In praise of … labour history

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/22/in-praise-labour-history

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In the academic world, labour history was once ignored, then prospered for a time, and now survives in the margins. Today, it is often sustained by enthusiasts. But the Labour party, a subset of the labour story, has rarely nurtured its own history. EP Thompson's phrase about the condescension of posterity often applies. Under Tony Blair, the party centenary passed almost without notice. Ed Miliband, by contrast, has the study of history in his DNA. But Labour still does too little to mark and reflect on its past, and the unions are not much better. It would be good to think that the 50th anniversary of Hugh Gaitskell's death and of Thompson's seminal book, or the centenaries of the Dublin lockout or of Emily Davison's death, would offer moments for reflection on the Brighton fringe this week. But with the exception of an organised walk around local radical landmarks, Labour conference is a history-free zone – a sad but not untypical loss.

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