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Abstract

A frequently repeated, if anatomically unlikely, aphorism about the British Labour Party (LP) is that it grew out of 'the bowels of the trade union movement'. Coined by the former Transport union leader and ForeignSecretary in the Attlee governments, Ernest Bevin, this phrase graphically embodies the umbilical link which, constitutionally and organizationally, has tied Labour to its affiliated unions since the time of its birth nearly a century ago. Today this link seems, perhaps, more under-stated than at any time in its history, yet that it remains intact cannot be disputed

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© 1999 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Webb, P. (1999). The British Labour Party. In: Ladrech, R., Marlière, P. (eds) Social Democratic Parties in the European Union. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374140_8

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