SDP

The Birth, Life, and Death of the Social Democratic Party

Anthony King author Ivor Crewe author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:16th Nov '95

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

This hardback is available in another edition too:

SDP cover

Winner: W. J. M. Mackenzie Book Prize

Launched on a wave of euphoria in 1981, the SDP promised to break the mould of British politics. This study, based on access to the SDP's archives and extensive interviews, chronicles the Party's short but turbulent history, and analyzes the reasons for its ultimate demise.Launched on a wave of euphoria in 1981, the SDP aroused the hopes and enthusiasm of millions of people. Promising to break the mould of British politics, its leaders included four of the most respected figures in British public life - Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers, and Shirley Williams. But the SDP failed. Despite winning with the Liberals a quarter of the vote in two general elections, by the autumn of 1987 it had disintegrated amidst acrimony and bitter in-fighting. This book, based on unprecedented access to the SDP's archive and extensive interviews with all the leading players, chronicles the party's short but turbulent history and analyses in detail the reasons for its early success and its ultimate demise.

It is British political science at its best, combining intimate knowledge of the players with a firm grasp of the numbers, all gracefully and thoughtfully presented. * Nelson W. Polsby, Choice *
This study of the SDP is a classic of its kind, accurate, detailed, perceptive, mercilessly honest. * Shirley Williams, Times Higher Education Supplement *
Professors Crewe and King have produced a masterpiece of contemporary history. They marshal complex arguments and masses of detail with the art that conceals art. Their narrative sweeps forward with captivating energy and style, and bristles with mordant phrases. * David Marquand, Observer *
If there were a Booker Prize for social sciences, here would be the obvious nomination. * Kenneth O. Morgan, New Statesman *
This brilliant history - definitively researched, graced with wit, insight and countless pungent anecdotes * Gerald Kaufman, Sunday Telegraph *
Our two professors ... write clearly, sometimes wittily and without academic jargon. They are masters of their material. * Douglas Hurd, Daily Telegraph *

  • Winner of Joint winner of the 1995 W. J. M. Mackenzie Prize awarded by the Political Studies Association.

ISBN: 9780198280507

Dimensions: 237mm x 158mm x 43mm

Weight: 1164g

636 pages