Southern Discomfort (Fabian Society pamphlets)

The Southern Discomfort pamphlets were a series of studies by Labour MP Giles Radice, published by the Labour-affiliated think tank the Fabian Society that examined attitudes towards the party in the south of England after the 1992 general election defeat.

[1] The studies found that voters in marginal constituencies were concerned about Labour's lack of economic credibility and feared that their taxes would increase if party leader Neil Kinnock had won the election.

The pamphlets were influential in underscoring the need for Labour to appeal to "C1" (white collar) and "C2" (skilled) voters (based on the NRS social grade classifications identifying class in the UK).

The authors recommended that Labour should consider "policies such as hypothecated taxes" "prove that it is no longer a trade union dominated party by giving individual members more say" and "demonstrate that it understands the modern world by rewriting Clause IV".

Tony Blair had become party leader since the previous pamphlet's publication, and the authors noted that the voters questioned had "a good initial impression" of him.

Labour had been led to defeat by Gordon Brown at that year's election, and was succeeded by Ed Miliband as party leader several weeks before the publication of this study.