Labour’s Decline and the Social Democrats’ Fall

Labour’s Decline and the Social Democrats’ Fall PDF

Author: Geoffrey Lee Williams

Publisher: Springer

Published: 1989-06-01

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 1349199486

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book traces the decline of the Labour Party's popularity and the development of the Social Democratic party. The authors have also written "Crisis in European Defence" and "The European Defence Initiative: Europe's Bid for Equality".

The British Social Democratic Party and its effects on Labour

The British Social Democratic Party and its effects on Labour PDF

Author: Julian Fitz

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2011-05-20

Total Pages: 15

ISBN-13: 3640921690

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Seminar paper from the year 2010 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Western Europe, grade: 18/20, Sciences Po Paris, Dijon, Nancy, Poitier, Menton, Havre (Campus Franco-Allemand de Nancy), course: The UK from Thatcher to Blair, language: English, abstract: The very idea of the British Labour party and other movements referring to democratic socialism as their ideal is to “pursue a socialist agenda through democratic institutions, such as free elections and parliament” . Especially in strongly majority based electoral systems such as in the United Kingdom it is difficult to win an election if one political current is represented by more than one party, thus incoherently. The incoherence within such a movement is then perceived as being a threat to the movement itself. As former Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee (1883-1967) put it “What is quite intolerable is the existence of a party within a party, with separate leadership, separate meetings, supported by its own press. It is inimical to effective action in the House. It breads suspicion and uneasiness throughout the movement.” Similar reproaches were made when in 1981 a group of former Labour politicians formed the Social Democratic Party (SDP) of the United Kingdom. Many democratic socialists or social democrats feared a division of the nation’s political left. It can be argued that such a division indeed occurred and led to Labour’s lowest election score in 1983 with 27.6% of votes cast, only 2.2% more than the Social Democratic Party with its liberal ally. By 1988 Labour had adapted a more moderate political outline and after a number of election defeats the majority of SDP members and MPs merged with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democratic Party.

The Retreat of Social Democracy

The Retreat of Social Democracy PDF

Author: John T. Callaghan

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 9780719050329

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

An examination of policy and programme in the key social democratic parties of Britain, France, Germany and Sweden since the 1970s. It situates change in the context of capitalist restructuring and shows how the radical Left initially responded to the unfolding crisis of the post-war order.

The Death of Social Democracy

The Death of Social Democracy PDF

Author: Dr Ashley Lavelle

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2013-03-28

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1409498727

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Whereas many writers and scholars interested in the field of social democracy have focused on factors such as the role of economic globalization and electoral pressures, Ashley Lavelle explores the importance of the collapse of the post-war economic boom and lower growth rates since then. He examines how these pressures have led social democrats to embrace neo-liberal policies and become threatened by minor parties and independent politicians. Providing an original argument about the decline of social democracy, the author investigates how its decline has increased the popularity of minor parties and independents, along with the reasons for social democratic membership and electoral decline. This is an important book for scholars of social democracy and the broader themes of world politics, political parties, social movements and globalization.

The Left Unraveled

The Left Unraveled PDF

Author: Thomas A. Koelble

Publisher: Duke University Press

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9780822311089

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In the early 1980s both the British Labour Party and the West German Social Democrats (SPD), confronted with serious internal challenges from the political left, experienced an erosion of support that resulted in the emergence of new political parties--the British Social Democratic Party and the West German Green Party. Explicitly comparative, this study presents a theoretically innovative analysis while offering a sophisticated understanding of the political confrontations between social democrats, the new left, traditional socialists, and trade unionists in both Britain and West Germany. By focusing on the established parties rather than on external developments, Koelble departs from conventional methodology regarding the fortunes of political parties. In examining the fundamental processes of decision making and coalition building within the SPD and the Labour Party, he argues that it is the organizational structures within parties that shape political results by setting limits, creating opportunities, and determining strategies.

Social Democratic Parties and the Working Class

Social Democratic Parties and the Working Class PDF

Author: Line Rennwald

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-07-21

Total Pages: 120

ISBN-13: 3030462390

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This open access book carefully explores the relationship between social democracy and its working-class electorate in Western Europe. Relying on different indicators, it demonstrates an important transformation in the class basis of social democracy. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the working-class vote is strongly fragmented and social democratic parties face competition on multiple fronts for their core electorate – and not only from radical right parties. Starting from a reflection on ‘working-class parties’ and using a sophisticated class schema, the book paints a nuanced and diversified picture of the trajectory of social democracy that goes beyond a simple shift from working-class to middle-class parties. Following a detailed description, the book reviews possible explanations of workers' new voting patterns and emphasizes the crucial changes in parties' ideologies. It closes with a discussion on the role of the working class in social democracy's future electoral strategies.

Social Democracy After the Cold War

Social Democracy After the Cold War PDF

Author: Ingo Schmidt

Publisher: Athabasca University Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1926836871

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"Despite the market triumphalism that greeted the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet empire seemed initially to herald new possibilities for social democracy. In the 1990s, with a new era of peace and economic prosperity apparently imminent, people discontented with the realities of global capitalism swept social democrats into power in many Western countries. The resurgence was, however, brief. Neither the recurring economic crises of the 2000s nor the ongoing War on Terror was conducive to social democracy, which soon gave way to a prolonged decline in countries where social democrats had once held power. Arguing that neither globalization nor demographic change was key to the failure of social democracy, the contributors to this volume analyze the rise and decline of Third Way social democracy and seek to lay the groundwork for the reformulation of progressive class politics. Offering a comparative look at social democratic experience since the Cold War, the volume examines countries where social democracy has long been an influential political force--Sweden, Germany, Britain, and Australia--while also considering the history of Canada's NDP, the social democratic tradition in the United States, and the emergence of New Left parties in Germany and the province of Québec. The case studies point to a social democracy that has confirmed its rupture with the postwar order and its role as the primary political representative of workingclass interests. Once marked by redistributive and egalitarian policy perspectives, social democracy has, the book argues, assumed a new role--that of a modernizing force advancing the neoliberal cause." -- Publisher's website.

Transitions in Social Democracy

Transitions in Social Democracy PDF

Author: John Callaghan

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Providing a full discussion of cultural issues in left-wing politics during the 1945-1979 period, this text assesses the legacy of social democracy and maps out its future prospects in view of the challenges of affluence and the decline of organised labour movements.

Intellectuals and Socialism

Intellectuals and Socialism PDF

Author: Radhika Desai

Publisher: London : Lawrence & Wishart

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This study is concerned with the role of intellectuals in left-wing parties, focusing on the case of the social democratic intellectuals in the Labour Party. It suggests that at the core of Labour's paralysis lies the fact that Labour still lacks a coherent strategy, and that it has failed to resolve the ambiguities about its identity and ideology which have plagued it over more than two decades, and which were at the root of the SDP split.