1 Oct 2012: Politics Annual Mackenzie Lecture
Published: 13 September 2012
Dr Eric Shaw: 'The Strange Death of Labour Scotland'
The Strange Death of Labour Scotland
Dr Eric Shaw (University of Stirling) and Gerry Hassan
4.00-5.45pm, Room 915, Adam Smith Building
The Scottish Labour Party is in an unprecedented position. Having been the leading party in Scotlandfor 50 years it lost an election and office to the SNP in 2007. This lecture, drawing on a book with the same title, addresses, examines and analyses the last 30 years of Scottish Labour, from the arrival of Thatcherism in 1979 to the aftermath of the party's defeat in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections. The speakers ask fundamental questions about the nature of Scottish Labour, its dominance of Scottish politics, the wider politics of Scotland, and whether the decline is irreversible. Covering both contemporary events and recent history, it draws on extensive research including archival sources and interviews with some of the key participants in Scottish Labour.
Gerry Hassan is a writer, researcher and broadcaster on Scottish and UK politics and policy, and co-author of 'The Political Guide to Modern Scotland: People, Places and Power' (Politico's 2004).
Eric Shaw is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Stirling. He is author of 'Losing Labour's Soul' (Routledge, 2007) and 'Discipline and Discord in the Labour Party' (Manchester University Press, 1988).
The Politics Seminar Series is supported by the MacFie Bequest, named after Professor Alec MacFie, Adam Smith Professor of Political Economy at the University from 1945 to 1958.
For any further information, please contact Mo Hume: Mo.Hume@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 13 September 2012