Popular Politics and Political Culture

Abstract

The years between 1918 and 1939, witnessing as they did the unprecedented extension of the franchise, the decline of the Liberal Party, and the emergence of Labour as a party of government, are central to an understanding of modern Scottish politics. This book presents a distinctive reading of this period, reinterpreting the consequences of the expanded post-war electorate by focusing on the political culture of urban Scotland and re-evaluating the decline of the radical left in the inter-war years. In particular, it examines shifting understandings of political representation, and explores the extent to which national party loyalties supplanted local class identities. Focusing on the relationship between the Labour Party and the Communist Party of Great Britain, the book also traces the declining importance of the public traditions of popular politics. Drawing upon a range of untapped sources including local newspapers, cartoons, and contemporary accounts of demonstrations, the book illuminates the political perspectives of ordinary Scots in an age of mass democracy.