1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur
-
Jodi Burkett
Abstract
The far left were an important force on English University and Polytechnic campuses in the 1970s and 1980s but they did not control or direct student politics. By exploring the debates within the far left about students and the role of student activism this chapter sheds new light on the functioning of the far left within the student milieu. It also examines student politics in this period which, to date, have been under-researched. Many student political leaders in this period went on to important roles in mainstream politics. In exploring student politics we can, therefore, gain a greater understanding of British politics, society and culture in this period when Higher Education was changing rapidly and becoming increasingly open to the ‘masses’.
Abstract
The far left were an important force on English University and Polytechnic campuses in the 1970s and 1980s but they did not control or direct student politics. By exploring the debates within the far left about students and the role of student activism this chapter sheds new light on the functioning of the far left within the student milieu. It also examines student politics in this period which, to date, have been under-researched. Many student political leaders in this period went on to important roles in mainstream politics. In exploring student politics we can, therefore, gain a greater understanding of British politics, society and culture in this period when Higher Education was changing rapidly and becoming increasingly open to the ‘masses’.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur 11
- 2 Not that serious? 30
- 3 Protest and survive 48
- 4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s 66
- 5 ‘The merits of Brother Worth’ 88
- 6 Making miners militant? 107
- 7 Networks of solidarity 125
- 8 ‘You have to start where you’re at’ 144
- 9 Origins of the present crisis? 163
- 10 A miner cause? 182
- 11 The British radical left and Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ 201
- 12 The point is to change it 218
- 13 The Militant Tendency and entrism in the Labour Party 238
- 14 Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain 258
- Index 277
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur 11
- 2 Not that serious? 30
- 3 Protest and survive 48
- 4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s 66
- 5 ‘The merits of Brother Worth’ 88
- 6 Making miners militant? 107
- 7 Networks of solidarity 125
- 8 ‘You have to start where you’re at’ 144
- 9 Origins of the present crisis? 163
- 10 A miner cause? 182
- 11 The British radical left and Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ 201
- 12 The point is to change it 218
- 13 The Militant Tendency and entrism in the Labour Party 238
- 14 Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain 258
- Index 277
