A 'New Look' ALP? The Middle Classing of the Victorian Branch of the ALP 1961-1982

The chief purpose of this thesis is to establish that the ALP has, in recent decades, attracted a sizeable middle-class membership. Of course others have suggested that it has, but their claims have usually been based upon observed changes in the composition of the parliamentary ALP, or in the style of its parliamentary leaders. Until now the rank and file who make up the vast majority of ALP members have been paid little or no sociological attention. Using membership records pertaining to the Victorian Branch of the ALP, I am able to show that Labor no longer has a largely blue-collar membership, and that between 1961 and 1981, it attracted a sizeable number of middle-class recruits.[…]