Labour's Civil Wars
How Infighting has kept the Left from Power (and what can be done about it)

‘The British tradition of social democracy has needed a powerful shot of political and analytical adrenaline for a long time. Patrick Diamond and Giles Radice, bearing a large syringe, are about to administer it.’
Peter Hennessy

The biblical adage that ‘if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand’ remains sound theological advice. It is also essential counsel for any political party in Britain that aspires to win elections. Though both major parties have been subject to internal conflict over the years, the Labour Party has been more given to damaging splits.

This book examines the history of Labour’s civil wars and the underlying causes of the party’s schisms, from the first split of 1931, engineered by Ramsay MacDonald, to the ongoing battle for the future between the incumbent Labour leader Keir Starmer, and those who fundamentally altered the party’s course under his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.