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The Adoption of the Alternative Economic Strategy

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Economic Strategy and the Labour Party

Abstract

After leading in the opinion polls during the campaign, Labour’s defeat in the 1970 general election came as a surprise. One consequence of the result was that the opportunity existed for the party to re-think its economic policy. Many within Labour — not just leftwingers — felt that, given the government’s performance in office, it was essential for such a reappraisal to take place. Immediately after the election, Richard Clements, the editor of Tribune, attacked Labour’s economic record as a central cause of defeat1 Michael Foot talked of the administration’s ‘paralysing financial orthodoxy’.2 The MP Norman Atkinson stated, The one alternative which remains untried is the socialist alternative.’3

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bristol, UK

    Mark Wickham-Jones (Lecturer in Politics)

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© 1996 Mark Wickham-Jones

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Wickham-Jones, M. (1996). The Adoption of the Alternative Economic Strategy. In: Economic Strategy and the Labour Party. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230373679_6

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