ABSTRACT

This book offers a fresh view of postwar British politics, very much at odds to the dominant view in contemporary scholarship. The author argues that postwar British politics, up to and including the Blair Government, can be largely characterised in terms of continuity and a gradual evolution from a period of conflict over the primary aims of government strategy to one of recent relative consensus. This book provides a provocative and challenging account of the historical background to the election of the Blair Government and will be of interest to a wide audience.

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction: what's the story?

The established narrative of the postwar period

chapter 2|22 pages

Evolution, not revolution

The problem of explaining Thatcherism

chapter 3|21 pages

Conflict, not consensus

The myth of the Keynesian, social-democratic state settlement

chapter 4|28 pages

Reconstructing our perspective

A critical evolutionary approach to political change

chapter 5|35 pages

Go … stop … go … stop!

The fits and starts of government strategy, 1945–76

chapter 6|36 pages

Struggling for survival

The conflictual nature of early postwar British politics

chapter 7|29 pages

Struggling for definition

The evolution of Thatcherism, 1976–97

chapter 8|22 pages

Final settlement

Thatcherism's hollow victory

chapter 9|7 pages

Conclusion

From conflict to consensus — the evolution of postwar British politics