Labour and the Free Churches, 1918-1939 Radicalism, Righteousness and Religion

It has long been held that the early Labour movement owed a debt to Nonconformity, but relatively little attention has been paid to this relationship during the interwar years. This book explores how, during this period, the party formalized, replaced the Liberals as the main party of the Left in Britain, and created a boundary between itself and the recently formed Communist Party. Peter Catterall demonstrates the influence on political Nonconfirmity on these developments, through the ideological, political and electoral relationship between the Free Churches and the Labour Party. In contributing to the rethinking of the relationship between state, society and socialism, this book makes an original contribution to the history of twentieth century Britain and in particular to the history of the Labour Party and of the Churches, showing that the Labour Party's relationship with the Free Churches contributed a distinctive ethical character to British socialism.

Peter Catterall is Lecturer in the History Department at Queen Mary, University of London, UK, and Lecturer in democracy and public policy at the Hansard Society, UK.

1. Introduction \ 2. Theological and Political Changes amongst the Free Church leadership \ 3. The Nonconformist Conscience \ 4. Changes in Chapel Society \ 5. The Politics of Pewmanship \ 6. Free Churchmen and Women in the Labour Party \ 7.   The Nonconformist Conscience and the Labour Party \ 8. The Free Churches and Class Consciousness \ 9. The Kingdom, the State and Socialism \ 10. Conclusions \ Appendices on Nonconformist Candidatures in General Elections 1918-35