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Lead book review

The travails of Britain’s first Labour government

Attacked in the press, by the right and even by its own supporters, Ramsay MacDonald’s short-lived government still managed to achieve a surprising amount

13 January 2024

9:00 AM

13 January 2024

9:00 AM

The Wild Men: The Remarkable Story of Britain’s First Labour Government David Torrance

Bloomsbury, pp.322, 20

Once the working classes were allowed to vote it was inevitable that sooner or later they would elect a government which reflected their interests. That moment came with the appointment, in January 1924, of the first Labour government.   

The circumstances could hardly have been less auspicious. There had been three general elections in as many years.

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