Speak for Britain!

A New History of the Labour Party

Martin Pugh

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Paperback

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English

Vintage
15 April 2011

British & Irish history; Socialism & left-of-centre democratic ideologies; Political structures: democracy; Political parties

An original and challenging interpretation of the Labour Party's evolution.

Written at a critical juncture in the history of the Labour Party, Speak for Britain! is a thought-provoking and highly original interpretation of the party's evolution, from its trade union origins to its status as a national governing party. It charts Labour's rise to power by re-examining the impact of the First World War, the general strike of 1926, Labour's breakthrough at the 1945 general election, the influence of post-war affluence and consumerism on the fortunes and character of the party, and its revival after the defeats of the Thatcher era.

Controversially, Pugh argues that Labour never entirely succeeded in becoming 'the party of the working class'; many of its influential recruits - from Oswald Mosley to Hugh Gaitskell to Tony Blair - were from middle and upper-class Conservative backgrounds and rather than converting the working class to socialism, Labour adapted itself to local and regional political cultures.

By: Martin Pugh
Imprint: Vintage
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 342g
ISBN: 9780099520788
ISBN 10: 0099520788
Pages: 496
Publication Date: 15 April 2011
Audience: Professional and scholarly , General/trade , College/higher education , Undergraduate , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Martin Pugh was Professor of British History at Newcastle University and Research Professor in History at Liverpool John Moores University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a member of the advisory panel of the BBC History Magazine, and the author of over twelve books on nineteenth- and twentieth-century history. He lives in Northumberland.

Reviews for Speak for Britain!: A New History of the Labour Party

A stimulating survey -- Kenneth O'Morgan * Literary Review * A startlingly revisionist book... The most provocative and clear-eyed history of the party yet... It is a tribute to Pugh's scholarship that almost everybody will learn something new from this thoughtful book -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * Overall the book is... spliced with incisive arguments and interspersed with challenging verdicts on Labour's evolution... This ambitious Labour history could well become compulsory reading for future party leaders -- John Shepherd * History Today * An admirable model of how political history should be written * Times Literary Supplement * Excellent and provocative new history -- John Campbell * Mail on Sunday *