Attitudes, Issues, and Labour Party Decline in England, 1974-1979

1985 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
IAN McALLISTER ◽  
ANTHONY MUGHAN
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Support Groups ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Political History ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Natural Support ◽  
Party Decline

This article critically examines the argument that the Labour party's poor performance in the 1979 general election reflects a long-term decline that is largely the result of its own natural support groups, Labour identifiers and the working class, developing political attitudes that serve increasingly to estrange them from the party's traditional principles. This argument further holds that issues emerged in the 1979 campaign that, deriving from these same principles, compounded the tendency for Labour supporters to defect at the polls. We argue that these findings are conceptually and methodologically flawed and that the evidence does not, in fact, support this explanation of Labour party decline. We conclude, instead, that what the evidence does suggest is that Labour suffered from a widespread voter “backlash” as a result of having been in office during a particularly difficult period in British social, economic, and political history.

scholarly journals Social Mobility and Class Formation: The Worklife Social Mobility of Men in a New Zealand Suburb, 1902–1928

1999 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Olssen ◽  
Hamish James
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Social Structure ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Political History ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Class Formation ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Political Behaviour ◽  
The Relationship

This paper explores the relationship between social mobility and class formation in a working-class industrial suburb. By establishing the degree of class closure in three periods we can identify the relationship between the country's political history, dominated by the rise of a left-wing Labour Party, and the changing levels of closure. Labour established itself during a period of low mobility then stalled when mobility increased sharply in the 1920s. Comparison with the mobility rates for cities in other countries allows further analysis of the relationship between social structure and political behaviour. Our evidence indicates that voters were not unconscious of the shifting patterns of class rigidity.

The ‘New Working Class’

1960 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lockwood
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Full Employment ◽  
Political History ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Class Structure ◽  
Secular Changes ◽  
New Middle Class ◽  
Wage Earning ◽  
Material Welfare

The problem of the ‘new working class’ is located in the events of recent political history, specifically in the three successive electoral defeats of the Labour Party. In attempting to explain the failure of the traditional working class party to increase, or even retain, its support among the wage-earning population, a good many generalizations about the causes and consequences of secular changes in the class structure have been advanced and disputed. The salient thesis is that which seeks to account for the conservative drift of the working class in terms of their growing prosperity and their gradual assimilation to the middle class in an economy of full employment and rising expectations of material welfare. As one writer puts it: “The whole working class finds itself on the move, moving towards new middle class values and middle class existence” (1).

Victims of Political Choice

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-106
Author(s):  
Sobiesław Szybkowski
Keyword(s):  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Political History ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Choice ◽  
History Of ◽  
Teutonic Knights

The political history of the small territory of Dobrzyń Land became much more complex at the beginning of Władysław Jagiełło’s rule (1386–1434). Władysław of Opole pledged part of Dobrzyń Land (the castle of Złotoria, 1391) to the Teutonic Knights. Then in 1392, after a short war against the king of Poland, Władysław of Opole pawned the entirety of Dobrzyń Land to the Teutonic knights. Neither King Władysław Jagiełło nor the Polish political elite recognized the legality of the pledge. However, the rule of the Teutonic Knights in Dobrzyń Land led to the polarization of political attitudes among the local noblemen. A faction of local noble elites, the so-called Teutonic party, accepted the rule of the Order and collaborated eagerly with the temporary rulers of the land. Another faction, the so-called the royal party, did not agree to the rule of the Order and chose to emigrate to territories ruled directly by Władysław Jagiełło. Their domains in Dobrzyń Land were confiscated by the Order. The Polish king in response gave them temporary possessions within the territory of the kingdom. The situation reversed in 1405 when Dobrzyń Land was redeemed by Władysław Jagiełło. As a consequence, the refugees returned and redeemed land confiscated by the Order. Repression in turn by the Polish ruler induced some of the Teutonic party to seek the protection of the Order in Prussia. A few years later, as a result of the Polish-Lithuanian–Teutonic war (1409–1411), Dobrzyń Land was again occupied by the Teutonic Knights. Once more, some of the nobles fled from their homeland to territories unoccupied by the Teutonic Knights, while some of the Teutonic party returned to Dobrzyń Land. In the end, as a result of the Teutonic Knights’s defeat at the Battle of Grunwald (1410) and decisions of the First Peace of Toruń (1411), Dobrzyń Land came again under the long-term rule of Polish kings. That meant the return of refugees from the royal party and again forced the Teutonic Knights’ supporters to go into exile. In the end, some of the latter reconciled with the Polish king and came back to their homeland. Some, however, remained in the Teutonic State, where they were given domains.

scholarly journals The Independent Labour Party and Foreign Politics 1918–1923

1962 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-46
Author(s):  
Robert E. Dowse
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Major Part ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Socialist Society ◽  
Class Membership ◽  
National Network ◽  
Foreign Politics

The Independent Labour Party, which was founded in 1893 had, before the 1914–18 war, played a major part within the Labour Party to which it was an affiliated socialist society. It was the largest of the affiliated socialist societies with a pre-eminently working-class membership and leadership. Because the Labour Party did not form an individual members section until 1918, the I.L.P. was one of the means by which it was possible to become an individual member of the Labour Party. But the I.L.P. was also extremely important within the Labour Party in other ways. It was the I.L.P. which supplied the leadership – MacDonald, Hardie and Snowden – of both the Labour Party and the Parliamentary Labour Party. It was the I.L.P., with its national network of branches, which carried through a long-term propaganda programme to the British electorate. Finally, it was the I.L.P. which gave most thought to policy and deeply affected the policy of the Labour Party.

The Working Class and the Poverty of Electoral Strategy

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-198
Author(s):  
Bob Carter
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Executive Director ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Jeremy Corbyn

The defeat of the Labour Party in the 2019 general election was widely seen as a rebuttal of the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn but it has also raised the question of the nature and direction of the party and whether fundamental social changes have undermined its long-term electability. A concentration on the changing structure and orientation of the working class of Britain, and the implications for political parties, is the focus of a book by former executive director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), Claire Ainsley, appointed in 2020 as the chief policy adviser to the new leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer. The book’s rationale is that a new working class, lacking political and workplace representation, is being forged, distinct from the working class that preceded it. However, Ainsley’s empiricist approach hinders a coherent analysis of class, which as a result is confused and confusing. Moreover, her analysis lacks any appreciation of the structure of power within which values and opinions are created. Her analysis clearly underpins the shift in policies espoused by Starmer - a move to the ‘centre’ of politics, decency, fairness, family, and patriotism - but gives no indication that it can address the anger and alienation of the working class and its disenchantment with its treatment by Labour.

Individual effectiveness in outsourcing

2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-133
Author(s):  
Sumita Raghuram
Keyword(s):  
Customer Satisfaction ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Employee Selection ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
Intensive Training ◽  
Human Element ◽  
The Past ◽  
Geographical Distances

Outsourcing has grown enormously over the past few years, however, most of the attention so far has focused on the economics of the transaction, and much less on the human element involved in the transaction. In this paper I focus on call agents and my observations are based upon existing literature and my personal interviews. I suggest that it is challenging for them to identify with client organizations because of cultural differences, tacit contexts and lean communication media used to connect across vast geographical distances. The weak client identification may result in poor performance, inability to build trust with customers and long-term customer satisfaction. However, there are differences across individuals in their ability to deal with these challenges. Those who have a higher self-efficacy, higher pro-activeness and higher cultural intelligence may be more capable than others in their effectiveness. Likewise, organization initiated practices such as careful employee selection, intensive training and use of visible markers of identity may heighten client identification.

scholarly journals PLURALISM, THE PEOPLE, AND TIME IN LABOUR PARTY HISTORY, 1931–1964

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 729-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEREMY NUTTALL
Keyword(s):  
Labour Party ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
The People ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Slow Moving ◽  
Progressive Potential ◽  
Time Frames ◽  
Pluralist Approach

ABSTRACTObserving the increasing, yet still partial exploration of pluralism, complexity and multiplicity in recent Labour party historiography, this article pursues a pluralist approach to Labour on two central, related themes of its middle-century evolution. First, it probes the plurality of Labour's different conceptions of time, specifically how it lived with the ambiguity of simultaneously viewing social progress as both immediate and rapidly achievable, yet also long term and strewn with constraints. This co-existence of multiple time-frames highlights the party's uncertainty and ideological multi-dimensionality, especially in its focus both on relatively rapid economic or structural transformation, and on much more slow-moving cultural, ethical, and educational change. It also complicates neat characterizations of particular phases in the party's history, challenging straightforwardly declinist views of the post-1945–51 period. Secondly, time connects to Labour's view of the people. Whilst historians have debated between positive and negative perceptions of the people, here the plural, split mind of Labour about the progressive potential of the citizenry is stressed, one closely intertwined with its multiple outlook on how long socialism would take. Contrasts are also suggested between the time-frames and expectations under which Labour and the Conservatives operated.

scholarly journals Preparation and Characterization of PEBAX-5513/AgBF4/BMIMBF4 Membranes for Olefin/Paraffin Separation

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
So Young Kim ◽  
Younghyun Cho ◽  
Sang Wook Kang
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Amide Group ◽  
Stabilizing Effect ◽  
Poly Ethylene Oxide ◽  
Poly Ethylene ◽  
Scanning Electron

In this study, we investigated a poly(ether-block-amide)-5513 (PEBAX-5513)/AgBF4/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (BMIMBF4) composite membrane, which is expected to have a high stabilizing effect on the Ag+ ions functioning as olefin carriers in the amide group. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) only consists of ether regions, whereas the PEBAX-5513 copolymer contains both ether and amide regions. However, given the brittle nature of the amide, the penetration of BMIMBF4 remains challenging. The nanoparticles did not stabilize after their formation in the long-term test, thereby resulting in a poor performance compared to previous experiments using PEO as the polymer (selectivity 3; permeance 12.3 GPU). The properties of the functional groups in the polymers were assessed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis, which confirmed that the properties endowed during the production of the film using the ionic liquid can impact the performance.

scholarly journals The English City Riots of 2011, ‘Broken Britain’ and the Retreat into the Present

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Flint ◽  
Ryan Powell
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Working Class ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Moral Panics ◽  
Urban Condition ◽  
Norbert Elias ◽  
Urban Disorder

The responses to the English city riots of 2011 bear a remarkable resemblance to those of historical urban disorders in terms of the way in which they are framed by concerns over “moral decline”, “social malaise” and a “lack of self-restraint” among certain sections of the population. In this paper we draw on the work of Norbert Elias and take a long-term perspective in exploring historical precedents and parallels relating to urban disorder and anti-social behaviour. We reject the notion of “Broken Britain” and argue that a more “detached” perspective is necessary in order to appreciate that perceived crises of civilisation are ubiquitous to the urban condition. Through this historical analysis, framed by Elias’ theory of involvement and detachment, we present three key arguments. Firstly, that a ‘retreat into the present’ is evident among both policy discourse and social science in responding to contemporary urban disorder, giving rise to ahistorical accounts and the romanticisation of previous eras; secondly, that particular moral panics have always arisen, specifically focused upon young and working class populations and urban disorder; and, thirdly, that previous techniques of governance to control these populations were often far more similar to contemporary mechanisms than many commentaries suggest. We conclude by advocating a long-term, detached perspective in discerning historical precedents and their direct linkages to the present; and in identifying what is particular about today's concerns and responses relating to urban disorder.

scholarly journals Valgt av og blant samer – og enkelte andre? Ulike velgergruppers holdninger til kriteriene for å delta ved sametingsvalg i Norge

2021 ◽  
pp. 41-66
Author(s):  
Torunn Pettersen ◽  
Jo Saglie
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Ethnic Background ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Electoral Roll ◽  
Party Differences ◽  
Registered Voters ◽  
Registered Voter

Self-determination for Indigenous peoples requires boundaries between those who are entitled to take part in the processes of self-determination and those who are not. In Norway, the registration criteria of the Sámi Parliament’s electoral roll constitute such boundaries. These criteria have not caused as much conflict in Norway as in other Nordic countries with Sámi Parliaments, but some debate has taken place. Some have argued for wider criteria, to allow certain groups without a Sámi ethnic background to register, while others prefer more narrow criteria to ensure that the registered voters have sufficient Sámi roots and cultural competence. In this chapter, we analyse attitudes towards the registration criteria within the registered Sámi electorate. The 2013 and 2017 voter surveys show essentially the same picture. About two-thirds were satisfied with the current criteria on both occasions. Among those who wanted a change, the majority were for expansion rather than limitation. Marriage to a registered voter and long-term connection to a Sámi community received the most support among the potential extension criteria. Attitudes became slightly more restrictive from 2013 to 2017, but the changes were larger within certain groups. In 2013, the question of expansion was to some extent party polarized. By 2017, these party differences had decreased: Labour Party voters had moved towards the more restrictive NSR voters. Also, some differences in attitudes to limitation appeared in 2017, when those who wanted stricter criteria were found primarily among those who had high scores on various measures of ties to the Sámi community.

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