Class and Labour: The British Labour Party and the Australian Labor Party Compared

Political Emotions: A Role for Feelings of Affinity in Citizens’ (Dis)Engagements with Electoral Politics?

“…As suggested above, political affinity requires mass democracy, mass media and a social structure with a modicum of mobility. With increasing numbers of people from working-class occupations entering politics (Burch and Moran, 1985; James and Markey, 2006), expectations emerged that political representatives might, and indeed ‘should’, share the life experiences of those they represent. Modern political representatives must manage the tension created by democracy’s egalitarianism in calling for them to present both ‘eminence’ and affinity in their engagement with citizens (Daloz, 2009).…”

The Ties that Unwind? Social Democratic Parties and Unions in Australia and Britain

“…Yet, as James and Markey note, in 'the last quarter of the twentieth century the traditional policy basis of "labourist" thinking came under attack'. 25 The shift by social democrats to a neo-liberal stance since the end of the post-war boom has antagonised workers and unions, which stand to lose from the regressive and iniquitous effects of neo-liberalism. Accordingly in some countries there has been a 'break-up of the socialist family' or talk of divorce and disaffi liation.…”

The Neoliberal State, Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Australia

“…Britain and Australia have often been seen as similar societies. In both cases, labour parties emerged from trade union movements, politics were largely constructed around class interests, and union structures and cultures were more alike than different (James and Markey 2006; Patmore and Coates 2005). However, there are also significant differences between industrial relations in Britain and Australia, and in the writing about industrial relations in the two countries.…”