Link to this page: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/643/10458
From The Socialist newspaper, 20 October 2010
Reviews
Days of Hope
By Jim Allen,
Reviewed by Leigh Cartwright
AT A car boot sale I bought (for 20p!) a book called Days of Hope by Jim Allen. The book, which can be found second-hand on the internet, was the fictional story (but historically accurate) of a group of workers between World War One and the 1926 general strike.
The book was turned into a short TV series by Ken Loach and shown on television in 1975. I remember the film series and its dramatic impact.
What particularly struck me was the book's utterly realistic portrayal of the events that led to the attack on the miners and the general strike. Jim Allen described in savage detail the spineless nature of the TUC general council and the trade union leaders - both right and left - who betrayed the aspirations of the millions who took part in the strike.
He also correctly criticised the tactics and strategy of the Communist Party at the time who, in showing over-reliance on the trade union leaders, ultimately led their own members up the garden path.
The TV series led to an outcry from the British establishment in 1975. They described the series as unbalanced and were angry at descriptions of the role of the government, the police and the army. The series producer Tony Garnett said at the time: "Our own anger is reserved for the phoney objectivity, the tone of balance and fairness affected by so many programmes.
"We deal in fiction and tell the truth as we see it. So many self-styled 'factual' programmes are full of unacknowledged bias... you really are in danger from them and not us."
In one thing little has changed between 1926 and today - most of the TUC general council would still act in such a spineless, unprincipled manner.
The book's descriptions of the union leaders grovelling at the feet of Tory cabinet members like prime minister Baldwin and chancellor Churchill - whilst the government was busy plotting to destroy the trade union movement - rang very true. Allen could have been describing many of our current union leaders.
As this government sets out about destroying the welfare state and attacking the living standards and livelihoods of working people, we are entering a period of massive industrial unrest.
A reading of the events that led to the 1926 general strike and its lessons for the current generation of activists is essential for us all.
If you can find a copy of Jim Allen's book I strongly recommend reading it. Searching for the film on the internet will take you to an online petition calling on the British Film Institute to release the series on DVD.
Sign the petition as it really was an extraordinary and realistic dramatic portrayal of these important events.
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In The Socialist 20 October 2010:
Anti-cuts campaign
Fight all cuts in jobs and services
Build coordinated action to stop cuts
Socialist Party news and analysis
NHS: Not safe in Con-Dem hands
Coventry jobs slaughter - unions must fight back
Government slams door shut on social housing
Osborne mugs poor to pay for rich
Socialist Students
Mass action needed to defeat fees and cuts
Warwick university - students condemn escalation of fees
Leeds university - protest following Browne review
Socialist Party workplace news
Huge demo against passport office closure in Newport
RMT executive election: Support Lewis Peacock
Police try to stifle Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition protest
Strike forces concessions at Tyneside Safety Glass
International socialist news and analysis
Protest, strike, fightback! French workers and youth challenge cuts
World economy heading for 'double-dip' recession
Socialism 2010
Socialism 2010: ideas to fight the cuts
Socialist Party reviews
Days of Hope by Jim Allen, reviewed by Leigh Cartwright
Enter Shikari - Common Dreads (album 2009)
Sport
Liverpool FC: "They don't care about fans!"
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