An original study of a major change in the political thought of modern Britain, arguing that the period between 1956 and 1968 saw a seminal change in political thinking which created the framework of today's politics. A republican tradition of active citizenship, community and democracy was developed within the New Left and the radical Liberals around Jo Grimond. The Right, whose republican version of a property-owners democracy was developed by Michael Oakeshott and Enoch Powell, completed the new political framework.

This book provides a synoptic and accessible history of the development of political ideas within the Labour Party. It traces the complex relationship between power and political thought and illustrates how Labour's political ideas have been shaped and formed by the Labour Party's political experience. It presents 'labourism' or trade union politics as a clear theory and stresses its importance in understanding the different phases in the party's history, arguing that it constitutes the bedrock of the party's thought and that its crisis has caused the recent changes in party ideology.

This book provides a synoptic and accessible history of the development of political ideas within the Labour Party. It traces the complex relationship between power and political thought and illustrates how Labour's political ideas have been shaped and formed by the Labour Party's political experience. It presents 'labourism' or trade union politics as a clear theory and stresses its importance in understanding the different phases in the party's history, arguing that it constitutes the bedrock of the party's thought and that its crisis has caused the recent changes in party ideology.