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Left for Dead?: The Strange Death and Rebirth of the Labour Party
A timely and provocative account of the fall of New Labour, the rise of Corbyn, and what it means for the left in Britain.
‘Lewis Goodall is one of the most exciting voices in British politics right now’ Emily Maitlis
‘Hugely illuminating, thought-provoking and moving in its seriousness and optimism’ Lord Andrew Adonis
ESSENTIAL READING DURING LABOUR’S LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN.
In the 21st Century the Labour Party has undergone the most extraordinary transformation in its history. After more than a decade of political dominance, the party lost two consecutive general elections and found its leadership usurped by the obscure far-left MP Jeremy Corbyn. As Britain voted to leave the EU, Labour seemed destined for long term irrelevance.
In Left for Dead? journalist Lewis Goodall tells the full story of this political journey with unprecedented access to all its key players, from Blair to Corbyn. Weaving together personal memoir, exclusive interviews, juicy gossip and incisive critique, he travels from the streets of his childhood in the shadow of the Birmingham Rover factory to the corridors of power in Westminster, tracing the journey of the party from the twilight of the ‘Third Way’ to the tumult of the financial crisis to the ravages of Brexit and Corbynism.
Because one thing is for certain – the traditional social democratic centre-left which we have known since the war is barely twitching in the road. But what has replaced it? Where has it come from? And what does it mean for the long-term future of the Labour Party?
‘Lewis Goodall is one of the most exciting voices in British politics right now’ Emily Maitlis
‘Hugely illuminating, thought-provoking and moving in its seriousness and optimism’ Lord Andrew Adonis
ESSENTIAL READING DURING LABOUR’S LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN.
In the 21st Century the Labour Party has undergone the most extraordinary transformation in its history. After more than a decade of political dominance, the party lost two consecutive general elections and found its leadership usurped by the obscure far-left MP Jeremy Corbyn. As Britain voted to leave the EU, Labour seemed destined for long term irrelevance.
In Left for Dead? journalist Lewis Goodall tells the full story of this political journey with unprecedented access to all its key players, from Blair to Corbyn. Weaving together personal memoir, exclusive interviews, juicy gossip and incisive critique, he travels from the streets of his childhood in the shadow of the Birmingham Rover factory to the corridors of power in Westminster, tracing the journey of the party from the twilight of the ‘Third Way’ to the tumult of the financial crisis to the ravages of Brexit and Corbynism.
Because one thing is for certain – the traditional social democratic centre-left which we have known since the war is barely twitching in the road. But what has replaced it? Where has it come from? And what does it mean for the long-term future of the Labour Party?
395 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 12, 2019
Blown away by this to be honest. This guy is the next David Dimbleby. Great to read a contemporary up to date analysis of how UK politics has changed in recent years, focusing on why things are happening the way they are these days, looking at generational effects and issues of the day like brexit, globalisation and identity. Superb read and helped me answer a lot of questions and unresolved matters that were lying around my mind.
December 23, 2018
This guy is bright. He has a real working class background, father worked at Rover Longbridge and faced middle aged redundancy, an always Labour voting family. He worked his way through bad schooling to Oxford and into TV journalism, to Sky. Like many socially mobile people, he had unusual determination and focus. At the beginning of the book he wonders about writing a whole one, rather than the usual soundbytes, but he warms up to it and is coherent and revealing and with his background and position at the heart of modern Labour politics, it is bang up to date and he has interviewed many of its members and been to many of its meetings. I love his description of the middle class woman at Conference who cuts him off because he works for Sky which makes profits and means he must be indoctrinated personally by Rupert Murdoch.
October 20, 2018
The 2017 UK general election was supposed to represent the ultimate destruction of the British Labour party. Shackled with an incompetent, extremist leader, and with the party utterly divided and riven with factional conflicts from top to bottom, conventional political wisdom saw this as the election that the Labour party would face utter annihilation as their traditional support base defected en masse to the Tories. Yet, Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party stunned the political pundits, defying all predictions to hugely increase their vote, and gaining enough seats to wipe out Theresa May’s parliamentary majority. How did this happen? That’s one of the questions that Sky News reporter Lewis Goodall sets out to answer in “Left for Dead”, in addition to attempting to examine how Labour lost power after Tony Blair, lost much of its traditional support base, and somehow ended up with the hard left veteran Jeremy Corbyn as its party leader.
Goodall is a self-confessed admirer of Tony Blair and the whole late 90s ‘New Labour’ agenda – something which might allow much of the Corbynite left to dismiss this book as embittered and hopelessly compromised. That would be a shame, as there is much they could learn from “Left for Dead’s” analysis of the strengths and many weaknesses of the contemporary left. And despite coming from the self-declared ‘moderate’ wing of the party, Goodall is even-handed at judging the performance of all the competing factions within Labour.
Goodall is fascinating on how the explosion in the number of university graduates in Britain over the last 50 years has pulled left wing parties away from their traditional working-class roots. As university graduates have come to make up an ever-growing proportion of the electorate, Labour has found itself tailoring its appeal far more to this segment of the population. But, by chasing a cohort that places a much greater emphasis on individual cultural values, Labour has found itself increasingly estranged from the working-class communities that have historically formed the bedrock of their support (“the left lost touch with the economic and cultural lives of its voters”).
“Left for Dead” is astute in its analysis of the changing nature of the British Labour Party. Despite claiming to be a throwback to ‘Old Labour’s’ industrial roots in Northern England and South Wales, Goodall sees Jeremey Corbyn’s electoral appeal as being based on “a coalition of the bourgeois, the educated and the European” (the latter being particularly ironic given Corbyn’s longstanding antipathy to anything to do with the EU). A further warning from Goodall that the Corbynite left would do well to heed is that their current electoral coalition is contingent on the opposition of the educated middle class to Brexit, and the party faces a precarious balancing act trying to maintain this new support while trying to halt their old working-class base bleeding away.
Goodall also sounds a number of warnings to the British left about reading too much into the Labour Party’s surprisingly strong performance at the 2017 General Election and cautions against seeing it as an indication that Jeremy Corbyn is only “one more heave” away from occupying 10 Downing Street. He sounds further caveats regarding interpreting the 2017 election result as representing a surge of public enthusiasm for a radically socialist anti-austerity agenda, and cautions against the kind of Labour complacency that underestimates the Tories’ survival instinct and ability to cling onto power.
Perhaps one of the most salutary parts of “Left for Dead” concerns the incredibly hostile external environment that faces Corbyn’s Labour Party should they somehow manage to crawl into government. In an illuminating penultimate chapter, Goodall offers a warning from history to a Corbyn-led government, citing the experience of Francois Mitterrand in early 1980s France as an illustration of the almost impossible prospect of instituting a socialist siege economy in a hyper-globalised world.
The most captivating sections of “Left for Dead” are those that deal with the history of the British Labour Party. Lewis Goodall makes a very compelling case that Corbynism – despite its claims to embody a return to ‘real labour values’ – actually represents a radical rupture with anything that has gone before within the Labour Party over the last hundred years. Goodall’s academic grounding is in the history of the labour movement, and it is in the forensic exploration of the various strands that makes up that movement where “Left for Dead” is on the most solid ground.
“Left for Dead” presents a convincing case as to why social democracy is in (possibly irreversible) decline across the world. Despite this, however, the huge flaw in “Left for Dead” is that it is unable to convincingly explain how a Labour party seemingly destined for the dustbin of history – and led by a far-left fossil in the form of Jeremy Corbyn – was able to retain so much of their traditional working class voters and command the support of 40% of the electorate at the 2017 General Election. This level of support might be ephemeral and unsustainable – and liable to disintegrate when Labour are forced to take a definitive stance on Brexit. But, it is a serious shortcoming of “Left for Dead” that Lewis Goodall can’t precisely pinpoint how a borderline Marxist in the shape of Jeremy Corbyn is seemingly on the cusp of ascending to the position of prime minister of the UK. For a book that otherwise offers quite a detailed and penetrating analysis of how the Labour Party arrived at its current situation, this is a glaring oversight.
Having said all that, there is still much in “Left for Dead” that would be thought-provoking to anybody trying to get on handle on the Labour Party, Corbynism and – by extension – the horror show that is contemporary British politics. Recommended for political nerds, students of labour history, and armchair Marxists alike.
Goodall is a self-confessed admirer of Tony Blair and the whole late 90s ‘New Labour’ agenda – something which might allow much of the Corbynite left to dismiss this book as embittered and hopelessly compromised. That would be a shame, as there is much they could learn from “Left for Dead’s” analysis of the strengths and many weaknesses of the contemporary left. And despite coming from the self-declared ‘moderate’ wing of the party, Goodall is even-handed at judging the performance of all the competing factions within Labour.
Goodall is fascinating on how the explosion in the number of university graduates in Britain over the last 50 years has pulled left wing parties away from their traditional working-class roots. As university graduates have come to make up an ever-growing proportion of the electorate, Labour has found itself tailoring its appeal far more to this segment of the population. But, by chasing a cohort that places a much greater emphasis on individual cultural values, Labour has found itself increasingly estranged from the working-class communities that have historically formed the bedrock of their support (“the left lost touch with the economic and cultural lives of its voters”).
“Left for Dead” is astute in its analysis of the changing nature of the British Labour Party. Despite claiming to be a throwback to ‘Old Labour’s’ industrial roots in Northern England and South Wales, Goodall sees Jeremey Corbyn’s electoral appeal as being based on “a coalition of the bourgeois, the educated and the European” (the latter being particularly ironic given Corbyn’s longstanding antipathy to anything to do with the EU). A further warning from Goodall that the Corbynite left would do well to heed is that their current electoral coalition is contingent on the opposition of the educated middle class to Brexit, and the party faces a precarious balancing act trying to maintain this new support while trying to halt their old working-class base bleeding away.
Goodall also sounds a number of warnings to the British left about reading too much into the Labour Party’s surprisingly strong performance at the 2017 General Election and cautions against seeing it as an indication that Jeremy Corbyn is only “one more heave” away from occupying 10 Downing Street. He sounds further caveats regarding interpreting the 2017 election result as representing a surge of public enthusiasm for a radically socialist anti-austerity agenda, and cautions against the kind of Labour complacency that underestimates the Tories’ survival instinct and ability to cling onto power.
Perhaps one of the most salutary parts of “Left for Dead” concerns the incredibly hostile external environment that faces Corbyn’s Labour Party should they somehow manage to crawl into government. In an illuminating penultimate chapter, Goodall offers a warning from history to a Corbyn-led government, citing the experience of Francois Mitterrand in early 1980s France as an illustration of the almost impossible prospect of instituting a socialist siege economy in a hyper-globalised world.
The most captivating sections of “Left for Dead” are those that deal with the history of the British Labour Party. Lewis Goodall makes a very compelling case that Corbynism – despite its claims to embody a return to ‘real labour values’ – actually represents a radical rupture with anything that has gone before within the Labour Party over the last hundred years. Goodall’s academic grounding is in the history of the labour movement, and it is in the forensic exploration of the various strands that makes up that movement where “Left for Dead” is on the most solid ground.
“Left for Dead” presents a convincing case as to why social democracy is in (possibly irreversible) decline across the world. Despite this, however, the huge flaw in “Left for Dead” is that it is unable to convincingly explain how a Labour party seemingly destined for the dustbin of history – and led by a far-left fossil in the form of Jeremy Corbyn – was able to retain so much of their traditional working class voters and command the support of 40% of the electorate at the 2017 General Election. This level of support might be ephemeral and unsustainable – and liable to disintegrate when Labour are forced to take a definitive stance on Brexit. But, it is a serious shortcoming of “Left for Dead” that Lewis Goodall can’t precisely pinpoint how a borderline Marxist in the shape of Jeremy Corbyn is seemingly on the cusp of ascending to the position of prime minister of the UK. For a book that otherwise offers quite a detailed and penetrating analysis of how the Labour Party arrived at its current situation, this is a glaring oversight.
Having said all that, there is still much in “Left for Dead” that would be thought-provoking to anybody trying to get on handle on the Labour Party, Corbynism and – by extension – the horror show that is contemporary British politics. Recommended for political nerds, students of labour history, and armchair Marxists alike.
February 24, 2025
Would have been more topical when it first came out (obviously)
December 15, 2019
Prescient.
July 18, 2020
Well writen, well evidenced, well judged, this is knowledgeable, conscious of its own potential pitfalls and sympathetic of those on all sides. Highly recommended, not just in itself but also because it makes you want to read more.
I wonder if there is a similar book on the Conservative Party. Perhaps that should be the author’s next project. (Also makes me feel more trusting of Sky News, not that I’ll still ever watch it.)
I wonder if there is a similar book on the Conservative Party. Perhaps that should be the author’s next project. (Also makes me feel more trusting of Sky News, not that I’ll still ever watch it.)
August 2, 2023
This is a fascinating and at times insightful read about the Corbyn years in government, and the identity crisis besetting the Labour Party since about 1974. It posits that Corbyn, rather than a panacea for this problem, was simply another iteration of this melodrama - and a sometime pernicious one at that.
Its tone on Corbyn's Labour strikes from damning to moderately sympathethic, rooting its analysis more firmly in that of pittying observer rather than political pundit - and it works.
This book is clearly not meant to meet scholarly and academic standards, but it was still disappointing to have only a PAGE of notes and bibliography, and minimal citation where citation would otherwise be a requirement. Relying often on anecdote to produce its more punching arguments, this book would be a stronger case for Labour unification if it was grounded less on opinion (at least, few opinions) and a more varied and articulate sourcebase. It is when this book is founded in the evidence, especially its chapter on the 2017 GE, where it is strongest. Likewise, reading this book after the 2019 election, analysing the section for what could come after 2017 - this was published initially in 2018 - was slightly cringe inducing postulating what could happen, when, after all, we know exactly what happened in December 2019.
Writing comes off somewhat lackadaisical and "casual", favouring jokes and repetition rather than grounded analysis of trend and theme. This is especially jarring when the author jaunts somewhat excessively into a niche - if not high level - vocabulary which just reminds the reader he attended Oxford University, rather than adding something noteworthy to the prose.
Nonetheless, strongly recommended for those with even a cursory interest in Corbyn or the Labour Party generally. However, for the well versed, this is nothing new.
Its tone on Corbyn's Labour strikes from damning to moderately sympathethic, rooting its analysis more firmly in that of pittying observer rather than political pundit - and it works.
This book is clearly not meant to meet scholarly and academic standards, but it was still disappointing to have only a PAGE of notes and bibliography, and minimal citation where citation would otherwise be a requirement. Relying often on anecdote to produce its more punching arguments, this book would be a stronger case for Labour unification if it was grounded less on opinion (at least, few opinions) and a more varied and articulate sourcebase. It is when this book is founded in the evidence, especially its chapter on the 2017 GE, where it is strongest. Likewise, reading this book after the 2019 election, analysing the section for what could come after 2017 - this was published initially in 2018 - was slightly cringe inducing postulating what could happen, when, after all, we know exactly what happened in December 2019.
Writing comes off somewhat lackadaisical and "casual", favouring jokes and repetition rather than grounded analysis of trend and theme. This is especially jarring when the author jaunts somewhat excessively into a niche - if not high level - vocabulary which just reminds the reader he attended Oxford University, rather than adding something noteworthy to the prose.
Nonetheless, strongly recommended for those with even a cursory interest in Corbyn or the Labour Party generally. However, for the well versed, this is nothing new.
October 6, 2018
A strange polemic which reads as a curious mix between an adolescent memoir and a strait laced look at the phenomena of Corbynism. The book is irritating as it offers up far too much conjecture based on a thin veneer of evidence. Of interest is the parallels the author suggests between a radical Labour government and the first administration of Francois Mitterrand - this was a genuine novel take which I have not read before.
Apart from this, the book is missed opportunity for deep analysis into inequality and the decline of political decision making that has lead to the current dire state of UK politics. A flimsy and unremarkable read.
Apart from this, the book is missed opportunity for deep analysis into inequality and the decline of political decision making that has lead to the current dire state of UK politics. A flimsy and unremarkable read.
January 11, 2020
Part memoir, part political history and analysis, this book weaves together Goodall’s own experience of growing up in a pro-Labour working class family whilst also looking at the wider rise of Corbynism in the party and the circumstances under which it occurred. This book is eerie to read following the results of the general election - I am now convinced that Goodall has access to a crystal ball! It has solidified my understanding of what went wrong in the last election for Labour and I think is an concrete piece of analysis to look to when considering the party’s next steps.
December 3, 2020
A really interesting account from a talented journalist who knows the subject inside out. Looks at the flaws in Corbynism as well as the long term problems facing the left. Great points on sheer nastiness of many on the hard left and how they are so distant from the working class.
Only criticism is that it was written before the 2019 election- so some points are out of date (others proven absolutely correct) - Hardly Goodall’ fault though
Only criticism is that it was written before the 2019 election- so some points are out of date (others proven absolutely correct) - Hardly Goodall’ fault though
January 9, 2025
I like Lewis Goodall and I listen to his LBC shown and the news agents podcast. He always comes across as measured and fair in his political analysis and this book reflects this aswell. His idea that the 2017 election was not as good a result for Labour as first thought is intresting, and not wildly recognised, but helps to explain the bad loss in 2019. A very intresting book, would recommend.
December 18, 2019
Excellent recent history of the Labour Party giving a personal background to highlight the history and issues.A certain prescience to the closing chapters , written well before the 2019 general election.Perhaps Lewis will write a follow up to this.
July 29, 2025
I listened to this on audiobook, enjoyed the content but the narrator was awful.
A lot of the book was about Corbyn, which I found interesting. If your a die hard lefty I'm sure you'll enjoy this, but I suggest you get the print version and avoid the audiobook.
A lot of the book was about Corbyn, which I found interesting. If your a die hard lefty I'm sure you'll enjoy this, but I suggest you get the print version and avoid the audiobook.
Read
September 8, 2019Interesting read however I felt that the role of the media and elites who influence politics could have been scrutinised more.
January 21, 2020
Good book, very insightful. Somewhat irrelevant in places following the General Election result but witty and a laugh in places
January 6, 2024
the only book i read last year i’ve retained information from. also helped me name the most past prime ministers in my politics class so cheers for that lewis
November 28, 2024
Great book, very well written and a great insight into The Corbyn years from someone close to the workings.
May 10, 2020
As a Labour member, councillor, activist and someone who worked for one of the largest local party's in London, this book is an incredibly well researched and documented book on the Corbyn years.
The story charts the rise of Corbyn to leader and the issues the party faced, as well as strong analysis of why this happened, why Labour did better than expected in 2017, why anti-semitism was an issue for the party and he even goes on to predict the 2019 result.
A must read for anyone interested in British politics.
The story charts the rise of Corbyn to leader and the issues the party faced, as well as strong analysis of why this happened, why Labour did better than expected in 2017, why anti-semitism was an issue for the party and he even goes on to predict the 2019 result.
A must read for anyone interested in British politics.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews