In the wake of a huge surge of interest in the Labour Party, Ken Livingstone will be serving up an insider’s account of the Party and its future, at a pivotal moment in its history. 

Ken will  be talking about his  book Being Red: A Politics for the Future, which accounts his own version of the last Mayoral election alongside candid interviews with Anna Minton and Angharad Penrhyn Jones. This is the second book in the new Left Book Club series, inspired by the LBC of the 1930s series and published in partnership with Pluto Press.

At a time when many are now looking to revive Labour’s potential, Livingstone has form. His account takes us from the self-proclaimed ‘radical socialism’ of the Greater London Council, to his controversial independent candidacy that saw him branded as ‘dangerous’ by the Blairites, to the political battles against privatisation and pollution that characterised his time as Mayor. At each point, he suggests possible lessons for those who would seek to follow, or improve on, his achievements today.

Having spent years at the head of the GLC, served two terms as London Mayor, and having gone head to head with Boris Johnson, Being Red offers a clear-sighted study of the left’s possibilities and limitations, with reflections on the current state of the Labour Party and a look into its future.

“[Boris] got even angrier when I said we both had the same tax arrangements for dealing with our media earnings. Red in the face he shouted: ‘That is a complete lie. The man’s a liar.’ I replied: ‘Boris we both had media earnings, we both put them through a company.’ ‘No, that’s not true. The guy’s a liar, a barefaced liar.’ After the debate we were all in the lift and I jokingly asked Brian Paddick ‘isn’t it time for a citizen’s arrest?’ Boris shouted ‘You fucking liar’ three times whilst staring at the floor. Brian, Jenny Jones and myself just smiled at each other.”

 
This is a Bread and Roses event in association with Nottingham Trent University’s Politics and International Relations Department.

This is a ticket only event and admission is £3.00.

Due to demand, attendance for this event may be limited.

To purchase your ticket, please call in to the bookshop or email:

 fiveleaves.bookshopevents@gmail.com