A01=Geoff Andrews
Author_Geoff Andrews
Category=JBSA
Category=JPFC
Category=JPFF
Category=JPL
Category=NHD
Clement Attlee
edwardian
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_new_release
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Great Britain
Harold Wilson
Hobsbawm
Labour Party
left-wing
Marx
Marxist
New Labour
NHS
Orwell
social democracy
Socialism
Tony Blair
Trade Unions
victorian
Working Class
Product details
- ISBN 9780300265897
- Dimensions: 156 x 235mm
- Publication Date: 14 Apr 2026
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
An authoritative and original history of the working classes and the British Left
The political Left in Britain rose out of the Industrial Revolution, as the working classes emerged as the leading force in the call for social change. Their contributions extended widely to political representation, the birth of the Labour Party and women’s suffrage, the autodidact tradition in adult education, and Britain’s literary culture. Throughout subsequent decades, the working classes remained central to the British radical tradition.
Geoff Andrews traces the history of the Left and the Labour Party through the ideas of leading thinkers, writers, educationalists, trade unionists, and politicians. Ranging from the Workers Educational Association to the General Strike and the Women’s Liberation Movement, Andrews uncovers the voices of key figures. The first account of the Labour Party to put the working classes at the heart of its history, this fascinating book tells a wider story of their progressive contribution to British culture, politics, and the movements which have driven social change.
The political Left in Britain rose out of the Industrial Revolution, as the working classes emerged as the leading force in the call for social change. Their contributions extended widely to political representation, the birth of the Labour Party and women’s suffrage, the autodidact tradition in adult education, and Britain’s literary culture. Throughout subsequent decades, the working classes remained central to the British radical tradition.
Geoff Andrews traces the history of the Left and the Labour Party through the ideas of leading thinkers, writers, educationalists, trade unionists, and politicians. Ranging from the Workers Educational Association to the General Strike and the Women’s Liberation Movement, Andrews uncovers the voices of key figures. The first account of the Labour Party to put the working classes at the heart of its history, this fascinating book tells a wider story of their progressive contribution to British culture, politics, and the movements which have driven social change.
After failing his 11-plus and leaving school at 16, Geoff Andrews worked for several years before taking up a place at Ruskin College and entering higher education. He has spent most of his time since in adult education, teaching for The Open University and Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education. He is the author of several books on twentieth century British history, including three political biographies, and has written widely on the left and labour movement for Prospect, the New Statesman and Marxism Today.
