Parliamentary Labour Party papers

Catalogue record

Notes

The period 1968-1994 represents a turbulent one in British politics. It begins with the latter half of a Labour government under Harold Wilson, followed by the Conservative government of Edward Heath, which brought Britain the three-day week and into the EEC. Less than a year after Labour returned to power after the hung parliament of 1974, the Conservative Party elected a new leader. The Thatcher years appear in their entirety, including the Falklands War and the miners' strike. In the Labour Party, leadership moved from Jim Callaghan to Michael Foot to Neil Kinnock. Initially policy shifted to the left. However, after the Party's heavy defeat in the election of 1983, the concept of "New Realism" started to emerge. In its wake came Tony Blair, whose progress to the top is charted by these papers, which culminate in Margaret Beckett's caretaker leadership after the death of John Smith.
Included among over 10,000 images of PLP documents are all the minutes of the Party Meetings, the Liaison Committee and the Parliamentary Committee (Shadow Cabinet) for the period 1968-1994.
Published with an introduction by Stephen Bird, archivist at the Labour History Archive and Study Centre, Manchester.