that Britain had lost an empire and had still to find a new role. This book explains why, in the following years, as Britain’s Labour government contemplated withdrawal from east of Suez, ministers came to see that Britain’s future role would be as a force within Europe. To this end, and in order to gain entry into the European Economic Community, a close relationship with the Federal Republic of Germany would be essential. This account of Anglo-German relations during the 1960s reveals fascinating insights into how both governments reacted to a series of complex issues and why, despite differences which might have led to strains, a good understanding was maintained. Terry Macintyre’s innovative approach brings together material covering NATO strategy, détente and European integration, making the volume fascinating and essential reading for students and enthusiasts of contemporary British and German political history. This book makes an important contribution to what we know about Cold War history, and should help to redefine some of the views about the relationship between Britain and Germany during the 1960s.




A History of the British Labour Party


Book Description

Andrew Thorpe's book rapidly established itself as the leading single-volume history of the Labour Party. This second edition takes the story to 2000 with a new chapter on the development of "New Labour" and the Blair government. The reasons for the party's formation, its aims and achievements, its failure to achieve office more often, and its remarkable recovery since its problems in the 1980s, as well as key events and leading personalities, are all discussed.




The Wilson Governments 1964-1970 Reconsidered


Book Description

This book provides a fascinating re-assessment of our view of the Wilson governments of 1964-1970. This new text draws on newly available sources, across the range of British government, and for the first time looks at the whole range of political and state activity. This critical appraisal provides a fascinating case study of British government in action in this key period of British History. This book was previously published as a special issue of the leading journal Contemporary British History. It is an excellent resource for students of governance, foreign policy, economics and social policy.