The year 2000 marks the anniversary of the first hundred years of the British Labour Party, and publication of this book falls at the present New Labour government's mid-term--a time for reflection and analysis when interest will be very strong among all those interested in the political process on both sides of the Atlantic with the government and opposition parties gearing up in earnest for the next election. This is a lively collection of biographical studies by academics and journalists who are not only leading authorities on Labour history but also established biographers.

Under the leadership of Clement Attlee, the Labour governments of 1945-1951 presided over major changes both at home and abroad. In this volume, Kevin Jeffreys examines the Attlee governments' performance, the impact at the time and the course they set for subsequent administrations.