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Hammer of the Left: Defeating Tony Benn, Eric Heffer and Militant in the Battle for the Labour Party

In the late 1970s and early 1980s John Golding, known as the 'Hammer of the Left', was one of the most influential figures in the Labour Party. As MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme and a top trade union 'fixer', he led the moderates' fightback against Tony Benn, Militant and the hard left.

In this posthumously published memoir, edited by Paul Farrelly MP, Golding details his ruthless quest to remove Benn and Heffer from Labour's National Executive Committee. He reveals how he and his 'union mafia' made sure that Benn lost his Bristol seat — and with it his leadership ambitions — and describes the back-room fixing which dashed Roy Hattersley's hopes and delivered the leadership to Neil Kinnock.

  • Format
  • hardcover
  • Pages
  • 326
  • Language
  • english
  • ISBN
  • 9781842750797
  • Genres
  • politics
  • Release date
  • 2003