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Cover page -- Halftitle page -- Epigraph -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgements -- List of notable political 'firsts' for women in the House of Commons -- Prologue to the Paperback Edition -- Foreword -- Introduction -- 1 Seats For Women: 1919-31 -- A one woman show: Nancy Astor -- Warming pans and male equivalence -- Labour women -- 1924: 'The orphans of the storm' -- The Lady Members' Room -- From words to deeds: legislating for reform -- The end of an era -- Women in government -- 2 Women at War: 1931-45 -- Ellen Wilkinson and the Jarrow Crusade -- Eleanor Rathbone and family allowances -- The prophetesses and the gathering storm -- Woman power -- Into a brave new world -- 3 Let Us Face the Future: 1945-59 -- Parliamentary culture, chocolates and cancans -- 'From the cradle to the grave' -- 'Jam tomorrow'? The housewives' revolt -- Defending the vulnerable: the beginnings of social reform -- 4 Stilettos and Springboards: 1959-70 -- Building Barbara's Castle -- A tiger in my tank -- Not another Maggie Bondfield! -- 'Minister of the future': Jennie Lee, the Arts and the Open University -- Equal pay: Made in Dagenham -- Castle's many lives -- 5 Leaders and Losses: 1970-79 -- Becoming the Iron Lady -- Conservative women and feminism -- More women on the benches -- Making a difference -- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher -- 6 Paths to Power: 1979-97 -- Settling into Number Ten -- A woman's cabinet -- Mothers in the House -- Leading ladies -- Visible women -- All-women shortlists -- A fashion House -- Intersections and minority caucus -- Women in the spotlight -- 7 New Labour, More Women: 1997-2010 -- A party for and of women? -- Policies in practice -- Courage and controversy -- Critical moments -- 8 More in Common: 2010-19 -- From 'Blair's Babes' to 'Cameron's Cuties'.

AbstractThe outcome of the 2017 general election showed the demand for a break with a failed economic model. However, Labour needs to continue to develop its thinking, especially around questions of ownership, institutional reform, the devolution of power, and about wages and quality of work. The author argues that a focus on the everyday economy—those sectors upon which we depend for healthy, happy lives and communities and which employ many people, but which are all too often characterised by low wages, low productivity and low skill—can expose the failings of our present economic settlement and offer a blueprint for Labour to forge a new one. Central to this are questions of democracy, but more needs to be said about redressing the 'financialisation' of the everyday economy.

Alice Bacon was one of the twentieth-century's most remarkable female politicians. Born and raised in the Yorkshire town of Normanton, she defied the odds to be elected Labour MP for Leeds North East in the 1945 General Election. Famed in her home town for her unlikely love of sports cars, she was a much-respected, no-nonsense, hard-working representative for her beloved Yorkshire home in Westminster. Mentored by Herbert Morrison and Hugh Gaitskell, she rose through the party becoming a Home Office minister under Roy Jenkins and latterly an Education Minister with responsibility for the introduction of comprehensive schools. In the Home Office in the 1960s she oversaw the introduction of substantial societal changes, including the abolition of the death penalty, the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the legalisation of abortion. Her political career spanned some of the most momentous decades in Britain's postwar history and she played an integral part in some of the most significant social, educational and political changes which the country has ever witnessed. Labour MP Rachel Reeves here tells Alice Bacon's story, narrating one woman's extraordinary progression from the coalfields to the Commons

Alice Bacon was one of the twentieth-century's most remarkable female politicians. Born and raised in the Yorkshire town of Normanton, she defied the odds to be elected Labour MP for Leeds North East in the 1945 General Election. Famed in her home town for her unlikely love of sports cars, she was a much-respected, no-nonsense, hard-working representative for her beloved Yorkshire home in Westminster. Mentored by Herbert Morrison and Hugh Gaitskell, she rose through the party becoming a Home Office minister under Roy Jenkins and latterly an Education Minister with responsibility for the introduction of comprehensive schools. In the Home Office in the 1960s she oversaw the introduction of substantial societal changes, including the abolition of the death penalty, the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the legalisation of abortion. Her political career spanned some of the most momentous decades in Britain's postwar history and she played an integral part in some of the most significant social, educational and political changes which the country has ever witnessed.Labour MP Rachel Reeves here tells Alice Bacon's story, narrating one woman's extraordinary progression from the coalfields to the Commons.

This paper examines how United Kingdom financial markets react to Bank of England communication. We might expect asset prices to react to official communication if it is informative to market participants about the policy inclination or economic outlook and risks. We find evidence that the publication of the Minutes of Monetary Policy Committee meetings and the Inflation Report significantly affect near-term interest rate expectations, an effect particularly visible in intraday data. Our results for the United Kingdom are arguably less strong than Kohn and Sack's [Kohn, D., Sack, B., 2003. Central bank talk: does it matter and why? Federal Reserve Board Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2003-55] findings for United States Federal Reserve communication, where the impact extends along the yield curve. Although differences in institutional frameworks between the United Kingdom and United States mean communications are not directly comparable, our results might also reflect the different mandates of the FOMC and the MPC, with the Federal Reserve having greater freedom to interpret its objectives. [Copyright 2006 Elsevier B.V.]

The effectiveness of a central bank's monetary policymaking is determined by the merit of its policy actions and their perceived credibility. Since the 1990s central banks have placed more emphasis on clear communications and transparency as additional levers to help achieve their goals. In this paper we examine how UK financial markets react to Bank of England communication. We might expect interest rate expectations, and potentially other asset prices, to react to official communication if such communication helps inform market participants. We find evidence that the publication of the Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meetings and the Inflation Report significantly affect near-term interest rate expectations, an effect particularly visible in intraday data. Speeches and parliamentary committee hearings appear to have less of an impact. Our results for the UK are arguably less strong than Kohn and Sack's (2003) findings for US Federal Reserve communication. Although differences in institutional frameworks between the UK and US mean communications are not directly comparable, our results might also reflect the different mandates of the FOMC and the MPC, with the Federal Reserve having greater freedom to interpret its objectives.