Rethinking Labour's Past

The Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn is charting a new direction. Here, Nathan Yeowell has brought together a remarkable array of contributors to provide expert insight into twentieth-century British history and Labour politics – and how they might shape thinking about Labour's future. Reframing the span of Labour history and its effects on contemporary British politics, the book provides fresh thinking and analysis of various traditions, themes and individuals. These include the shifting significance of 1945, the need for more grounded interpretations of Tony Blair's legacy, and the enduring importance of place, identity and aspiration to the evolution of the party. Contributions from leading historians such as Patrick Diamond, Steven Fielding, Ben Jackson, Glen O' Hara and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite are supplemented by those with experience of Labour electoral politics, such as Rachel Reeves and Nick Thomas-Symonds. The result is an intellectually rich and politically relevant roadmap for Labour's future. Cover Contents List of contributors Acknowledgements Foreword Rachel Reeves Part 1 1 Introduction: Rethinking Labour’s past Nathan Yeowell 2 The disenchantment of the Labour Party: Socialism, liberalism and progressive history Ben Jackson Part 2 3 ‘A party not unlike the Democrats’: Labour, the left and encounters with America from the New Deal to the New Frontier Richard Carr 4 The shifting significance of ‘The Spirit of ’45’ Steven Fielding 5 The fall and rise of Harold Wilson Glen O’Hara 6 Crosland in the seventies: Revisionist social democracy in a cold climate Patrick Diamond Part 3 7 Municipal socialism and municipal feminism: Women and local Labour politics from the 1900s to the 1980s Krista Cowman 8 Social democracy, the decline of community and community politics in postwar Britain Nick Garland 9 Linking up Labour: Place, community and buses in 1980s Sheffield Daisy Payling 10 Race and the left: From protest to power? The story of Black Sections Robin Bunce and Samara Linton 11 ‘This party is a moral crusade, or it is nothing’: Foreign aid and Labour’s ethical identity Charlotte Lydia Riley Part 4 12 ‘What did the 1983 manifesto ever do for us?’ Colm Murphy 13 Neil Kinnock: A reassessment Jonathan Davis and Rohan McWilliam 14 Past, present and future: Tony Blair and the political legacy of New Labour Andrew Hindmoor and Karl Pike 15 Renewal beyond New Labour: From the LCC to Corbynomics George Morris, Emily Robinson and Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite Part 5 16 The Labour Party and aspiration Jeremy Nuttall 17 Conclusion: Shaping Labour’s future Nick Thomas-Symonds Further Reading Index "The Labour Party after Jeremy Corbyn is in search of new direction. Here, Nathan Yeowell has succeeded in pulling together a remarkable array of contributors who are actively engaged in research on twentieth-century British history and Labour politics. Reframing the last 100 years of Labour politics - the book covers key figures and battles in the party - such as the dropping of Clause 4, the formation of the welfare state and Corbyn's general election defeat of 2020. Contributions from leading historians such as Steven Fielding, Clare Griffiths, Ben Jackson,and Glenn O Hara are supplemented by those with experience of Labour electoral politics, such as Rachel Reeves MP and Patrick Diamond. The result is a revisionist, intellectually rich and politically relevant roadmap for Labour's future"-- Provided by publisher