scholarly journals Campaigning for the Labour Party but from the Outside and with Different Objectives: the Stance of the Socialist Party in the UK 2019 General Election

2020 ◽  
Vol XXV (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Sigoillot
Keyword(s):  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
The Uk

Accession, Renegotiation, Referendum, 1973–1975

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-137
Author(s):  
Stephen Wall
Keyword(s):  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
First Year ◽  
Special Relationship ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
The Press ◽  
Oil Crisis ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Year Of Europe

The first year of Britain’s EEC membership did not run smoothly. The Americans unilaterally declared it ‘the Year of Europe’. Heath was accused by Kissinger of destroying the special relationship. The Arab–Israeli war caused an oil crisis in which the UK, relatively unscathed, did not help her partners. Early in 1974, Heath lost a General Election and was replaced by Wilson. Wilson and Foreign Secretary Callaghan faced a divided Cabinet and Labour Party as they set about renegotiating the terms of Britain’s EEC membership. The improvements they secured, after a second General Election in October 1974, were slight but enough to get the deal through the Cabinet. Labour Ministers campaigned in the referendum on opposite sides, but support for remaining from all the main Party leaders and the Press helped secure a significant majority for staying.

Good Result or Bad Deal?

2020 ◽  
pp. 83-108
Author(s):  
Stephen Wall
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Party Voting ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Enoch Powell

Poised to begin negotiations for EEC accession, Prime Minister Wilson called a snap general election and lost to Edward Heath’s Conservative Party. Heath was a life-long pro-European but there were opponents of EEC entry, led by the disgraced rebel, Enoch Powell, within Tory ranks. The Conservatives adopted the Labour government’s accession strategy. But, out of government, the Labour Party turned against membership. Pro-EEC Labour rebels, led by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Roy Jenkins, voted with Heath to secure parliamentary approval for accession. To prevent the Labour Party voting to take the UK out of the EEC, Wilson promised that he would renegotiate the terms agreed by Heath and put them to the electorate. The EEC countries, especially France, struck a hard deal with the UK and Heath was obliged to accept disadvantageous terms for UK accession.

The Years of the Tiger, 1975–1984

2020 ◽  
pp. 138-170
Author(s):  
Stephen Wall
Keyword(s):  
Sudden Death ◽  
Executive Committee ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Labour Party divisions over Europe soon reappeared. The first British EEC Presidency in 1976 was marked by the sudden death of Foreign Secretary, Tony Crosland (succeeded by the rising star of Labour, David Owen) and the resignation of Wilson. The Labour National Executive Committee (NEC) had to be reined in by Prime Minister Callaghan when they came close to recommending that the UK should leave the EU. Labour’s defeat in the 1979 General Election did not lead to an improvement. Prime Minister Thatcher embarked on a battle with her EEC partners to secure a large and lasting cut in Britain’s contribution to the EEC budget. Tensions ran high and relations between the UK and her partners were at an all-time low. A deal was done in 1984 under the French Presidency of Mitterrand.

Reborn

Jimmy Reid ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 223-242
Author(s):  
W.W.J. Knox ◽  
A. McKinlay
Keyword(s):  
Labour Party ◽  
New Labour ◽  
General Election ◽  
Socialist Party ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Affiliation ◽  
Nationalist Party ◽  
Before And After

A new decade, a new political affiliation? Chapter eight examines Reid’s growing disillusion of Labour, particularly Tony Blair’s New Labour. Reid objected to Labour’s lurch towards the political centre and, much like his positioning on the miners’ strike, he faced intense criticism of other members and supporters of the Labour party for voicing his opposition. In this final chapter, we reflect on the political contexts of New Labour before and after the 1997 general election, focussing on the particular events on which Reid was publicly vocal, as well as Reid’s exploration into other Scottish socialist organisations such as the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Nationalist Party, of which he later became a member.

scholarly journals Labour’s Leaked Report: Who Is to Blame for Antisemitism in Britain’s Labour Party?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Rich
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Disciplinary System ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Jeremy Corbyn

In April 2020, shortly after Keir Starmer replaced Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the UK Labour Party, an internal party report concerning the workings of Labour's internal disciplinary unit in relation to antisemitism was leaked to the media. This report was over 850 pages long and was intended to be submitted to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is conducting an inquiry into allegations of antisemitism in the Party. However, Labour's lawyers refused to allow it to be used, almost certainly because the content was so damaging to the Party's own defence. It confirmed many of the claims made by Jewish Party members and community organisations during Corbyn's leadership of the party, namely that the disciplinary system was not fit for purpose and cases of alleged antisemitism were ignored or delayed and punishments were too weak. When it was leaked the report caused a scandal because it claimed that Corbyn's efforts to deal with antisemitism were sabotaged by his own Party staff, who were mostly drawn from factions opposed to his left wing project. Furthermore, the report claimed that this was part of a broader conspiracy against Corbyn that even extended to Labour Party staff trying to prevent a Labour victory in the 2017 General Election. The leaked report is selective and inaccurate in many respects and ignores the role played by Corbyn and his close advisers in denying the problem of antisemitism existed. Nor does it address the reasons why people with antisemitic views were attracted to Labour under his leadership. It is most likely that it was written to allow Corbyn and his supporters to continue to claim that their project did not fail on its own merits, but was betrayed by internal saboteur

UK election will complicate Brexit process

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
National Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Modest Increase ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Theresa May

Significance The result is a stunning setback for Prime Minister Theresa May. The Conservative Party secured a notably larger share of the vote, but it was outpaced by the Labour Party, which achieved a much larger increase. The Scottish National Party (SNP) suffered substantial losses to both the Conservatives (which had been expected) and to Labour (which had not). The Liberal Democrats managed only a modest increase in their representation. Impacts If Sinn Fein once more refuses to take its seats at Westminster, a Conservative-DUP accord would command a slim but not unstable majority. If May survives she will be much less dominant and have to adopt a more collegial style. In different circumstances, the obvious solution might be a second general election in relatively short order. With the UK economy showing signs of slowing, however, the Conservative Party may be reluctant to risk that option.

Labour’s Leaked Report: Who Is to Blame for Antisemitism in Britain’s Labour Party?

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Rich
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
The Media ◽  
Fit For Purpose ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Disciplinary System ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Jeremy Corbyn

In April 2020, shortly after Keir Starmer replaced Jeremy Corbyn as leader of the UK Labour Party, an internal party report concerning the workings of Labour's internal disciplinary unit in relation to antisemitism was leaked to the media. This report was over 850 pages long and was intended to be submitted to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which is conducting an inquiry into allegations of antisemitism in the Party. However, Labour's lawyers refused to allow it to be used, almost certainly because the content was so damaging to the Party's own defence. It confirmed many of the claims made by Jewish Party members and community organisations during Corbyn's leadership of the party, namely that the disciplinary system was not fit for purpose and cases of alleged antisemitism were ignored or delayed and punishments were too weak. When it was leaked the report caused a scandal because it claimed that Corbyn's efforts to deal with antisemitism were sabotaged by his own Party staff, who were mostly drawn from factions opposed to his left wing project. Furthermore, the report claimed that this was part of a broader conspiracy against Corbyn that even extended to Labour Party staff trying to prevent a Labour victory in the 2017 General Election. The leaked report is selective and inaccurate in many respects and ignores the role played by Corbyn and his close advisers in denying the problem of antisemitism existed. Nor does it address the reasons why people with antisemitic views were attracted to Labour under his leadership. It is most likely that it was written to allow Corbyn and his supporters to continue to claim that their project did not fail on its own merits, but was betrayed by internal saboteur

Reclaiming the fight against racism in the UK

Race & Class ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 87-95
Author(s):  
Liz Fekete
Keyword(s):  
Hate Crime ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk

In the light of highly politicised accusations of antisemitism against the Labour Party and its leader during the general election, the author argues for the necessity for activists to reclaim anti-racism. She shows how over a number of years the space for anti-racism has been shrinking. The professionalisation of anti-racism, especially around hate crime, has tended to shift focus from the social to the individual, from the institutional and systemic to personal hatred and bigotry, especially online. With the introduction of the government’s Prevent strategy, a multitude of movements from Right and Left are now considered extremists. Anti-racism has lost its international thrust and its cross-community depths. We should not, she argues, see the new anti-racism as just a change in narrative, but a systematic structural denial which is part and parcel of neoliberalism, witnessed in the chequered histories of those now empowered to promote equality.

Editorial: Antisemitism in the UK Labour Party

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Klaff
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Research Note ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Exciting Development

I am pleased to publish an open-access online preprint of two articles and a research note that will appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism 3, no. 2 (Fall 2020). This preprint is a new and exciting development for the Journal. It has been made possible by the generous donations from sponsors, including BICOM's co-chairman, David Cohen, whose support for the work of the Journal allows for timely scholarly analysis to be put into the public sphere.

scholarly journals Defeat of the People's Army? The 2015 British general election and the UK Independence Party (UKIP)

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 70-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Cutts ◽  
Matthew Goodwin ◽  
Caitlin Milazzo
Keyword(s):  
General Election ◽  
The Uk
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