From Dreams to Disillusionment
Economic and Social Planning in 1960s Britain
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9797122 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard Toye (0000-0003-3200-7525, Homerton University Hospital, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2008 |
| Volume | 123 |
| Issue | 500 |
| Pages | 268-270 |
| Publication date | 2008-02-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The English Historical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-8266 • E-ISSN: 1477-4534 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ehr/cem430 |
| OpenAlex | W2004201427 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
In 1976, a group called Counteract released a satirical LP called The Cuts Show, in protest against the Callaghan government's squeeze on public spending. One song reviews Labour's history in power since the Second World War. Each time the party wins an election a crisis provides the excuse for delaying the implementation of high ideals. The refrain runs: ‘So excuse us for delaying for another year or two/The policies and promises and plans we said we’d do.’ O’Hara's explanation for the lacklustre performance of Labour (and also indeed of the Conservatives) in the Sixties is considerably more subtle than that advanced by The Cuts Show. He does not blame the pusillanimity and personal vanity of party leaders. Rather, he emphasises the problems inherent in the ‘big idea’ of the time: ‘If there was one concept at the heart of the raised expectations and dashed hopes of British politics in the 1960s, it was “planning”’ (p. 1). Nevertheless, readers of this book might well be tempted to track down a copy of The Cuts Show and use it as a soundtrack. Its title well conveys the same central, powerful message of the record
Blame · Excuse · Government (linguistics · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · French Historical and Cultural Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.38 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2021 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |