Negotiations with Labour's Past: The SDP and New Labour

The language of priorities: Aneurin Bevan, Welsh labour and the politics of the past

“…Studies into Labour’s relationship with the past have focused on its use in articulating a politics for the present. These studies have primarily concentrated on the way New Labour engaged with its past (Cronin, 2004; Randall, 2009; Robinson, 2012) and debates within the party after its 2010 electoral defeat. The latter set of literature has consisted of a variety of studies, including analysis of the role of nostalgia (Jobson, 2018; Jobson and Wickham-Jones, 2010), debates between advocates of ‘blue Labour’ and ‘one nation Labour’ (Lawrence, 2013), locating policy narratives within Labour’s traditions (Atkins, 2015), and studying how Labour leaders tell stories about the past to define their leadership and their audience (Robinson, 2017).…”

“…When exploring these themes, Emily Robinson’s (2012: 2) work is particularly useful. Robinson argues that history is ever-present in political discourse, ‘providing a source of lessons, warnings and precedents’.…”

“…Similarly, Jon Lawrence (2000: 341–342) states that party activists strongly believe in continuity, ‘seeking to place themselves within an unfolding, seamless history of political commitment’. A link with the past is therefore ‘a valuable political commodity’ (Robinson, 2012: 4) and history a ‘powerful source of legitimation’ (Robinson, 2012: 14). Robinson (2012: 184) describes this association with the past as ‘presentism’, where the past is ‘both knowable and comparable to the present’, a source of lessons, and something that ‘can be invoked and then forgotten’.…”

“…A link with the past is therefore ‘a valuable political commodity’ (Robinson, 2012: 4) and history a ‘powerful source of legitimation’ (Robinson, 2012: 14). Robinson (2012: 184) describes this association with the past as ‘presentism’, where the past is ‘both knowable and comparable to the present’, a source of lessons, and something that ‘can be invoked and then forgotten’. The present is therefore set ‘within the frameworks of the past, making it always “the same old thing”’ (Robinson, 2012: 183).…”

“…The article begins by exploring the literature on the left’s engagement with the past, in the Labour Party and in British politics. It draws heavily upon Emily Robinson’s (2012) concept of ‘presentist’ politics as a means through which to study Welsh Labour’s rhetoric. Following this, the article explains the methods by which references to Bevan will be analysed, as well as the benefits of studying speeches and rhetoric.…”