The untold story of British politics in modern times, through the triumphs and disasters of its five most radical figures
In the great revolutionary year of 1968, Tony Benn was a respectable Labour minister in his forties, and he was restless. While new social movements were shaking up Britain and much of the world, Westminster politics seemed stuck. It was time, he decided, for a different approach.
Over the next half century, the radicalized Benn helped forge a new left in Britain. He was joined by four other politicians, who would become comrades, collaborators and rivals- Ken Livingstone, John McDonnell, Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn.
For Andy Beckett, the story of these admired and loathed political explorers – both their sudden breakthroughs and long stretches in the wilderness – is the untold story of British politics in modern times. As he reveals, their project to create a radically more equal, liberal and democratic Britain has been much more influential than electoral history might suggest, and can be seen from the shape of our city life to the causes of our culture wars.
For their many detractors, this influence was and remains dangerous- a form of extremism that must be stamped out. But as these five searchers believed, in politics there is no total victory – nor total defeat.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 576
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication date: 05/08/2025
The Searchers
By Andy Beckett
Review by Harry
Published shortly before the start of Keir Starmer’s first time in government, The Searchers chronicles the life and times of five iconic figures of the British hard-Left. Tony Benn (Cabinet minister in the Wilson Governments), Ken Livingstone (Mayor of London), Jeremy Corbyn (party leader 2015-2020), Dianne Abbot (shadow Home Secretary under Corbyn), and John McDonnell (shadow Finance Minister under Corbyn).
Beckett provides an account that is neither partial nor partisan. The reader will enjoy the time that is taken to explore the formative periods of these titans of the Left – a real portrait emerges of the humans behind the mythos. We see Tony Benn’s transition from pedestrian centrist to ‘the most dangerous man in Britain’ not as a process of extremist radicalization, but as gradual evolution stemming from his intellectual and social exploration of why the systems he grappled with as a minister were proving unable to address the ‘omnicrisis’ of his time (the late 1960s and ‘70s). The legacy of Benn’s formulation of a new ‘democratic left’ continues to serve as the basis and inspiration for elements of the radical Left today.
Beckett’s talent is in allowing the subjects of this work to be presented warts-and-all, writing with empathy but not hagiography. The reader will not just learn the granular ups-and-downs of electoral politics on the Left but take away something far greater – the lessons learned about character, relationships, the foibles and the quiet goodness in human beings. Taking its title from the famous Western, this text is ultimately an uplifting read in its portrait of what drives humans to pursue something greater than themselves, even at the expense of their own self-preservation.
