Book description
'The detail of these diaries, and their comprehensive candour, offer
unprecedented insights into the personal behaviour of many senior
Labour politicians... The most readable political diary of the period'
Harold Lever, Spectator
Tony Benn's second volume of diaries, which spans the years 1968-72,
is a unique record of British politics as observed both from the heart
of the Cabinet and the Labour Party.
George Brown's spectacular resignation and Cecil King's plot to
overthrow Wilson are just two of the events which dominate the opening
chapter, and introduce the last years of Labour's increasingly
demoralised government.
And for the first time in a political diary, Labour's experience of
Opposition after the unexpected and shattering defeat of 1970 is
revealed. Here, too, are recorded the bitter arguments over the Common
Market, in which Tony Benn emerged as the principal advocate of a
referendum on Britain's entry - and which foreshadowed the Labour/SDP
schism of 1981. The result is a fascinating and invaluable document of
the times.
'A fascinating insider's account' Ben Pimlott, Standard
Tony Benn who first entered Parliament in 1950, has been the
labour MP for Chesterfield since March 1984. He was elected to the
National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in 1959 and was the
Chairman of the Party in 1971-2. He has been a Cabinet Minister in
every Labour Government since 1964, holding the positions of
Postmaster General, Minister of Technology and Minister of Power. From
1974-9 he was Secretary of State for Industry, later Secretary of
State for Energy one-time President of the Council of Energy Ministers
of the European Community. He contested the leadership of the Labour
Party in 1975 and in 1988.
He is author of nine previous books, including Arguments for
Socialism, Arguments for Democracy, Fighting Back and Out of
the Wilderness, the first volume of Diaries which was published
to great critical acclaim in 1987. He holds four Honorary Doctorates
from British and American Universities. He is married to Caroline and
they have four children and five grandchildren.
