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IDEOLOGY AND REFORM IN LABOUR'S TAX STRATEGY, 1964–1970

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 1998

R. C. WHITING
R. C. WHITING
Affiliation:
University of Leeds
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Abstract

The tax strategy of the Labour governments of 1964–70 was intended to be both radical and reforming. That is, it had to fulfil the demands generated by the Labour movement as well as address issues of tax reform which were less closely tied to party politics. This article assesses Labour's ability to do this by paying particular attention to the contrasting budgets of 1965 and 1966. It examines the ideas of Nicholas Kaldor and the interests of the trade unions as two of the forces which shaped tax policy. While recognizing the difficulty of introducing new taxes, the article none the less sees much that was traditional in Labour's approach and offers a pessimistic view of the capacity of the party to change its outlook in the 1960s.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 41 , Issue 4 , December 1998 , pp. 1121 - 1140
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I wish to thank Dr Owen Hartley, Professor Jose Harris, Professor K. O. Morgan, and Mr David Worswick for helpful criticisms of an earlier version of this article, although they are not responsible for any errors of fact or analysis that remain.