British Fascism, the Labour Movement and the State

Through its history, British fascism has experienced waves of growth. Some have coincided with periods of Labour government. But how have Labour Party-controlled institutions responded to the rise of fascism? Was there a difference between police and Home Office policies towards fascism in 1936 and 1977? Alternatively, did the far-right parties develop strategies to relate to areas of trade union and labour strength? Have there been times when members of the labour movements supporters were sympathetic to specific demands put forward by far-right groups? What about labour movement traditions outside the Labour Party? What tensions have their been in labour movement responses to the far right? These are the questions addressed in this book. This collection of essays makes a valuable contribution to a debate which concerns not only historians and political scientists but a wider audience newly sensitised to the dangers of fascism.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; N.Copsey & D.Renton 'The Fascists are to be Depended Upon:' The British State, Fascists and Strike-Breaking, 1925-26'; R.Maguire The Security Service, the Communist Party of Great Britain and British Fascism, 1932-51; R.Thurlow Practical anti-fascism? The Spanish Aid Campaigns in North East England, 1936-1939; L.Mates Feminism and Anti-Fascism in Britain: Militancy Revived?; J.Gottlieb 'Left-Wing Fascism' in Theory and Practice; P.M.Coupland Pressmen, Politics and the Police: Policing British Fascism, 1945-51; G.Macklin Guarding the Barricades: Working-Class Anti-Fascism, 1974-79; D.Renton Whatever Happened to the Labour Movement? Proletarians and the Far Right in Contemporary Britain; T.Linehan Meeting the Challenge of Contemporary British Fascism? The Labour Party's Response to the National Front and British National Party; N.Copsey

About the Author :
NIGEL COPSEY is a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Teesside. He is the author of Anti-fascism in Britain (2000), and Contemporary British Fascism: The Politics of the British National Party (2004). DAVID RENTON is a Research Associate of the Rand-Afrikaans University, South Africa, and the author of Fascism: Theory and Practice (1999), Fascism, Anti-Fascism and Britain in the 1940s (2000), and This Rough Game: Fascism and Anti-Fascism (2001).

Review :
'Th[is] book gives us a welcome state-of-the-art picture of knowledge as it stands in the early years of the new millennium...Even though it often makes for depressing reading, the book should be in all Politics, Sociology, British Studies and History Department Libraries.' - Antoine Capet, Universite de Rouen