The decline in Labour's share of the vote in Britain over the past twenty years has made any simple association between social class and political party look increasingly problematic. Indeed, a number of writers have argued that in contemporary society class is giving way to other political cleavages: new social movements, local social movements, consumption- based cleavages and the like. Arguments such as these, however, often rely on a stereotypical view of what working-class politics have been in the past. Compared with modern complexities, politics in the past seem to have revolved around class identities in a straightforward way: most working-class people voted Labour (regardless of their occupation, gender, ethnic background or location), and voting Labour was primarily a means of defending the working class's economic interests within the overall framework of a capitalist society. Yet there are remarkably few studies actually analysing in detail the dynamics of the Labour movement in this century which show that this is an accurate picture.

This paucity in part reflects the interests of historians in socialist and left-wing movements, rather than in the Labour party itself. There are studies of areas where the Communists were strong, and of industries and occupations known for their radicalism. Yet the vast majority of members of the working class, who did not support organisations to the left of the Labour party, tend to be overlooked in such accounts.