Available for the first time in paperback, this book is the first definitive history of the Northern Ireland Labour Party (NILP), a unique political force which drew its support from Protestants and Catholics and became electorally viable despite deep-seated ethnic, religious and national divisions. Formed in 1924 and disbanded in 1987, the NILP succeeded in returning several of its members to the locally-based Northern Ireland parliament in 1925-29 and 1958-72 and polled some 100,000 votes in both the 1964 and the 1970 British general elections. As British Labour's 'sister' party in the province from the late 1920s until the late 1970s, the NILP could rely on substantive fraternal and organisational support at critical junctures in its history. Despite its political successes the NILP's significance has been downplayed by historians, partly because of the lack of empirical evidence and partly to reinforce the simplistic view of Northern Ireland as the site of the most protracted sectarian conflict in modern Europe.
For the first time this book brings together important archival sources and the oral testimonies of former NILP members to explain the enigma of an extraordinary political party operating in extraordinary circumstances. The book situates the NILP's successes and failures in a broad historical framework, providing the reader with a balanced account of twentieth-century Northern Irish political history. -- .
By:
Aaron Edwards
Series edited by:
Steven Fielding,
John Callaghan,
Steve Ludlam
Other:
Bethan Hirst
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 234mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 14mm
Weight: 363g
ISBN: 9780719086380
ISBN 10: 0719086388
Series: Critical Labour Movement Studies
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 29 November 2011
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Series Editors' Foreword Acknowledgements Abbreviations List of tables and figures Introduction 1. Democratic socialism and sectarianism, 1924-45 2. Re-appraising the origins of the ‘Consensus-Forming Strategy’, 1945-58 3. The Labour opposition of Northern Ireland, 1958-65 4. The Failure of the ‘Consensus-Forming Strategy’, 1965-69 5. The NILP in retreat, 1969-72 6. The Fall of the NILP, 1972-75 7. Squeezing the moderates, 1975-87 Conclusion Index -- .
Aaron Edwards is Senior Lecturer in Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Reviews for A History of the Northern Ireland Labour Party: Democratic Socialism and Sectarianism
'The story Aaron relates clarifies and amplifies what happened.' Roy Garland, The Monday Column, 13/04/09 'The story Aaron relates clarifies and amplifies what happened.' Roy Garland, The Monday Column, 13/04/09 -- .
- Short-listed for PSAI (Political Studies Association Ireland) Brian Farrell Best Book Prize 2011 (Ireland)
