Ten Years Hard Labour by Chris Williamson

Hardback
22 September 2022
Lola Books

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE MILIBAND AND CORBYN YEARS, AND HOW THEY LED TO THE LABOUR LEFT’S DEMISE For 42 years, Chris Williamson was a Labour Party member. In 2010, he was elected to Parliament to represent his home town. However, in 2019, he was unceremoniously suspended from the party after being subjected to a smear campaign, and he later resigned in protest at the betrayal. In this forensic memoir - free of his Labourist clutches - Williamson provides a unique ringside view. As well as lifting the lid on the amateurish politics-by-focus groups under Ed Miliband, Williamson exposes some of the major events that created and deepened Labour's 'antisemitism crisis' under Jeremy Corbyn. In his mission to set the record straight on numerous misreported events, Williamson names and shames the individuals - on the left and the right - whom he holds responsible for delivering his former party back into the hands of New Labourism under Sir Keir Starmer. To understand the existential crisis facing socialists in Britain today, Williamson's account of recent Labour history is indispensable. “Williamson's analysis will be contentious and his trenchant views make uncomfortable reading. But for those who want to see a socialist future, or anyone who has ever voted Labour and wants to see it do better, this is essential reading.” - Ken Loach, filmmaker “Chris Williamson is a compelling and committed socialist and was Jeremy Corbyn's most loyal supporter in Parliament: that is why he had to be sabotaged at all costs. … This book is a fascinating account of his struggle and the way forward.” - Alexei Sayle, actor, author, stand-up comedian “Chris Williamson's 10 Years Hard Labour is an eye-opening, and at times, infuriating, insider's account of the coordinated political assault on the British Left that took place inside a party that was once its home.” - Max Blumenthal, author, editor and founder of The Grayzone