Vintage Red

Résumé du livre

The post-war Labour government was the defining event in the life of John Kotz. Leaving school as Labour took office he lived the positive changes that it wrought in the lives of working people. His early recollections contrast an East End childhood, defined by the delights and despairs of the family and working life of the Jewish working class, with wartime evacuation to the English countryside - for which he retains a deep affection. He remains rooted in real life and in the practical politics of working-class life. His recollections throw a human cast over the post-war history of the British Labour movement and highlight the complex interplay of pragmatism and principle that challenges a left-wing socialist who accepts municipal office. But John Kotz was no town-hall bureaucrat. His politics are drawn from a deep well of class consciousness, strengthened by a firm internationalism, militant anti-racism and anti-fascism and an enduring loyalty to the Labour Party.