British Politics And The Labour Question, 1868-1990 (british History In Perspective)

The Labour question has been a very important factor in the history of British politics since the closing years of the nineteenth century. Since that time, governments have become more closely involved in the management and regulation of industry, the relief of unemployment and the operation of the labour market. Politicians have had to relate the growing strength of the trade unions to the other institutions of the industrial and political system and to cope with the problems of industrial relations and trade union law. The formation of a separate Labour party and its eventual replacement of the Liberals as the main alternative to the Conservatives completed the industrialisation of politics and the transference of industrial conflicts to the political sphere, with implications for public policy and electoral politics alike. This book provides a comprehensive overview of these developments and assesses their long-term significance. It examines the reasons for the emergence of the Labour question and the response of politicians to it prior to the First World War; traces the impact of the two world wars and the inter-war depression on the relationship between government, employers and unions; and analyses the attempts of successive governments since 1945 to ensure full employment and industrial peace in an era of accelerating economic decline. The author offers in this book a valuable summary of recent research while suggesting an interpretation of political history which emphasises the essential continuities of politics from the Gladstone to the Thatcher years Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-5 The Emergence of the Labour Question, 1868–1906....Pages 6-32 The Liberal Ministries and Labour, 1906–15....Pages 33-57 The Labour Question in War and Peace, 1915–26....Pages 58-86 Depression and Integration, 1926–45....Pages 87-114 British Politics and the Labour Question since 1945....Pages 115-146 Conclusion....Pages 147-152 Back Matter....Pages 153-180 Examines the way in which the growth of an organized labour movement and the emergence of a separate Labour party contributed towards industrialization of politics and the institutionalization of industrial conflicts in the political sphere.