'Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire': Grassroots Activism and Left-Wing Solidarity in 1980s Sheffield

D. Payling

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article contributes to the historiography on crisis and renewal in the British left in the 1980s. By looking at the relationship between local government and new social movements in Sheffield through the dual lenses of Stuart Hall’s notion of left-wing renewal and 1980s political scientists’ ‘local socialism’, it demonstrates how the left attempted to build new constituencies to rival Thatcherism. Hall’s vision of renewal stemmed from a merging of class and identity politics, and historians have located successful examples of this in the policies of the Greater London Council. Less work has been completed on what was happening outside of London, and this article seeks to address that gap. Through close analysis of Sheffield City Council’s policies on peace, race, and gender, this article shows how class politics and old left concerns were prioritized over new left identity politics in Sheffield. It makes the case that this still represented a dynamic form of renewal and one that suited Sheffield’s residents, and it brings new dimensions to the study of local movements and their engagement with established political forms.
Original languageEnglish
JournalTwentieth Century British History
Early online date14 Feb 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2014

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