George Lansbury: At the Heart of Old Labour

''The most loveable figure in modern politics'' was how A. J. P. Taylor described the Christian pacifist, George Lansbury, who at 73 took over the helm of the Labour Party of only 46 MPs in the Depression years of the 1930s. Throughout a remarkable l... Read more

''The most loveable figure in modern politics'' was how A. J. P. Taylor described the Christian pacifist, George Lansbury, who at 73 took over the helm of the Labour Party of only 46 MPs in the Depression years of the 1930s. Throughout a remarkable life, Lansbury remained an extraordinarypolitician of the people, associated with a multitude of crusades for social justice. He resigned from Parliament to support ''Votes for Women'' and for the next ten years edited the fiery Daily Herald. In 1921 Lansbury led the ''Poplar Rates Rebellion'' - when thirty Labour councillors went willinglyto prison in defiance of the government, the courts, and their own party leadership.As Labour leader, Lansbury was known universally as a committed socialist and an implacable opponent of capitalism and imperialism. He never sought personal wealth, travelled everywhere by public transport, and made his home in impoverished East London. His final years were spent in a tirelessinternational peace crusade to prevent the drift towards another world war.In this major new biography, John Shepherd draws on an impressive range of research to reconstruct the life of a charismatic Labour pioneer. He reaffirms George Lansbury''s standing at the heart of Old Labour and his importance to British politics as a whole. Less