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'Thoroughly researched… brings superbly to life figures whom history should not have forgotten.' - Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph
'A highly readable, enjoyable and informative book.' - John McTernan, Financial Times
'A meticulously researched collective biography.' - Andrew Marr, New Statesman
In 1923, four short years since the end of the First World War, and after the passing of the Act which gave all men the vote, an inconclusive election result and the prospect of a constitutional crisis opened the door for a radically different sort of government: men from working-class backgrounds who had never before occupied the corridors of power at Westminster. Who were these 'wild men'? Ramsay MacDonald, their leader and Labour's first Prime Minster, was the illegitimate son of a Scottish farm labourer; Arthur Henderson was a Scottish iron moulder; J. H. Thomas, a Welsh railwayman; John Wheatley, an Irish-born miner and publican; and William Adamson, a Fife coal miner. Never before had men from such backgrounds occupied the corridors of power in Westminster.
The Wild Men tells the story of that first Labour administration – its unexpected birth, fraught existence, and controversial downfall – through the eyes of those who found themselves in the House of Commons, running the country for the people. Blending biography and history into a compelling narrative, David Torrance reassesses the UK's first Labour government a century after it shook up a British establishment still reeling from the War – and how the establishment eventually fought back.
This is an extraordinary period in British political history which echoes down the years to our current politics and laid the foundations for the Britain of today.
Introduction
1 'A serious national misfortune'
2 'The most horrible job in my life'
3 Ramsay MacDonald as Prime Minister: 'A mass of contradictions'
4 Arthur Henderson: 'Uncle Arthur'
5 John Wheatley: 'A traditional Mr. Pickwick'
6 Philip Snowden: 'A free breakfast table'
7 Charles Trevelyan: 'Secondary education for all'
8 'Rabbits out of a hat'
9 William Adamson: 'Far from revolutionary'
10 Jimmy Thomas: 'No mucking about with the British Empire'
11 Viscount Haldane: Tidying Up the Constitution
12 Ramsay MacDonald as Foreign Secretary: Creating a New Atmosphere
13 Sir Patrick Hastings: 'By whose representation?'
14 The 'Red Letter' Election
15 Whither the Wild Men?
16 Reassessing Britain's First Labour Government
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
The Labour Government (22 January–4 November 1924)
Timeline of the First Labour Government
Endnotes
Picture Credits
Index
Description
'Thoroughly researched… brings superbly to life figures whom history should not have forgotten.' - Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph
'A highly readable, enjoyable and informative book.' - John McTernan, Financial Times
'A meticulously researched collective biography.' - Andrew Marr, New Statesman
In 1923, four short years since the end of the First World War, and after the passing of the Act which gave all men the vote, an inconclusive election result and the prospect of a constitutional crisis opened the door for a radically different sort of government: men from working-class backgrounds who had never before occupied the corridors of power at Westminster. Who were these 'wild men'? Ramsay MacDonald, their leader and Labour's first Prime Minster, was the illegitimate son of a Scottish farm labourer; Arthur Henderson was a Scottish iron moulder; J. H. Thomas, a Welsh railwayman; John Wheatley, an Irish-born miner and publican; and William Adamson, a Fife coal miner. Never before had men from such backgrounds occupied the corridors of power in Westminster.
The Wild Men tells the story of that first Labour administration – its unexpected birth, fraught existence, and controversial downfall – through the eyes of those who found themselves in the House of Commons, running the country for the people. Blending biography and history into a compelling narrative, David Torrance reassesses the UK's first Labour government a century after it shook up a British establishment still reeling from the War – and how the establishment eventually fought back.
This is an extraordinary period in British political history which echoes down the years to our current politics and laid the foundations for the Britain of today.
