A Short History of the Labour Party

ALASTAIR J. REID is a Lecturer in History and Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge. He is the author of Social Classes and Social Relations in Britain 1850-1914 and Currents of Radicalism: Popular Radicalism, Organised Labour and Party Politics 1850-1914 (co-edited with Eugenio F. Biagini).

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.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.