This Longman Companion provides a wide-ranging compendium of essential facts and figures on the Conservative Party - from its origins in the 1830s to the dawn of the 21st Century. Central to the book are the detailed chronologies on the Conservative Party's years in government and opposition. In addition, it contains fascinating information on the Party's relationships with women, ethnic minoirities, the trade unions, Europe, Ireland, ideology, social reform and empire.

This Longman Companion provides a wide-ranging compendium of essential facts and figures on the Conservative Party - from its origins in the 1830s to the dawn of the 21st Century. Central to the book are the detailed chronologies on the Conservative Party's years in government and opposition. In addition, it contains fascinating information on the Party's relationships with women, ethnic minoirities, the trade unions, Europe, Ireland, ideology, social reform and empire.

This timely new edition of the Longman Companion to Britain since 1945 (compiled by the series editors themselves) provides a wide-ranging compendium of key facts and figures on British history from the start of the landmark Attlee government in 1945 to the final years of the 1990s. The book embraces all major aspects of British history, government and society, reflecting the massive social, political and economic changes that have transformed the face of Britain since the end of the Second World War. Fully revised and updated, this new edition covers the advent of Tony Blair, the electoral victory of New Labour in 1997 and the major constitutional changes currently underway in Britain. This book will be invaluable to anyone interested in the history and politics of post-war Britain - from students and teachers to party activists and lovers of reader-friendly reference books.

Between 1910 and 1945 the United States transformed itself into a Super Power. By 1945, with rivals in Europe and Asia shattered by world war, she dominated global economic, financial and political arrangements and monopolised the atomic bomb. This new Companion to History is an indispensable guide to this critical period in US history. It includes: chronologies listing all the major events, both foreign and domestic; social and economic history, with many tables based on inaccessible data; scores of mini-biographies; listings of the major office holders; and maps.

A timely reference guide to the Labour Party which brings together the essential facts and figures about the Party since its foundation through to the 'New Labour' of the 1990's. It is the essential reference book for anyone wanting reliable information on the Labour Party.

The Conservative Party is Britain's most successful political party. For large parts of modern British history it has been the dominant party, though it has always suffered from internal division and periods of defeat. This colourful account of the Party's history since the late 18th century takes the reader on a voyage of discovery.

In the momentous period -- barely 30 years -- covered by this systematic reference/guide, the Edwardian world was transformed unrecognisably, through war, technological progress and social change, into the Nuclear Age. It saw the coming of mass democracy, the apogee of empire, the Depression, the threat of fascism, the development of suburban society, and, as yet scarcely understood, the end of Britain's international hegemony. Andrew Thorpe's superb contribution to the Companions series illuminates all this and much else. It will be indispensable to anyone interested in the history and politics of modern Britain.

What do we really mean when we say a political party has changed? And exactly what is it that drives that change? Political scientists working in the comparative tradition have come up with a general explanation that revolves around the role of election defeats and loss of office, and around changes of leader and factions. But how well does that explanation cope when subjected to a historically-grounded and therefore robust examination? This book tries to answer that question by subjecting the common wisdom to a real-world, over-time test using one of the world's oldest and most successful political parties as an in-depth case study. What do the periods spent in both opposition and government by the British Conservatives since 1945 tell us about what drives parties to change their sales-force, the way they organize, and the policies they come up with? Using internal papers, memos and minutes of meetings from party archives, along with historical and contemporary accounts, memoirs and interviews, this book maps the extent of change and then explores what may have driven it. The conventional wisdom, it turns out, is not necessarily wrong but incomplete, requiring both qualification and supplementation. This approachably-written book suggests when, how, and why. Along the way, it provides a fresh and comprehensive account of the Conservative Party that should appeal equally to those interested in political history and those interested in political science.