Table Of Contentcallaghan cvr 9/3/03 3:01 PM Page 1
Interpreting
Interpreting the Labour Partyconsists of twelve essays on the principal I
thinkers and schools of thought concerned with the political and historical n the Labour Party
development of the Labour Party and Labour movement. It is an t
examination of the major methodologies and approaches in Labour studies e
and a critical evaluation and appreciation of much of the most interesting r
p
scholarship in this area of study. The essays are written by contributors
who have devoted many years to the study of the Labour Party, the trade r
union movement and the various ideologies associated with them. e
t
The book begins with an in-depth analysis of how to study the Labour i
n
Party, and goes on to examine key periods in the development of the
ideologies to which the party has subscribed. This includes the ideology of g
inter-war Labourism, the rival post-war perspectives on Labourism, the
t
New Left, and the ‘contentious alliance’ of unions with Labour. Key h
thinkers analysed include Henry Pelling, Ross McKibbin, Ralph Miliband,
e
Lewis Minkin, David Marquand, Perry Anderson and Tom Nairn. Each
chapter situates its subject matter in the context of a broader intellectual L
legacy, including the works of, among others, Sidney and Beatrice Webb, a
Theodore Rothstein, Stuart Hall and Samuel Beer. b
The book will be of interest to undergraduate students of British politics o
and political theory, and to academics concerned with Labour politics and u
history, trade union history and politics, research methodology and
r
political analysis.
P
a
John Callaghan is Professor of Politics at the University of Wolverhampton. Steven r
Fielding is Professor of Contemporary Political History in the School of English, t
Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History and Associate Director of the y
European Studies Research Institute at the University of Salford. Steve Ludlam is a
Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of Sheffield.
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dsld Approaches to Labour
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politics and history
Edited byJohn Callaghan,
Steven Fielding andSteve Ludlam
ITLP_A01.QXD 18/8/03 9:52 am Page i
Interpreting
the Labour Party
ITLP_A01.QXD 18/8/03 9:52 am Page ii
Critical Labour Movement Studies Series
Series editors
John Callaghan
Steven Fielding
Steve Ludlam
ITLP_A01.QXD 18/8/03 9:52 am Page iii
Interpreting
the Labour Party
Approaches to Labour
politics and history
edited by
John Callaghan
Steven Fielding
Steve Ludlam
Manchester University Press
Manchester and New York
distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave
ITLP_A01.QXD 18/8/03 9:52 am Page iv
Copyright © Manchester University Press 2003
While copyright in the volume as a whole is vested in Manchester University Press,copyright in
individual chapters belongs to their respective authors,and no chapter may be reproduced wholly or in
part without the express permission in writing ofboth author and publisher.
Published byManchester University Press
Oxford Road,Manchester M13 9NR,UK
andRoom 400,175 Fifth Avenue,New York,NY 10010,USA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Distributed exclusively in the USA by
Palgrave,175 Fifth Avenue,New York,
NY 10010,USA
Distributed exclusively in Canada by
UBC Press,University ofBritish Columbia,2029 West Mall,
Vancouver,BC,Canada V6T 1Z2
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for
ISBN 0 7190 6718 9 hardback
0 7190 6719 7 paperback
First published 2003
11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Typeset
by Northern Phototypesetting Co.Ltd.,Bolton,Lancs.
Printed in Great Britain
by CPI,Bath
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Contents
John Callaghan, Steven Fielding and Steve Ludlam
Series editors’foreword pagevi
Acknowledgements vii
Contributors ix
Introduction John Callaghan,Steven Fielding and Steve Ludlam 1
1 Understanding Labour’s ideological trajectory Nick Randall 8
2 ‘What kind ofpeople are you?’Labour,the people and the ‘new
political history’ Lawrence Black 23
3 ‘Labourism’and the New Left Madeleine Davis 39
4 Ralph Miliband and the Labour Party:from Parliamentary
Socialismto ‘Bennism’ Michael Newman 57
5 The continuing relevance ofthe Milibandian perspective
David Coates and Leo Panitch 71
6 An exceptional comrade? The Nairn–Anderson interpretation
Mark Wickham-Jones 86
7 Class and politics in the work ofHenry Pelling Alastair J.Reid 101
8 Ross McKibbin:class cultures,the trade unions and the Labour Party
John Callaghan 116
9 The Progressive Dilemmaand the social democratic perspective
Steven Fielding and Declan McHugh 134
10 Too much pluralism,not enough socialism:interpreting the
unions–party link Steve Ludlam 150
11 Lewis Minkin and the party–unions link Eric Shaw 166
12 How to study the Labour Party:contextual,analytical and
theoretical issues Colin Hay 182
Guide to further reading 197
Index 203
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Series editors’ foreword
John Callaghan, Steven Fielding and Steve Ludlam
The start of the twenty-first century is superficially an inauspicious time to study labour
movements. Political parties once associated with the working class have seemingly
embraced capitalism. The trade unions with which these parties were once linked have
suffered near-fatal reverses. The industrial proletariat looks both divided and in rapid
decline. The development of multi-level governance, prompted by ‘globalisation’ has
furthermore apparently destroyed the institutional context for advancing the labour
‘interest’.Many consequently now look on terms such as the ‘working class’,‘socialism’and
the ‘labour movement’as politically and historically redundant.
The purpose ofthis series is to give a platform to those students oflabour movements
who challenge,or develop,established ways ofthinking and so demonstrate the continued
vitality ofthe subject and the work ofthose interested in it.For despite appearances many
social democratic parties remain important competitors for national office and proffer
distinctive programmes.Unions still impede the free flow of‘market forces’.Ifworkers are
a more diverse body and have exchanged blue collars for white, insecurity remains an
everyday problem.The new institutional and global context is moreover as much of an
opportunity as a threat.Yet,it cannot be doubted that compared to the immediate post-
1945 period,at the beginning ofthe new millennium what many still refer to as the ‘labour
movement’is much less influential.Whether this should be considered a time ofretreat or
reconfiguration is unclear – and a question the series aims to clarify
The series will not only give a voice to studies ofparticular national bodies but will also
promote comparative works that contrast experiences across time and geography. This
entails taking due account ofthe political,economic and cultural settings in which labour
movements have operated.In particular this involves taking the past seriously as a way of
understanding the present as well as utilising sympathetic approaches drawn from
sociology,economics and elsewhere.
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Acknowledgements
John Callaghan, Steven Fielding and Steve Ludlam
Nick Randall wishes to acknowledge an ESRC Postgraduate Training Award
(R00429634225), which allowed him to conduct the doctoral research on Labour’s
ideological dynamics on which his chapter is based.In addition he would like to thank
Martin Burch,David Coates,Colin Hay,Steve Ludlam and members of the PSA Labour
Movements Group for their comments on earlier drafts ofchapter 1.Lawrence Black wishes
to thank John Callaghan,James Thompson,Nick Tiratsoo and Leo Zeilig,and the audience
at a seminar held at the University ofAlberta,Edmonton,for their comments and advice
about sources.Michael Newman is grateful to Tony Benn for permission to quote from the
unpublished version ofhis diary.Steven Fielding and Declan McHugh wish to thank Peter
Clarke, Kevin Hickson, Steve Ludlam, John McHugh and David Marquand for their
insights.Steve Ludlam thanks his co-editors for their comments on chapter 10.Colin Hay
expresses his thanks to Steven Fielding,Dave Marsh and Dan Wincott for helpful comments
on an earlier version ofchapter 12 and acknowledges the support ofthe ESRC ‘One Europe
or Several?’ programme for research on ‘Globalisation, European Integration and the
European Social Model’(L213252043).
The editors express their appreciation to all those who,as either paper-givers or audience,
participated in the Labour Movement Studies’conference ‘Understanding the Labour Party’
which was held in Manchester in July 2001 and on which this collection is based; in
addition, they thank the UK Political Studies Association for financial support and
Starbucks for the hosting oftheir numerous editorial conferences.
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Contributors
John Callaghan, Steven Fielding and Steve Ludlam
Lawrence Blackis Fulbright-Robertson Visiting Professor ofBritish History at Westminster
College,Missouri,USA during 2002–3.He is the author ofThe Political Culture ofthe Left
in Affluent Britain,1951-64: Old Labour,New Britain?(2003).A volume co-edited with
Hugh Pemberton, An Affluent Society? Britain’s Post-War ‘Golden Age’ Revisited is
forthcoming.He is currently researching British political culture and post-war affluence.
John Callaghanis Professor ofPolitics at the University ofWolverhampton and the author
ofSocialism in Britain (1990),The Retreat ofSocial Democracy(2000) andCrisis,Cold War
and Conflict: the Communist Party 1951–68 (2003).
David Coatesis the Worrell Professor ofAnglo-American Studies at Wake Forest University
in North Carolina,USA.He has recently edited (with Peter Lawler) New Labour into
Power(2000),and Paving the Way: The Critique of‘Parliamentary Socialism’(2003),the
latter being a collection ofessays on the Labour Party drawn largely from The Socialist
Registerand written by scholars sympathetic to the perspective discussed in his chapter.
Madeleine Davisis a Lecturer in Politics at Queen Mary College,University ofLondon.The
chapter presented here is based on research undertaken for her doctoral thesis,New Left
Review’s Analysis ofBritain 1964-1990,completed in 1999.As well as the New Left,she
also has an interest in Latin American politics and is the editor of The Pinochet Case
(2003).
Steven Fieldingis Professor of Contemporary Political History in the School of English,
Sociology,Politics and Contemporary History and Associate Director of the European
Studies Research Institute at the University of Salford.His recent publications include
The Labour Party.Continuity and Change in the Making of‘New’Labour(2003) and The
Labour Governments,1964–70.Volume One.Labour and Cultural Change (Manchester,
2004).
Colin Hayis Professor ofPolitical Analysis and Head ofthe Department ofPolitical Science
and International Studies at the University ofBirmingham.He is co-editor ofthe new
international journal Comparative European Politicsand the author or editor ofa number
of volumes, including The Political Economy of New Labour (1999), Demystifying
Globalisation(2001),Political Analysis(2002) and British Politics Today(2002).
Steve Ludlam is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of
Sheffield.His most recent publication,co-written by Martin J.Smith,is New Labour in
Government(2001).He is convenor ofthe Labour Movements’specialist group in the UK
Political Studies Association.
