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

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.

History

Hannah, Simon

Europe

Pluto Press

For more than a hundred years, the British Labour Party has been the home of working-class organization and struggle. But has it ever truly been on the side of workers? Where do its interests really lie, and can it be relied on to provide a check on right-wing forces?             A Party with Socialists in It addresses those questions and more, telling the story of the Labour Party from its origins to today, showing how at every turn it has struggled with the tension between the rights and demands of workers and a more centrist position. As Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership attempts to revitalize the party after the initial success of the Blair years turned into disappointment and disenchantment, this clear-eyed history could not be more timely.  

Can't Pay, Won't Pay: The Fight to Stop the Poll Tax

Business & Money

Economics

Thirty years ago, a social movement helped bring down one of the most powerful British Prime Ministers of the 20th Century. For the 30th anniversary of the Poll Tax rebellion, Simon Hannah looks back on those tumultuous days of resistance, telling the story of the people that beat the bailiffs, rioted for their rights and defied a government. Starting in Scotland where the 'Community Charge' was first trialled, Can't Pay, Won't Pay immerses the reader in the gritty history of the rebellion. Amidst the drama of large scale protests and blockaded estates a number of key figures and groups emerge: Neil Kinnock and Tommy Sheridan; Militant, Class War and the Metropolitan Police.&nbsp; Assessing this legacy today, Hannah demonstrates the centrality of the Poll Tax resistance as a key chapter in the history of British popular uprisings, Labour Party factionalism, the anti-socialist agenda and failed Tory ideology.

<div> A smart and succinct history of the Labour left *A&nbsp;Guardian&nbsp;Book of the Day* The defeat of socialist firebrand Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Leader in 2019 confirmed Tony Benn's famous retort 'the Labour party has never been a socialist party, although there have always been socialists in it.' For over a hundred years, the British Labour Party has been a bastion for working-class organization 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? Simon Hannah's smart and succinct history of the Labour left guides us through the twists and turns of the party, from the Bevanite movement and the celebrated government of Clement Attlee, through the emergence of a New Left in the 1970s and the Blairism of the 1990s, to Corbyn's defeat and his replacement by Keir Starmer. This new edition is updated throughout, with a new final chapter and conclusion bringing the story up to date. </div>

A Party with Socialists in It: A History of the Labour Left

A smart and succinct history of the Labour left\n*A Guardian Book of the Day*\nThe defeat of socialist firebrand Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Leader in 2019 confirmed Tony Benn's famous retort 'the Labour party has never been a socialist party, although there have always been socialists in it.'\nFor over a hundred years, the British Labour Party has been a bastion for working-class organization 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?\nSimon Hannah's smart and succinct history of the Labour left guides us through the twists and turns of the party, from the Bevanite movement and the celebrated government of Clement Attlee, through the emergence of a New Left in the 1970s and the Blairism of the 1990s, to Corbyn's defeat and his replacement by Keir Starmer.\nThis new edition is updated throughout, with a new final chapter and conclusion bringing the story up to date.

Capitalist China and socialist revolution

Asia

Resistance Books

The world is facing an unprecedented crisis with the pandemic, climate disaster and an economic crash. Resistance is occurring on every continent against the capitalist system. The vision of Karl Marx for a new society is still relevant today. Simon Hannah gives an outline of Marxism and how it can help us to free people from exploitation and save the planet.

Why we need anticapitalist resistance

Military

Folrose

In the 1980s Lambeth was synonymous with rebel Labour councillors and featured regularly in national newspaper headlines for its protests, its squatting, and its resistance to and defiance of central government. From the Town Hall to the front line of Railton Road it confronted racism in the police, the Poll Tax, the Gulf War, and the nascent Thatcherism of the Conservative government. It was a site of overlapping resistance from trade unionists, black residents, the LGBTQ community, and other local people.\nCondemned in the press as a 'loony left' borough, Lambeth was at the heart of the struggle against the Conservative agenda in the capital. This was a fight for municipal socialism, for solidarity with causes both at home and abroad, and against the crisis of inner city urban life in a decade dominated by greed is good capitalism at the expense of working people.\nDrawing on first-hand accounts from those involved, this book tells the story of Radical Lambeth, an inner London community that fought back.

Radical Lambeth 1978-1991

Breviary Stuff Publications

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hannah, Simon. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hannah, Simon

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hannah, Simon. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

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)

Can't Pay, Won't Pay: The Fight to Stop the Poll Tax

Can't Pay, Won't Pay: The Fight to Stop the Poll Tax

A Party with Socialists in It: A History of the Labour Left

A Party with Socialists in It: A History of the Labour Left

Capitalist China and socialist revolution

Why we need anticapitalist resistance

Radical Lambeth 1978-1991