Table of Contents

1: Introduction
2: Irish Potatoes and British Politics: Peel, Wellington and the Repeal of the Corn Laws
3: Dishing the Whigs: Disraeli, Salisbury, and the relaunching of the Tory Party 1846--86
4: The great Victorian realignment
5: The failure of imperialism: Joseph Chamberlain and Enoch Powell
6: Lloyd George: supreme tactician and ambitious strategist
7: The patriot game: rhetoric and heresthetic in the Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations of 1921
8: 'There is no alternative': Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair
9: Conclusion

About the Author

Iain McLean, Professor of Politics, Nuffield College, Oxford University

Reviews

McLean's research is excellent, his writing is polished and witty, and his cases are well selected to cover some of the truly fascinating moments of British politics ... From a scholarly perspective, there are some novel and interesting parts to McLean's work. American Political Science Review This is a genuinely - possibly even eccentrically - original book ... He [McLean] states his rationale explicitly, consciously attempting to demonstrate the value of combining political science and history. His conceptual approach is intellectually original and in itself makes this a most valuable study ... as a conceptually original study it demands serious attention from both of its intended audiences. English Historical Review Intelligent undergraduates will find a stimulating read ... clear and stylish ... engaging and concisely written ... offers a thought-provoking text which should commend it not only to historians but more widely to all those interested in public affairs in this country. Ian Budge, University of Essex, Government and Opposition An original study ... marries the techniques of political science and game theory with those of narrative history ... the result is both readable and suggestive. Peter Riddell, The Times