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This collection takes as its subject how and why the British
constitution developed during the course of the 20th century. In
chapters that analyse in detail the evolution of various aspects of
the constitution, this work explores debates about how the
constitution ought to operate and the political goods it ought to
secure among politicians, jurists and academics. In addition, it
looks at the influence of political parties, nationalism, social
and economic change, European integration, and the contests in over
particular reforms in Parliament, courts, media and on the
hustings.
Channel 4 had been a matter of controversy for years even before it
came on the air in November 1982. There were lengthy debates about
what its role would be and the part to be played by the ITV
companies and the growing number of independent television
producers. There was also political controversy over the profile of
the new channel, some wishing to see it as "their" channel in
response to the apparent political hegemony of Margaret Thatcher.
The result was sharp conflicts, not only over programming but, as
the channel became established, over its relationships with the ITV
companies and its regulatory body, the IBA. These controversies in
the making of Channel 4 are revisited in this volume. The opening
article by Edmund Dell, the channel's first chairman, describes and
explains his sometimes stormy relationship with Jeremy Isaacs, the
chief executive, while the witness seminar and the other articles
offer the views of Channel 4 commissioning editors and
representatives from the IBA, the ITV companies, the independent
producers, the Home Office and the BBC.
This textbook brings together the perspectives of a group of
sociologists and social historians to understand the shaping of
British society. The premise of the book is that these two
approaches are complementary and mutually enriching. To understand
how society operates it is necessary to explore not only its
constituent structures and relationships, but also how these
structures emerge and why changes occur within them. The book
critically appraises the usefulness of current theories in
advancing our understanding of contemporary society, and explores
British society as dynamic and developing. In the process the
authors appreciate and draw our attention to the fact that society
is shaped not just by social policy and structures, but by how far
these shape people's life-patterns, attitudes, experience and
conduct.
Understanding Post-War British Society brings together the perspectives of leading sociologists and social historians, to understand the shaping of British society. A comprehensive and illuminating account of post-war British History.
Channel 4 had been a matter of controversy for years even before it
came on the air in November 1982. There were lengthy debates about
what its role would be and the part to be played by the ITV
companies and the growing number of independent television
producers. There was also political controversy over the profile of
the new channel, some wishing to see it as "their" channel in
response to the apparent political hegemony of Margaret Thatcher.
The result was sharp conflicts, not only over programming but, as
the channel became established, over its relationships with the ITV
companies and its regulatory body, the IBA. These controversies in
the making of Channel 4 are revisited in this volume. The opening
article by Edmund Dell, the channel's first chairman, describes and
explains his sometimes stormy relationship with Jeremy Isaacs, the
chief executive, while the witness seminar and the other articles
offer the views of Channel 4 commissioning editors and
representatives from the IBA, the ITV companies, the independent
producers, the Home Office and the BBC.
Did the Labour Party, in Morgan Phillips' famous phrase, owe 'more
to Methodism than Marx'? Were the founding fathers of the party
nurtured in the chapels of Nonconformity and shaped by their
emphases on liberty, conscience and the value of every human being
in the eyes of God? How did the Free Churches, traditionally allied
to the Liberal Party, react to the growing importance of the Labour
Party between the wars? This book addresses these questions at a
range of levels: including organisation; rhetoric; policies and
ideals; and electoral politics. It is shown that the distinctive
religious setting in which Labour emerged indeed helps to explain
the differences between it and more Marxist counterparts on the
Continent, and that this setting continued to influence Labour
approaches towards welfare, nationalisation and industrial
relations between the wars. In the process Labour also adopted some
of the righteousness of tone of the Free Churches. This setting
was, however, changing. Dropping their traditional suspicion of the
State, Nonconformists instead increasingly invested it with
religious values, helping to turn it through its growing welfare
functions into the provider of practical Christianity. This
nationalisation of religion continues to shape British attitudes to
the welfare state as well as imposing narrowly utilitarian and
material tests of relevance upon the churches and other social
institutions. The elevation of the State was not, however, intended
as an end in itself. What mattered were the social and individual
outcomes. Socialism, for those Free Churchmen and women who helped
to shape Labour in the early twentieth century, was about improving
society as much as systems.
Did the Labour Party, in Morgan Phillips' famous phrase, owe 'more
to Methodism than Marx'? Were the founding fathers of the party
nurtured in the chapels of Nonconformity and shaped by their
emphases on liberty, conscience and the value of every human being
in the eyes of God? How did the Free Churches, traditionally allied
to the Liberal Party, react to the growing importance of the Labour
Party between the wars? This book addresses these questions at a
range of levels: including organisation; rhetoric; policies and
ideals; and electoral politics. It is shown that the distinctive
religious setting in which Labour emerged indeed helps to explain
the differences between it and more Marxist counterparts on the
Continent, and that this setting continued to influence Labour
approaches towards welfare, nationalisation and industrial
relations between the wars. In the process Labour also adopted some
of the righteousness of tone of the Free Churches. This setting
was, however, changing. Dropping their traditional suspicion of the
State, Nonconformists instead increasingly invested it with
religious values, helping to turn it through its growing welfare
functions into the provider of practical Christianity. This
nationalisation of religion continues to shape British attitudes to
the welfare state as well as imposing narrowly utilitarian and
material tests of relevance upon the churches and other social
institutions. The elevation of the State was not, however, intended
as an end in itself. What mattered were the social and individual
outcomes. Socialism, for those Free Churchmen and women who helped
to shape Labour in the early twentieth century, was about improving
society as much as systems.
After the horrors of the First World War a dialogue began between
European statesmen seeking some form of European integration as a
way of achieving lasting peace. During the inter-war period this
idea started to attract support in Britain even though Britain's
strategic and economic interests remained focused outside Europe.
This book explores Britain's relations with the continent between
1918 and 1945, focussing on diplomatic and military responses to
the major crises and examining attitudes to the idea of Europe in
the broader context of relations with the Empire, Commonwealth and
the USA.
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