Frank Field - An Agenda for Britain

COPYRIGHT Copyright Dedication Preface The Vision Thing 1 Reinventing the Traditional Party of the Opposition 2 Reclaiming Labour’s Natural Constituency 3 The Emergence of Britain’s Underclass 4 The Other Side of the UK 5 Labour: the Party of Work, Wealth and Opportunity 6 The Forgotten Goal of Full Employment The Vision Thing Again Sources Index About the Author Also by the Author About the Publisher

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in paperback 1993

Copyright © Frank Field 1993

Frank Field asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Source ISBN: 9780006382263

Ebook Edition © JUNE 2016 ISBN: 9780008192044

Version: 2016-06-03

DEDICATION Dedication Preface The Vision Thing 1 Reinventing the Traditional Party of the Opposition 2 Reclaiming Labour’s Natural Constituency 3 The Emergence of Britain’s Underclass 4 The Other Side of the UK 5 Labour: the Party of Work, Wealth and Opportunity 6 The Forgotten Goal of Full Employment The Vision Thing Again Sources Index About the Author Also by the Author About the Publisher

For Nick and Cathy Warren

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright COPYRIGHT Copyright Dedication Preface The Vision Thing 1 Reinventing the Traditional Party of the Opposition 2 Reclaiming Labour’s Natural Constituency 3 The Emergence of Britain’s Underclass 4 The Other Side of the UK 5 Labour: the Party of Work, Wealth and Opportunity 6 The Forgotten Goal of Full Employment The Vision Thing Again Sources Index About the Author Also by the Author About the Publisher Fourth Estate An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in paperback 1993 Copyright © Frank Field 1993 Frank Field asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books. HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication. Source ISBN: 9780006382263 Ebook Edition © JUNE 2016 ISBN: 9780008192044 Version: 2016-06-03

Dedication DEDICATION Dedication Preface The Vision Thing 1 Reinventing the Traditional Party of the Opposition 2 Reclaiming Labour’s Natural Constituency 3 The Emergence of Britain’s Underclass 4 The Other Side of the UK 5 Labour: the Party of Work, Wealth and Opportunity 6 The Forgotten Goal of Full Employment The Vision Thing Again Sources Index About the Author Also by the Author About the Publisher For Nick and Cathy Warren

Preface PREFACE While I have added a substantial amount of new material, this book began life as the University of Durham’s Bernard Gilpin’s Pastoral Lectures for 1993. My first thanks goes to the Department of Theology who invited me to Durham. The magnificence of that city was matched by spring weather and the hospitality of Sheridan Gilley, the Chairman of the department, Meg Gilley and Sheridan’s colleagues. A second wave of thanks goes to four people. Jill Hendey worked on the manuscript in addition to all her other work. Matthew Owen did likewise, as well as trace material and discuss with me the book’s line of argument. I am particularly grateful to them for absorbing the considerable amount of extra work that producing a book entails, and doing so in such a way as to make working with them such a pleasure. Damian Leeson went through the whole document and sharpened both the prose and presentation. In Rebecca Wilson I was the beneficiary of being given by HarperCollins an editor whose talents were matched by a dedication to a production of books of the highest technical quality. John Grigg, Lord Bonham Carter and Calum MacDonald read through the first draft of the introduction. I am grateful to them for their comments. In addition, Mark Bonham Carter read through the original lectures, commented upon and encouraged me to publish them. He also kindly thought of the book’s title. Robert Twigger, Robert Clements, Richard Cracknell, Adrian Crompton, Richard Dewdney, Nicola Chedgey, Ed MacGregory, Mahmed Nawaz and Jane Dyson of the House of Commons Library produced a number of statistical papers, and Dora Clark and Andrew Parker traced innumerable sources for me. MPs are blessed by having a library research staff whose qualities are unsurpassed. While I am grateful to all these people who helped produce this volume, its opinions are my responsibility, as are any errors which have escaped their watchful eyes. The book is dedicated to Nick and Cathy Warren. Nick worked with me as solicitor to the Birkenhead Resource Unit and Cathy too worked for the Unit in a voluntary capacity. During Nick’s twelve year’s stewardship my constituents received a Rolls-Royce legal service. His standing in the town is testament to that, as was my vote at general elections. Due largely to the happy fallout from Nick’s work, of which I was the beneficiary, Birkenhead was turned into one of the safest seats in the country. The book’s dedication is, therefore, a small but public means of thanking Nick and Cathy for the care they lavished on so large a number of my poorer constituents. FRANK FIELD June 1993

The Vision Thing

1 Reinventing the Traditional Party of the Opposition

2 Reclaiming Labour’s Natural Constituency

3 The Emergence of Britain’s Underclass

4 The Other Side of the UK

5 Labour: the Party of Work, Wealth and Opportunity

6 The Forgotten Goal of Full Employment

The Vision Thing Again

Sources

Index

About the Author

Also by the Author

About the Publisher

PREFACE

While I have added a substantial amount of new material, this book began life as the University of Durham’s Bernard Gilpin’s Pastoral Lectures for 1993. My first thanks goes to the Department of Theology who invited me to Durham. The magnificence of that city was matched by spring weather and the hospitality of Sheridan Gilley, the Chairman of the department, Meg Gilley and Sheridan’s colleagues.