Richard Temple is a British historian working at Senate House Library in London. He wrote a book about the achievements and failures of the British Labour Party in government. In 1924, the first (minority) government, led by Ramsay MacDonald of the Labour Party, took office. Since then, for exactly one hundred years this year, Labour has been either the governing party or the opposition leader.
Temple wrote a book about the actions and initiatives taken by the party while in power, entitled " Taken as Red: Highs and Lows of the Labour Party ." The many actions are grouped into several major themes, such as housing, rearmament, public transport, social security, and so on. The book explicitly draws comparisons with contemporary situations and figures and aims to draw lessons from the past. It is aimed at a broad audience, although unfortunately, it proved impossible to keep the price low. Highly recommended!
Somewhat to our surprise, the acknowledgments also mention two Amsab-ISG employees, former director Geert Van Goethem and Donald Weber. The reason is not hard to find. The author is a long-serving board member of the International Association of Labour History Institutions (IALHI) , of which Amsab-ISG has also been a member for decades. His many contacts and lengthy conversations with Richard are now reflected in this book. Or how international contacts often have surprising ramifications.
Richard TEMPLE
Taken as Red: Highs and Lows of the Labor Party, 1924-2019
London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2024, 307 p. ISBN 9781036407186, £69.99.
