The people's party: the history of the Labour Party

In the introduction to this history of Labour, Tony Blair reminds us that it is a young party, only as old as the 20th century, and, unlike other political parties, Labour "was born as a people's party", growing out of "the world of friendly societies, chapels, trade unions, co-operative societies, clubs and causes." The ideals and the problems springing from these roots are traced through the years in this work, as the tensions between the traditionalists and the modernizers, the intellectuals and the men of action, are put into the context of a society undergoing profound and accelerating change. Some of these changes were brought about by Labour's own successes, particularly in the heady few years mid-century when the Attlee administration set up welfare services from "the cradle to the grave", its crowning achievement the National Health Service. This is a book full of rewarding insights into the history of our own century, and should be useful background reading for understanding New Labour in the 1990s. Tony Wright is the author of, among others, "Citizens and Subjects and Values, Visions and Voices" (edited with Gordon Brown), and is joint editor of "Political Quarterly".