Description
Book SynopsisWhen Ed Miliband was elected leader of the Labour Party in 2010 he believed the global financial crisis had opened the way for a new social democratic moment. With great intellectual and ideological gusto, Miliband and his close-knit team of advisers devoted considerable time and energy to chart the road that would lead to the renewal of social democratic politics in Britain. Was Miliband successful at turning the page on New Labour and re-imagining social democracy for the post-global financial-crisis era? This book maps the ideas - old and new - that were debated and adopted by the Labour Party under Miliband, and shows how they were adapted to contemporary circumstances and transformed into policy proposals. However, the timing of Miliband''s leadership, his inability to find supporters for his agenda of transformative change, the prevalence of neoliberalism in public discourse and the crisis of European social democracy led to a watered down political agenda that lacked boldness, c
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Context and some theoretical considerations
1. Social democracy at a time of crisis
2. The road to somewhere
3. Labour and the economy: Reforming capitalism
4. Labour and equality: Minding the gap
5. Labour and equality II: Power to the people
6. Labour and the politics of belonging: One Nation
Conclusion: Trying but failing to renew social democracy
Index
