The Co-op-Labour Alliance: An electoral case study of the Attlee years, 1945-1951

Abstract

The 1945-51 Labour governments have understandably been the subject of a vast amount of historical research given their reputation for radical reform and reconstruction of the British economy and society after the Second World War. Yet, the Attlee governments’ relationship with the Co-operative Party is much less well understood. The Co-operative Party was formed following the Co-operative Union’s decision to seek direct political representation following the First World War with the primary function of protecting the interests of the consumer Co-operative Movement and, despite standing as an independent party, from the outset its MPs aligned themselves with the Labour Party. A formal alliance was agreed in 1927 which henceforth entailed the fielding of joint candidates in conjunction with the Labour Party, an arrangement that was confirmed and further developed through the negotiation of an amended agreement in 1946. Whilst there have been several works which have discussed the Co-operative Party with some focussing directly on the period of Attlee government, they have tended to characterise relations as being tense due to the incompatibility of Labour’s centralised party organisation and statist policies and the Co-operative movement’s democratic, voluntary consumerism. However, there remains a general neglect of how the Co-op-Labour alliance functioned during this period with regards to electoral organisation and campaigning. This remains a grave oversight given that the Co-operative Party was formed to provide parliamentary representation for the Co-operative Movement, forged and maintained an alliance with Labour to secure this goal, and from 1945 was the third largest party in Parliament.

This thesis, therefore, aims to enhance understanding of Co-op-Labour relations during the period of the Attlee governments through a case study of the Co-operative Party’s electoral organisation, campaigning, and performance between 1945 and 1951. By analysing the interconnected themes of candidate selection, policymaking and constituency campaigning, the thesis seeks to provide insights into the extent to which this alliance proved an effective way to secure parliamentary representation and protect the interests of the Co-operative Movement. Through the use of a combination of previously unused and neglected archival sources, the thesis aims to revise existing pessimistic interpretations of the alliance by arguing that this diverse, locally based, voluntary alliance did largely function as an effective medium by which the Co-operative Party could gain parliamentary representation for the Co-operative movement at a level which it was content with whilst still enabling the movement to retain sufficient independence and agency to defend its core business interests.