Experiences of Racism Faced by Black Labour Politicians in the House of Commons in the 1980s

Andy Beckett joins PTO to talk about his new book, The Searchers: Five Rebels, Their Dream of a Different Britain, and Their Many Enemies. The five rebels in question being Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, John McDonnell, and Ken Livingstone. We talked about the role of the global tumult of 1968 in the development of the politics of the five, the extraordinary racism that Diane Abbott has faced since entering parliament, and whether the current Labour leadership think there are votes to be gained in joining in in attacks on Britain's most important black politician. We also talked about the importance of  Salvador Allende's Popular unity government in Chile to the five and how their admiration for Allende contrasted with their view of the eastern bloc during the Cold War. Finally, we touched on the current conjuncture and what the future might hold for the remaining four rebels.