Age of Hope

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Age of Hope by Richard Toye, read by Charles Armstrong.

“The clue to our future lies in our past and Toye has winkled it out with elegant and devastating precision.” Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda

WAS THE ATTLEE GOVERNMENT OF 1945 REALLY THE GOLDEN PERIOD OF LABOUR POWER?

2024 marks the centenary of the first Labour government under Ramsay MacDonald. What legacy of the past have they left behind? How far has each Labour administration influenced succeeding administrations? Above all, was the Attlee government of 1945 really the golden period of Labour power?

Professor Richard Toye explores Labour’s exercise of power as a continuum, setting Attlee’s administration in long-term historical context between the first Labour Government of 1924 and the current party under Keir Starmer. Within this context he shows why the Attlee administration matters so much and how successive Labour governments have fashioned it in their own image.

Into this story are woven the foundation of the Labour Party in 1900, the First World War, the General Strike of 1926, the Spanish Civil War and the coalition war-time government under Churchill. Also discussed are the great names of Labour history: Ramsay MacDonald, Clement Attlee himself, Ernest Bevin, Aneurin Bevan, Hugh Gaitskell, Harold Wilson and Ellen Wilkinson.

Covering Labour's history all the way up to the present – including Wilson and Blair's attempts to wrap themselves in Attlee’s mantle and Corbyn’s version of Attlee focused on the NHS and the welfare state – Age of Hope is an incisive, informative look at a political party that has been fundamental in shaping modern Britain and will be equally instrumental in its future.

Critics Review

The clue to our future lies in our past and Toye has winkled it out with elegant and devastating precision. Anyone who wants to find the nuggets of hope in today's Britain as we approach a watershed election needs to read this book and see what pragmatic idealism achieved between 1945 and 1951.
Chris Bryant, MP for Rhondda
This is a stunningly original revision of the Attlee government and its impact on British society. It's the best book I've read this year.
Frank Field, former MP for Birkenhead
A hundred years since the first Labour Government, Richard Toye’s readable and persuasive study argues that while arguments over the party’s past have often shaped its future, Labour does best when it forgets old battles and finds a way to combine hope with pragmatism. The history of the era is highly contested, but the book does a masterly job of picking through the bitterness to understand what has worked in the past and has a reasonable chance of working in the future.
Anne Perkins, author of 'A Very British Strike' and 'Red Queen: The Authorized Biography of Barbara Castle'
This book illustrates how the key players in the Attlee Government combined their radical idealism and pragmatism to seize their moment and create such a sense of purpose and hope that was truly transformative and set the standard for all subsequent Labour administrations to live up to.
John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington

More from the same

Narrator

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.