Hammer of the Left : The Battle For the Soul of the Labour Party

“We went into the general election with an unelectable leader, in a state of chaos with a manifesto that might have swept us to victory in cloud cuckoo land, but which was held in contempt in the Britain of 1983.” It is said that those who do not learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them, and though Golding was describing the Labour Party of the early 1980s, he could just as easily have been talking about its situation today. A lurch to the left and a party in turmoil — the ascension of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader will, for many, trigger only unhappy memories of the dark days of the 1970s and ’80s, when the party was plagued by a civil war that threatened to end all hopes of re-election. In that battle, moderate elements fought the illiberal hard left for the soul of Labour; that they won, paving the way for later electoral successes, was down to men and women like John Golding. In this visceral, no-holds-barred account, Golding describes how he took on and helped defeat the Militant Tendency and the rest of the hard left, providing not only a vivid portrait of political intrigue and warfare, but a timely reminder for the party of today of the dangers of disunity and of drifting too far from electoral reality. Title Page Contents Acknowledgements Foreword by Neil Kinnock Introduction Prologue: A New Look at an 'Old Labour' Government 1: The Toads 2: Dire Straits in 1978 3: The Winter of Our Discontent 4: Loyalist Group Formed 5: The Sad Farewell to Old Labour 6: Leave Thatcher, We'll Get Callaghan First 7: The Darkest Hour 8: Blunders, Bloomers and the Leadership 9: A Second Own Goal at Wembley 10: Shirley Throws in the Towel 11: The Moderates Fight Back 12: Toad Fights Badger 13: Hope and Despair 14: Foot Won't Help 15: The Wild Wood 16: The Goodies Gang Up -- Benn Cast Away. 17: A Phoney Peace and a Real War in the Falklands18: Taking Control 19: Under New Management 20: By-elections at Bermondsey and Darlington 21: The Longest Suicide Note 22: The 1983 General Election -- Foot's Last Stand 23: The Leadership Battle -- Kinnock's Victory 24: The Fall of Militant 25: The Fall of Benn Epilogue: Blackpool, Conference Week 1998 Postscript: Westminster, December 2015 The Left Ascendant in a New Winter of Discontent Select Bibliography Appendix: The Guardian Obituary of John Golding Index A, B, C D, E, F G, H, I J, K, L M, N, O P, Q, R S, T, U V, W, X. Labour Party giant John Golding's memoir accounts the battle for power in the party during the 70s and 80s, a story which appears to be repeating itself in the current climate.