The Popular Front and the Progressive Tradition: Socialists, Liberals and the Quest for Unity, 1884-1939

by David Blaazer

Overview

This study explains why the British Labour Party's "left" supported the unsuccessful campaign for the formation of a "Popular Front" of the Labour, Liberal, and Communist parties in the late 1930s. The support of the Labour "left" for the campaign has often been seen as a result of Communist manipulation but here Dr. Blaazer explains it by reassessing a sixty-year period in the progressive tradition in British politics. He argues that the "left" emerged from that tradition, and that its support for a Popular Front was entirely consistent with the practice and ideas of British progressives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521413831
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/22/1992
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Notes on the text; Introduction; 1. The progressive side of politics; 2. The colours of the rainbow; 3. Imperialism and war; 4. The pilgrims' progress; 5. Inside the left; 6. Fascism, unity, and loyalty: 1932–1937; 7. The Popular Front; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...valuable insight into the continued prevalence of progressive ideas into the 1930s. It will be of interest to students of the history of ideas and of the left in modern Britain." Canadian Journal of History

From the Publisher