A SHORT HISTORY of the LABOUR PARTY Also by Henry Felling

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LABOUR PARTY Also by Henry Felling

THE ORIGINS OF THE LABOUR PARTY THE CHALLENGE OF SOCIALISM AMERICA AND THE BRITISH LEFT LABOUR AND POLITICS, 1900-1906 (with Frank Bealey) THE BRITISH COMMUNIST PARTY MODERN BRITAIN, 1885-1955 AMERICAN LABOR A HISTORY OF BRITISH TRADE UNIONISM SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY OF BRITISH ELECTIONS, 1885-1910 POPULAR POLITICS AND SOCIETY IN LATE VICTORIAN BRITAIN BRITAIN AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR WINSTON CHURCHILL THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS, 1945-51 BRITAIN AND THE MARSHALL PLAN

Also by Alastair J. Reid

SOCIAL CLASSES AND SOCIAL RELATIONS IN BRITAIN, 1850-1914 CURRENTS OF RADICALISM: Popular Radicalism, Organised Labour and Party Politics, 1850-1914 (edited with Eugenio F. Biagini)

j A Short History of the Labour Party

Henry Pelling Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge and

Alastair J. Reid Lecturer in History and a Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge

Eleventh Edition Published in Great Britain by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world First edition 1961. Reprinted 1961 (twice), 1962; Second Edition 1965; Third Edition 1968; Fourth Edition 1972, Reprinted 1974; Fifth Edition 1976; Sixth Edition 1978; Seventh Edition 1982, Reprinted 1983; Eighth Edition 1985, Reprinted 1986, 1989; Ninth Edition 1991, Reprinted 1992; Tenth Edition 1993, Reprinted 1994; Eleventh Edition 1996 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-333-64449-2 ISBN 978-0-230-37610-6 (eBook) DOT 10.1057/9780230376106

Published in the United States of America by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth A venue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pelling, Henry. A short history of the Labour Party I Henry Pelling and Alastair J. Reid. -lith ed. p. em. Includes bibliographical references and index. I. Labour Party (Great Britain)-History. I. Reid, Alastair J. II. Title. JNII29.L32P42 1996 324.24107---dc20 96-12606 CIP ©Henry Pelling 1961, 1965, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1991, and 1993 and © Henry Pelling and Alastair J. Reid 1996 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1996 978-0-333-64448-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. 10 9 8 7 6 S 4 3 2 I OS 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 97 96 Contents

of Illustrations vii 1 The New Party: Ideals and Reality (to 1906) 1 2 A Pressure-Group under Pressure (1906-14) 16 3 Henderson's Party: War and Reconstruction (1914-22) 32 4 The MacDonald Leadership (1922-31) 47 5 Convalescence: The General Council's Party (1931-40) 65 6 Office and Power under Attlee and Bevin (1940-50) 80 7 Dissension and Decline (1950-60) 97 8 The Road Back to Power (1960-6) 115 9 The Wilson Era: Social Advance and Economic Insolvency (1966-70) 127 10 The Rise of the Left (1970-9) 140 11 Division and Defeat (1979-84) 161 12 Revival under Kinnock, Smith and Blair (1985-95) 175 13 Conclusion: The Past and the Future 193 Appendix A: Party Membership 197 B: General Election Results 200 C: Chairmen and Leaders of the Parliamentary Party 201 D: Party Secretaries 202 Index 203

List of Illustrations

1. KeirHardie 22 2. Ramsay MacDonald 23 3. Arthur Henderson 51 4. George Lansbury 53 5. Clement Attlee 81 6. Ernest Bevin 83 7. Aneurin Bevan and Hugh Gaitskell 111 8. James Callaghan and Harold Wilson 113 9. Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock 165 10. John Smith 184 11. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown 190 The photographs of Arthur Henderson and Aneurin Bevan and Hugh Gaitskell are by the Daily Herald. That of James Callaghan and Harold Wilson is Crown Copyright. That of Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock is reproduced by permission of the The Times. Those of John Smith and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown are reproduced by permission of the Press Association. The others are from the BBC Hulton Picture Library.