Redvaldsen, D.A.; (2007) The British and Norwegian Labour parties in the interwar period with particular reference to 1929-1936: electoral prospects. Doctoral thesis , University of London.

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Abstract

The thesis compares the British and Norwegian Labour parties between 1918 and 1939. It argues that the Norwegian Labour Party was more successful than its British counterpart in the interwar period. This was particularly true for the 1930s, which after the Depression started in 1929 were the crucial years for resolving the political struggle between the wars. Success clearly depended on the outcome of elections. For this reason two chapters concern the British party's campaigning in 1929, 1931 and 1935. The object is to discover how strong it was, what resources were available to it, its electoral tactics and to whom it appealed. Two parallel chapters treat the Norwegian party's electioneering in 1930, 1933 and 1936. The question of electoral appeal is important because highly influential research by Gosta Esping-Andersen (1985) and Gregory Luebbert (1991) found that an alliance between urban workers and the family peasantry was the key to Socialist success. This thesis aims to move beyond such a view. In the comparison of Britain and Norway it explains relative success in terms of the trajectories of the two parties, the effect of the Depression as well as labour movement strength and funding.

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