Abstract
The term ‘consensus politics' has frequently been used to describe post-war British politics. More recently it appears to have been overtaken by ‘the end of consensus polities’. The first part of this paper examines the different meanings of consensus in British politics, and analyses the concept with reference to the mixed economy and welfare. The second part examines the salient features of the consensus and how they emerged. The third section analyses the forces that have undermined the consensus and the concluson considers evidence about the nature of the political agenda in the 1980s.
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