Jeremy Corbyn and the Strange Rebirth of Labour England by Francis Beckett & Mark Seddon
|| REVIEW Lauren Kirton @kirton_lauren
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How did Jeremy Corbyn become the person responsible for the Labour Party’s 2017 resurgence? Whether you love him or hate him it cannot be denied that there is something about him that obviously resonates with many Labour supporters.
Originally intended as an analysis of the collapse of the Labour party, Beckett and Seddon were forced to change the book’s direction after the undeniable success of the party in recent years. In this book the authors offer an explanation as to how the Labour party managed to flourish when the left-wing parties of Europe have almost all faced the opposite.
The book begins with a look at the sad journey of Labour England from the 1970’s describing the trade unions with an appearance of power, into the 80’s when the Conservatives introduced the Right to Buy scheme and destroyed the high-standard council estates of Bevans time. It then turns to look at reversal of fortunes that occurred in the recent Corbyn years, and consider what a new Labour England could look like.
Though both men have been immersed in Labour politics for decades, they remain impartial simply analysing events, without enforcing their personal loyalties. Described by Alistair Stewart as “an elegant statement of belief from two masters”, this book is well worth a read.