This book, by the author of the best-seller 'Winston Churchill' , is a concise reassessment of the first postwar British Governments based upon original sources - a task not previously attempted by any scholar. While sympathetic to Labour's aims in the 1945 general election campaign - which itself receives fresh treatment - Henry Pelling exposes areas of difficulty and weakness in the Government's strategy and uncovers the doubts and hesitations of its leaders. Much of the evidence comes from official papers recently released to the Public Record Office; but the private papers of Attlee, Morrison, Bevin and Dalton, among others, have been drawn upon to add details to the story. For the first time, too, there is a study of the importance of Marshall Aid, as well as of the friction that is occassioned behind-the-scenes with the Truman Administration and the US Congress. Highly readable, this book makes a major contribution to recent history and to a better understanding of the present political and international situation.
Providing an introductory account of the Labour Party from its foundation, this book covers the whole period up to the General Election of 1992 and the subsequent choice of John Smith to succeed Neil Kinnock as party leader. It also discusses the role of labour unions within the party.
A Short History of the Labour Party is the classic account of the rise of the Labour Party from its foundation through to Tony Blair's second term as Prime Minister. Thoroughly revised and updated, it describes the events that led to the inception of the party, the role of the trade unions within the party, the successes and failures of the twentieth century and the revival of the party's fortunes under Kinnock, Smith and then Blair. It closes with an analysis of the current crisis that the Party faces over its foreign policy choices since 9/11 including the war in Iraq. This book thus provides the essential background for an understanding and appreciation of today's political debates.
The first study of the Churchill government of 1951-55 based on the Prime Minister's political papers (including his correspondence with President Eisenhower) and diaries and letters of Eden, Butler and other ministers. A picture emerges, not of a Government dominated by Churchill as in wartime, but of many sharp disagreements about foreign and domestic policy. But in spite of Churchill's stroke in 1953 and Eden's serious illness they emerged to win major diplomatic successes. Meanwhile Butler and Macmillan both attained leadership status.
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