AHC: Change the sides (UK specific)

The post-war consensus of nationalising key industries, taxing the rich at progressive rates and maintaining large unions was ended in the 80s, and has since fundamentally changed politics. Nowadays, centre-left parties stand on platforms in favour (however begrudgingly) of privatisations and tax cuts.

What can be done to prevent this, turning the tide so that in the UK at least, social democracy is more prevalent. By this, I mean more non-militant Labour governments.
 
Well really what you want is no New Labour, so you want to avoid the troubles of the 1980s that allowed it to bloom.

Have Hugh Gaitskell defeat the Left in the 1960s.

Have "In Place of Strife" go through in 1968, curbing trade union power and at the hands of a Labour government

Have Callaghan go to the polls early, say 1978, win through which is easier than might be assumed. Labour already had 'austerity' measures in (cause of the Winter of Discontent), and any such wildcat strike action will see Labour bring in something similar to iPoS. Interestingly Labour were looking into Industrial Democracy in their dying days, like the German Mitbestimmung, so maybe they'll try to reform their statist model into something more mutual and continental?
 
The post-war consensus of nationalising key industries, taxing the rich at progressive rates and maintaining large unions was ended in the 80s, and has since fundamentally changed politics. Nowadays, centre-left parties stand on platforms in favour (however begrudgingly) of privatisations and tax cuts.

What can be done to prevent this, turning the tide so that in the UK at least, social democracy is more prevalent. By this, I mean more non-militant Labour governments.

The problem is that the key industries were failing, the tax rates were driving away the rich and got rid of motivation to actually succeed and the large unions were mad with power as years of not being challenged caused things such as the Winter of Discontent. We don't really appreciate the fact that when Thatcher was elected all those times, it was because people remembered the 70s being absolute crap in terms of living standards and the economy and she gave a majority of the country, albeit at the cost of said industrial areas, an improvement in said conditions with Real GDP (in terms of 2008 £) increasing by nearly £200,000 million. (source is here)

To prevent Thatcherism, you need either have someone who isn't Macmillan to use the long Conservative reign to moderate the consensus into something workable or have Gaitskell beat the left or have In Place of Strife go through as Jape says.
 
Generally, I think governing Britain during the 1970s to be a poisoned chalice. If the Tories had won in 1974, or managed to form a coalition with the Liberals, then this may mean an effective Labour government in the 80s.
 
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