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A Party with Socialists in It: A History of the Labour Left (Left Book Club)

A Party with Socialists in It: A History of the Labour Left (Left Book Club)

by SimonHannah (Author), Simon Hannah (Author)

  • Used

    Paperback 2018

    $4.57
Synopsis

** Guardian Politics Book of the Day**

For over a hundred years, the British Labour Party has been a bastion for working class organisation and struggle. However, has it ever truly been on the side of the workers? Where do its interests really lie? And can we rely on it to provide a barrier against right-wing forces? By looking into its history, this book shines a light on the internal dynamics of the 'party with socialists in it'.

From its origins in the late nineteenth century, the Labour Party was uncomfortably divided between a metropolitan liberal and a working class milieu, which characterises the party to this very day. This history guides us through the Bevanite movement and the celebrated government of Clement Attlee, to the emergence of a New Left that was highly sceptical of the Labour party during the Wilson era. It explores the move towards Blairism and the disheartening story of the decline of the Labour Left after their historic defeat in the 1980s.

With the emergence of socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Party's fate rests in the balance. Will they reconcile their internal divisions or split into obscurity?

Published in partnership with the Left Book Club.

$4.57

Save:$12.75 (74%)

Quantity

2 in stock

More Information

Format: Paperback
 Pages: 288
 Publisher: Pluto Press
Published: 20 Feb 2018
ISBN 10: 0745337473
ISBN 13: 9780745337470

Media Reviews
'A welcome corrective ... This book astutely appraises British politics' most frustrating but important dissident tradition' -- Andy Beckett - Guardian
'Admirably clear-sighted' -- George Eaton - New Statesman
'The rise to prominence of Jeremy Corbyn has made relevant again the history of the Labour Left from which he comes. But that history is not generally known. Simon Hannah has therefore done us a great service. At a very crucial time in British politics, his book helps us to fill in important gaps in our knowledge' -- David Coates, author of Prolonged Labour: The Slow Birth of New Labour in Britain
'A well-timed explanation of the class contradictions at the root of the Labour Party from its creation to the present day' -- Graham Bash, Labour Briefing
'This informative and thought-provoking historical account allows us to assess the Party's history, whilst acknowledging that the progressive movement inspired by Corbyn's leadership is something new and exciting' -- Liz Davies, Labour Party Activist
'This well-researched history could hardly be more relevant for the political moment we are living through and participating in' -- Morning Star
'Timely' -- Left Foot Forward
'A well written and concise history of the Labour left from the party's inception through to the present day' -- Workers' Liberty
'An invaluable account not just of the history of the Labour left but of the future prospects of the Corbyn leadership' -- Chartist
Author Bio
Simon Hannah is a writer and political activist. He is the author of A Party with Socialists in It (Pluto 2018). His work has been featured in Open Democracy and New Left Project. He is currently researching at King's College the municipal socialist movement of the 1980s. He is an active trade unionist and a member of the Labour Party.