Popular Newspapers, the Labour Party and British Politics . By James Thomas.

Popular Newspapers, the Labour Party and British Politics . By James Thomas.

Abstract

focuses primarily on a fairly limited time period, it provides plenty of historical context and political analysis that makes this an important contribution to the growing literature on the Wilson governments of the 1960s. University of Sheffield doi:10.1093/tcbh/hwl032 RHIANNON VICKERS r.m.vickers@sheffield.ac.uk Popular Newspapers, the Labour Party and British Politics. By James Thomas. London and New York: Routledge, 2005. viii þ 222 pp. ISBN 0-71465337-3, £65.00. It has long been a commonplace on the British Left that the commercial press, through its capitalist bias, naturally obstructs Labour’s prospects for electoral success. In the minds of many, the political enfranchising of the working classes should have guaranteed recurring Labour governments; when this result failed to materialize, media bias became an important part of the explanation for the working-class ‘false consciousness’ that allowed pro-capitalist governments to maintain power. Whether through misrepresenting Labour’s platform, leaders and performance, or through reinforcing a consumerist view of the world in an affluent era, the press and other media have helped to prevent the triumph of working-class power. Although in the past couple of decades, such historians as Duncan Tanner and James Cronin have challenged the presumption that working-class voters should naturally elect Labour governments, the