Introduction

Abstract

The Labour Party has been a focus for academic debate for many years. Some of this work has concentrated on specific aspects of the Party. These have included: the development of Labour’s internal Party discipline (Shaw, 1988); the link between Labour and the trade unions (Minkin, 1991); and the role and importance of Party members and activists (Seyd and Whiteley, 1992b). Another area of interest has been the nature and importance of change within the Party (Shaw, 1994; Smith and Spear). The future of the Labour Party, its prospects of obtaining government office, the principles it is likely to advance and the policies it will pursue, all of these will be significant deciding factors in the style and content of British politics for the foreseeable future. Beyond this the dramatic demise of Labour in the 1980s, the problems the Party now faces, and its reaction to these problems may tell us something about the behaviour and environment of political parties, particularly social democratic political parties, in liberal democracies.