Since 1945 some elements in the British Labour Party were ideologically opposed to a "special relationship" with America. This work examines the policies of Labour governments, the points of agreement and difference since 1945 and looks at possible future policies pursued by a Labour government.

Part 1 Introduction: defining the special relationship; the academic debate about the "Special Relationship"; Labour Party attitudes towards the "Special Relationship". Part 2 Labour in power: the election campaign of 1945; Attlee, Bevin and the post-war world; Anglo-American relations, 1945-7; the breakdown of Anglo-Soviet relations; Labour Party reaction to the onset of the Cold War; developing a framework for European security; the atomic bomb; the Labour party and the creation of the Atlantic Pact; Labour and the movement for European unity; the German question; the Korean War; personalities; conclusions. Part 3 The opposition years, 1951-1964: German rearmament; Labour and the Suez crisis; nuclear weapons; the move towards Europe; the Polaris decision; personalities; conclusions. Part 4: Labour dominance and decline, 1964-1979: Labour's victory in 1964; Wilson's priorities and style; nuclear sharing; British nuclear policy under Labour; the war in Vietnam; the non-proliferation treaty negotiations; consequences of economic decline; "East of Suez"; Labour and Europe; co-operation and conflict in Anglo-American relations; personalities; conclusions. Part 5 Labour's eclipse, 1979-1992: the 1979 general election; the Labour left takes over; Labour's 1983 general election defeat; the early Kinnock years; the 1987 general election; Europe and changing trans-Atlantic relations; the end of the Cold War; the 1992 general election; personalities; conclusions. Part 6 Labour's regeneration and victory, 1992-1997: Labour under John Smith; Tony Blair takes over as Labour leader; the "Blair effect" and the 1997 general election; conclusions.