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Protest and Power

The Battle for the Labour Party

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Protest and Power

By: David Kogan
Narrated by: Rupert Farley
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Bloomsbury presents Protest and Power by David Kogan, read by Rupert Farley.

'A meticulously researched and balanced history' The Times

'Highly-readable and well-researched' The Sunday Times

'Faultless account of the twists and turns undertaken by the hard left of the Labour Party to retain relevance and the hope of power' James O'Brien, TLS

'A very good book, probably the most even-handed of all the accounts of Corbyn’s rise to power' Guardian

'Timely new book about Labour' Independent

The battle for the Labour party is dramatic and intense. This is its definitive history.

Labour has shifted from the New Left, to New Labour, to Corbynista Labour. Now, it may see power again with a most unlikely group of activists from the 1970s becoming the fourth generation to win power since 1945.

Only Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair have won power from a sitting Conservative government. Of the ten general elections since 1979, Labour has won three, all under Blair. This record of failure, if applied to any other walk of life, would raise the fundamental question of why continue to fight a losing battle? For Labour, it asks whether it is a party of protest – designed only to be a voice from opposition, commenting on the flaws and falsities of Conservative police – or a party of power?

Including exclusive interviews with key party members from the 1970s to today including Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair, Ed Miliband and Jon Lansman; and the party's recent struggles with antisemitism and Brexit, this book chronicles the conflicts within the Labour party, the schisms between ideologues and pragmatists, and how these fissures seem destined to keep Labour in opposition.©2019 David Kogan (P)2019 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Europe Great Britain Political Science Politics & Government United States World
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Critic reviews

‘If you want to understand Corbyn’s long march to take control of Labour this is the only book to read. Kogan turns on its head our understanding of Labour’s history over the past 50 years. A tour de force’ (Robert Peston)
If you want to understand how Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour left turned decades of protest into the once unthinkable - the prospect of power - this is the definitive account (Nick Robinson)
Brilliant and highly entertaining (Adrian Chiles)
A meticulously researched and balanced history by a writer with sources at the highest level across different wings of the party (Rachel Sylvester)
Highly-readable and well-researched (Dominic Sandbrook)
Faultless account of the twists and turns undertaken by the hard left of the Labour Party to retain relevance and the hope of power while the spotlight and momentum were so often elsewhere (James O'Brien)
David Kogan's absorbing history, the only one to cover the period from Old Labour via New Labour to this hard-Left ascendancy ... invaluable to future historians (Terry Philpot)
[Protest and Power] is an excellent overview and dispassionate analysis of the past 40 years of Labour party history…David Kogan's book should be mandatory reading for all those concerned about antisemitism in the Labour party (Colin Shindler, Emeritus Professor of Israel Studies SOAS)
Under the eyes of Kogan's cool, fair-minded intelligence, the struggles of the Labour party go from a pub brawl to an Icelandic saga. New insights, vivid interviews, granular, often objectively funny details, combine to build a portrait of the British left that is both honest and dignifying (Zoe Williams)
Protest and Power brilliantly brings to life the political drama of the popular uprising that is Corbyn’s Labour party, from its beginnings in the 1970s to the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands by what became Momentum (Jon Lansman)
This is a no-nonsense, straightforward account of what has happened within the party over the last four decades – and it’s truly thorough. You’ll get to the bottom of each page and think, ‘I need to remember every word of this’. Or at least I did (Sienna Rodgers)
A tremendously good read and very enlightening, 5 stars (Roger Mosey)
Protest and Power is a very good book, probably the most even-handed of all the accounts of Corbyn’s rise to power ... and definitely the book that best explains Corbyn in the context of the 40-year battle by the left in Labour to seize control of the party (Andrew Sparrow)
David Kogan combines piercing political insights gained over four decades, strong personal contacts and experience, and rigorous integrity to produce this vital, honest and accessible analysis of the origins and nature of Labour now (Neil Kinnock)
An empirical, balanced and exhaustive account of political conflicts (William Davies)
All stars
Most relevant
Brilliant narration and a superb deep-dive in to all things UK Labour party. Somewhat saddening listening to the glories of Labour Gov's in the past and we've had 12 years of Tories in the current day.

Wonderfully informative

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Warts and all portrayal of the three last 40 years of Labour. Comments from a lot of major players. It finishes in February 2019 do we don't see some really interesting events. If you like Tim Shipman's All Out War I think you'll enjoy this. Decent narration.

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It's been said before but if you enjoyed Tim Shipman's series you'll enjoy this book. Personally I really appreciated the closer look at the Labour Party as understandably Shipman's books mainly focus on the Tories, I was a little disappointed to be honest about the lack of coverage on #Me Too that rocked the party but if you want a closer look at the Corbyn leadership itself 2017 19 I highly recommend the book Left Out, all in all it was a great coverage of the Labour party from the 79 defeat to just before the (spoilers) 2019 defeat

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