"Postwar British Politics challenges established interpretations of postwar British politics and offers in place of these a novel evolutionary account of public policy and the state of Britain since 1945." "Peter Kerr provides a highly critical analysis of the dominant view amongst political scientists and contemporary historians that postwar British politics before the election of the Blair government was dominated by a period of consensus, followed by a radical restructuring of the state by the Thatcher governments. The book argues persuasively why we should reject the idea of a postwar consensus, and, with it, the notion that the Thatcher governments fundamentally altered the direction of British public policy. Instead Peter Kerr shows that postwar British politics can be largely characterised in terms of a significant degree of continuity, and a gradual evolution from a period of conflict over the primary aims of government strategy to one of relative consensus." "The book offers its own alternative periodisation of the development of postwar British politics and, by drawing on contemporary neo-evolutionary theories of social and political change, also introduces an original theoretical explanation of the main factors which have driven policy evolution. This provocative and challenging history of British politics up to the Blair government will be valuable to undergraduates on courses dealing with postwar British public policy issues and the impact of the Thatcher and Major governments. It will also be important topical reading for academics in political science and public policy as well as historians."--Jacket.