Ken Livingstone – författare

A frank, gripping and moving - and controversial - autobiography from one of the most idiosyncratic and effective politicians of the last fifty years. His political convictions, his distance from New Labour, and his direct, plain-speaking style and personality have allowed him to survive longer than any of his contemporaries as a man of principle and influence.From his eccentric South London working class childhood to running one of the biggest cities in the world, Livingstone is one of the very few politicians to have scored a major victory over the Thatcher Government and has championed issues as diverse as the environment, gay rights and anti-racism. Written in Livingstone's unmistakable voice, by turns angrily sincere about social justice, wickedly droll and gossipy, and surprisingly wistful about people he has known and loved, this is a hugely important and remarkable book from one of the very few respected politicians at work today.

In Being Red, Ken Livingstone serves up an account of the Labour Party and its future, at a pivotal moment in its history. Having worked most of his life within the party in various leading roles; as the head of the Greater London Council, as Member of Parliament and as Mayor of London, Livingstone is able to offer insights into the internal workings of the party, and the rise and fall (and potential rise again) of its radical socialist ethos.Discussing his battle with Boris Johnson, the fight against privatisation and pollution as well as his analysis of Jeremy Corbyn’s arguably radical leadership and its implications for the future, Livingstone displays his trademark honesty and humour, refusing to shy away from controversy or debate. Published in partnership with the Left Book Club.

Ken Livingstone is a product of the political changes that have already taken place in the Labour Party. As Leader of the Greater London Council he has provided a voice and a vision for tens of thousands of party activists and Labour supporters, in the process implementing a set of measures that indicate the possibilities of a real alternative to Thatcherism. His determined opposition on the Falklands War, subsidised public transport, Ireland, the 1984 miners strike, sexual liberation and racism has made him a far more effective spokesperson for Labour than the shadow luminaries who occupy the front benches in the House of Commons.In these fascinating conversations with Tariq Ali, the Marxist writer and activist debarred from the Labour Party by Kinnock/Hattersley, the two men discuss the future of Labour and socialist politics in Britain. What emerges is a picture of Livingstone as a formidable socialist politician and an adroit tactician, who displays a refreshing ability to discard the stale and battered formulae of traditional Labourism. Socialism is defended with humour, warmth and passion in a discussion that ranges from the merits of proportional representation to the delights of herbaceous borders in London's parks.In a polemical introductory essay, 'Labourism and the Pink Professors', Tariq Ali contests the views of Bernard Crick and Eric Hobsbawm, which have become the 'common sense' of the consensual Establishment in the Labour Party and the liberal media.

In Being Red, Ken Livingstone serves up an account of the Labour Party and its future, at a pivotal moment in its history. Having worked most of his life within the party in various leading roles; as the head of the Greater London Council, as Member of Parliament and as Mayor of London, Livingstone is able to offer insights into the internal workings of the party, and the rise and fall (and potential rise again) of its radical socialist ethos.Discussing his battle with Boris Johnson, the fight against privatisation and pollution as well as his analysis of Jeremy Corbyn’s arguably radical leadership and its implications for the future, Livingstone displays his trademark honesty and humour, refusing to shy away from controversy or debate. Published in partnership with the Left Book Club.