How Labour Wins - by Douglas Beattie (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A fascinating history of how the unfolding drama of each election from 1900 to 2024 has shaped the Labour Party and modern Britain. This is an essential guide to how left-wing politics succeeds or fails through an accessible, highly readable and timely history of Labour's performance in the 34 British General Elections since 1900. There have been 8 hung parliaments resulting in coalitions. Labour has won power 12 times; the Conservatives outright on 14 occasions. The final chapter of the book analyses the landslide result of the General Election on 4th July 2024.

With exclusive insights from former leaders and Prime Ministers - including Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock - How Labour Wins provides a vital guide to British politics today by delving deep into the secrets of long-forgotten campaigns, tracing the Party's roots, examining the strategies, leaders, transformative moments and missteps which have defined Labour at the ballot box and shaped modern Britain.

About the Author

Douglas Beattie grew up in Dumfriesshire, studied politics at Glasgow University and is an award-winning former BBC journalist, author and Labour insider. He has first-hand experience of elections having stood for Parliament as the Scottish Labour candidate for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale in the 2017 General Election and also been a Labour councilor. He now lives in London and works as a trade union media and political director. Douglas Beattie is fascinated by tribal divisions and his previous book is an acclaimed history of British football derbies, The Rivals Game