What lessons can the Labour Party learn from defeat at the general election?

A group of academics will ponder just that as they discuss the electoral defeats of the major political parties throughout history to see if there are any lessons that the current Labour can take forward.

The event – After the Defeat: Lessons from History for Labour? - is taking place on 18 March, from 16.00 -18.00.

The event is being organised by the Centre for British Politics and Government in conjunction with the IHR Contemporary British History seminar, and will see to shine a light on how parties have previously responded to electoral setbacks.

Three speakers will provide papers on the response of each of the main parties – Labour, Conservative, and Liberal - to a particular election defeat.

Dr Iain Sharpe, a sitting Liberal Democrat councillor in Watford, will discuss the Liberal Party's experiences at the turn of the 20th century and the influence of Herbert Gladstone in securing its return to power at the 1906 election.

Professor Andrew Thorpe,  from the University of Leeds, will discuss Labour's response to its defeat in 1935. Dr Michael Kandiah, from the Department of Political Economy at King’s College London, will discuss the Conservative Party and how it dealt with losing power in the 1945 general election.

The event will take place in Bush House Lecture Theatre One (S)1.01.