Europe And The Decline Of Social Democracy In Britain

This book explores Britain's gradual disenchantment with both social democracy and the EEC/EU, culminating in the 2016 vote for Brexit. It offers a much-needed historical perspective to the current political crisis in Britain. 2020 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award Winner Between about 1957 and 1979, British governments pursued policies loosely based on social democracy, with a strong commitment to full employment and egalitarianism. At this time, there was almost unlimited enthusiasm on the Rightof British politics for membership of the EEC. The real debate was within the British Left, and the dividing line was between socialists and social democrats. The former wished to march on towards the promised land of real socialism; the latter were broadly content with the status quo. 1975, when the nation voted by 2 to 1 to stay in the EEC, was a triumph for those who had always been passionate supporters of the European project. It was also the high water mark of the UK's commitment to social democracy. Full employment remained the central goal of macro-economic strategy, and the nation's income and wealth were more evenly distributed than ever before or since. Since thelate 1970s, social democracy in the UK has been in continuous retreat. For the Conservatives, this retreat has been headlong since the rise of Thatcherism in the mid-1970s. Under New Labour, a viable alternative model to Thatcherism was never identified. This mixture of metropolitan social liberalism and freewheeling, finance-based capitalism came unstuck in the crisis of 2007-9. The ostensibly pro-European forces thus came into the 2016 referendum campaign in a very weak state. Tories were, at best, unenthusiastic and many were hostile. Eurosceptic socialists had taken back control of Labour. The forces of social democracy, triumphant in 1975, were beleaguered. It is perhaps notsurprising that Remain lost. This book explores the nation's gradual disenchantment with both social democracy and the EEC/EU, culminating in the 2016 vote for Brexit. It tells the story of the declining fortunes of these two intertwined concepts, for which no one has yet devised any plausible successor project. ADRIAN WILLIAMSON is a QC and practicing barrister at Keating Chambers, London, an Elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society andthe author of Conservative Economic Policymaking and the Birth of Thatcherism, 1964-1979 (Palgrave, 2015).

This volume examines the fortunes of social democracy in Western and East-Central Europe and the policy challenges it faces. By arguing that social democracy is a way of reconciling market capitalism with social inclusion and equality, they show that it h

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 social democratic parties were once the strongest political forces in Europe. Today, however, they appear disorientated and rudderless, crucially lacking the ideological, intellectual and organisational vitality which underpinned their strength in the post-war political landscape. Electorally marginalised, seemingly ideologically exhausted and often out-of-step with the contemporary zeitgeist, European social democracy is currently in profound need of revision and renewal - potentially its very existence as a political force is under threat. This book marks a serious attempt to forge the intellectual backbone of a renewed social democracy fit for the twenty-first century. Bringing together leading academics, political thinkers and policy experts, it offers a new and original perspective on ideological and policy innovation and will be invaluable reading for anyone interested in the future of social democracy.

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.

Around the world, parties of the left and center-left have been struggling, losing ground to right-wing parties and various forms of reactionary populism. This book brings together a range of leading academics and experts on social democratic politics and policy to offer an international, comparative view of the changing political landscape. Using case studies from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand contributors argue that despite different local and specific contexts, the mainstream center-left is beset by a range of common challenges. Analysis focuses on institutional and structural factors, the role of key individuals, and the atrophy of progressive ideas as interconnected reasons for the current struggles of the center-left.

Social democratic ideology, social democratic political parties, relations with organized labour and business, and foreign policy are considered in this history of social democracy in post-war Europe.

First published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In Crosland's Legacy, noted political writer Patrick Diamond explores the contemporary impact of Anthony Crosland's writings on the British Labour Party, in particular through his work The Future of Socialism, published nearly sixty years ago. Despite widespread questioning of many of Crosland's assumptions alongside obvious and important changes in British society and the economy since The Future of Socialism was published, Diamond argues that Crosland continues to serve as a key intellectual reference point for today's Labour Party. In making the claim that "socialism is about equality," Crosland set the context for debates that bridge Gaitskell's Labour Party in the 1950s and the development into New Labour headed by Blair, Brown, and Miliband. This book will examine Crosland's intellectual legacy as manifested in the debates of today's Labour Party.