A Companion to Contemporary Britain 1939–2000

Abstract

Extra-parliamentary movements have been a part of British society and politics since at least the end of the eighteenth century. This chapter considers the theories which have been used to explain the rise of social movements, using three examples from the post-war British experience: women's liberation, gay rights, and the environmental movements. These movements have been chosen because their emergence and subsequent development exemplify continuity and change in British extra-parliamentary politics. It is important to realize that these groups represent far from the whole picture of extra-parliamentary politics; other important areas, such as the protests against racism and the protests for disabled rights and the activities of various other voluntary associations have been left out. And even within these different areas only the most striking examples of pressure-group activity have been selected. Therefore, the chapter concludes with a more general overview of British extraparliamentary politics after 1945.