Book Notes
| DOI | 10.1111/1467-9248.00196 |
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| Subject Matter | Book Notes |
Book Notes
British Politics
Noreen Branson, The History of the Communist Party of Great Britain, 1941±51
(London, Lawrence and Wishart, 1997), viii 262 pp., £14.99 pbk ISBN
0 85315 862 2.
Noreen Branson gives a comprehensive account of tireless communist activities, centred around
debate and education. Continuing Labour Party hostility, even during the alliance with the Soviet
Union, was witness to Communist Party in¯uence larger than its membership. Dealing with inter-
party relations, Branson provides an insight into the Labour Party, which she condemns, amongst
other things, for its post-war entry into a `war bloc with American imperialism'. Accounts are given
of the growth of communist political work in communities and of the acceptance of parlia-
mentarianism. Communists are shown to be anti-feminist, but pro-gender equality. The creation of
and/or engagement in popular movements, of which the Labour Party was deeply suspicious, such
as the war-time Women's Parliaments and the post-war squatters' movement and British Peace
committee is described. Branson's short thematic chapters within chronological blocs make her
work accessible to students. Communist publications are extensively used, in some cases supported
by evidence collected from participants in the Communist Party History Group. Thus we meet
James Klugman, `the Prof.' as a private in the Pioneer Corps. A useful appendix gives executive
committee membership and a `names' index allows us to follow the fortunes of individuals; a
subject index would have been useful.
CHRISTINE COLLETE
Edge Hill University College
Brian Brivati and Tim Bale (eds), New Labour in Power: Precedents and Prospects
(London, Routledge, 1997), x 212 pp., £40.00 ISBN 0 415 17972 6, £12.99 pbk
ISBN 0 415 17973 4.
This is a timely collection of essays, and should be welcomed for its attempt to grasp the signi®cance
of the 1997 general election within a multi-dimensional framework. The approach seems straight-
forward: what can we learn about the new Labour government through a reconsideration of its
predecessors? This is more problematic than it appears at ®rst glance, and it was slightly dis-
appointing not to have had greater theoretical discussion of its legitimacy. On the whole, however,
the substantive essays in the collection attempt to push forward academic knowledge in an area
which has so far been characterized by super®ciality and heroic journalistic generalization. Not
surprisingly, the `commentary' sections, largely written by well-known political ®gures, journalists
and distinguished academics, do not work as well. Dierent readers take dierent things from edited
collections, but my highlights were Gerard Alexander's `Managing the State', and Brian Brivati's
excellent Conclusion, both of which ®zz with new ideas and research agendas. Tim Bale examines
the complex and contradictory dynamics of party factionalism caused by Labour's ®ssiparous
internal structures. But Labour's internal machinery has now changed, and Bale's chapter misses
the opportunity to explore the new plebiscitary forms in sucient depth. Jim Tomlinson considers
economic policy; David Walker covers the moral agenda; while John W. Young covers foreign,
defence and European aairs. Most disappointing was Vernon Bogdanor's chapter on constitu-
tional reform, which added nothing to our patchy knowledge and understanding of Labour's
traditions in this ®eld.
ANDREW CHADWICK
University of the West of England
# Political Studies Association 1999. Published by Blackwell Publishers, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK and 350 Main
Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
Book Notes
177
Richard A. Chapman, The Treasury in Public Policy Making (London Routledge, 1997),
xiv 204 pp., £45.00 ISBN 0 415 09639 1.
After a gap of almost ten years, Chapman's book is the second in the series Studies in Public Policy
Making, which, in itself, leaves one pondering the degree of continuity this series can muster. The
book's central theme is that, despite the dramatic changes government machinery has undergone,
particularly in the last twenty-®ve years, the Treasury has successfully consolidated its position as
the key department in Whitehall. It has done so, by operating in the area referred to as `closed
politics' ± that which is beyond the eye of the public. Also, by employing tactics, not of `naked
authoritarianism', but by the more subtle [read insidious?] use of `persuasion and in¯uence'.
Chapman highlights the Treasury's success in `warding-o' potential threats to its dominance,
®rstly, in the shape of the Department of Economic Aairs and the Civil Service Department and,
more recently, by the agenci®cation process and the increasing fragmentation of central govern-
ment. Indeed, he argues that, contrary to popular wisdom, Next Steps has, if anything, enhanced
the Treasury's control over public expenditure. However, his ®nal caveat is that, if the reform of
central government continues apace, then potentially, the Treasury may become little more than a
department for accounting and control of public expenditure. For some, both inside and outside
Whitehall, this would be no bad thing.
DAVID RICHARDS
University of Liverpool
Peter F. Clarke and Clive Trebilcock (eds), Understanding Decline: Perceptions and
Realities of British Economic Performance (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,
1997), xiv 313 pp., £40.00 ISBN 0 521 56317 8.
The elusive concept of economic decline is explored in a thought-provoking series of essays
dedicated to Barry Supple, whose ideas introduce the volume and inform it throughout. The essays
deal mainly with various aspects of the British economy at dierent periods up to the 1950s, with
the pre-1914 and immediate post-war receiving the most attention. Given the nature of the project
and the common-starting point, there is little explicit attempt to draw out overall conclusions. A
common theme is the failure of virtually all governments in the periods under study to manage
Britain's world role according to the means available: through empire and decolonization, and more
recently with regard to Europe. Economic and foreign policy are related, but follow dierent paths:
this raises the question of how the relationship between the two might be conceptualized. The
discourse of decline belongs to ideological absolutism and messianic leadership (Chamberlain,
Churchill, Thatcher), re¯ecting an inability to come to terms with the reality of Britain's world
position. As Supple and Temin remind us, decline is relative and may be explained by convergence.
In this sense, and because it is fuelled by rising prosperity, loss of leadership may be a good thing.
Whether decline today diers from decline a century ago is another open question.
SUSAN MILNER
University of Bath
Mark D. Harmon, The British Labour Government and the 1976 IMF Crisis
(Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1997), x 272 pp., £45.00 ISBN 0 333 67818 4.
Mark Harmon has written an incredibly detailed account of the 1976 IMF crisis. Each chapter
draws extensively on the memoirs, diaries, and recollections of the major players. As such,
Harmon's account is scholarly and reveals a considerable passion for the subject. From the outset
the book looks to be an exciting prospect as the preface identi®es Harmon's principal objective as
`. . . examining the con¯ict between economic liberalism and social democracy as a way to
understand why left-of-centre governments . . . are unable to sustain themselves in power'. The case
study is designed to explore state autonomy when a government is faced with external pressure
which threatens to undermine its sovereignty and political authority. This is an ambitious task and
one which is only in part ful®lled. Of the eleven chapters in the book only the ®rst manages to
sustain the focus. The remaining chapters oer well-documented and highly descriptive accounts of
events but ultimately disappoint. The conclusion similarly is frustrating since it provides no more
# Political Studies Association, 1999
178
Book Notes
than a brief summary of what has gone before. Nevertheless, the book serves a useful purpose in
presenting a comprehensive synthesis of events as recollected in the Benn Diaries, Castle Diaries,
and Healey autobiography.
JOHN DICKENS
University of Luton
J. M. Lee, G. W. Jones and June Burnham, At the Centre of Whitehall: Advising the
Prime Minister and Cabinet (Basingstoke, Macmillan, 1998), viii 299 pp., £45.00
ISBN 0 333 71955 7.
A topic of interest in the ®rst year of Tony Blair's government has been the organization of the
central machinery of government. But exactly what is the nature and purpose of this central
machinery and how has it evolved through dierent administrations? This book sets out to shed
light on this opaque world discussing in detail the structures and processes that support the prime
minister, cabinet and other senior ministers. The text falls into two parts. The ®rst examines the
prime minister's oce outlining the evolution and operation of the private oce, press oce,
political oce and bodies such as the No. 10 Policy Unit. The second moves the focus to the
Cabinet exploring the changing nature of the Cabinet Oce, the role of the Cabinet Secretary, the
way Cabinet and its committees are serviced and the various bodies introduced to provide the
Cabinet with mechanisms of analysis and policy advice. The discussion is underpinned by
painstaking...
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