Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour Under Corbyn
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- Create Date：2021-05-20 18:15:54
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- Author：Gabriel Pogrund
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Summary
'THE POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR' Tim Shipman
A blistering narrative exposé of infighting， skulduggery and chaos in Corbyn's Labour party， now revised and updated。
* A Times， Guardian， Daily Telegraph， Sunday Times and i Newspaper Book of the Year *
Left Out tells， for the first time， the astonishing full story of Labour's recent transformation and historic defeat。
Drawing on unrivalled access， this blistering exposé moves from the peak of Jeremy Corbyn's popularity and the shock hung parliament of 2017 to Labour's humbling in 2019 and the election of Keir Starmer。 It reveals a party at war with itself， and puts the reader in the room as tensions boil over， sworn enemies forge unlikely alliances and lifelong friendships are tested to breaking point。
This is the ultimate account of the greatest experiment seen in British politics for a generation。
'Gripping。。。 Every bit as good as people say' Guardian
'Reads like a thriller。。。told with panache and pace' Financial Times
'The definitive post-mortem of the Corbyn project' Sunday Times
A blistering narrative exposé of infighting， skulduggery and chaos in Corbyn's Labour party， now revised and updated。
* A Times， Guardian， Daily Telegraph， Sunday Times and i Newspaper Book of the Year *
Left Out tells， for the first time， the astonishing full story of Labour's recent transformation and historic defeat。
Drawing on unrivalled access， this blistering exposé moves from the peak of Jeremy Corbyn's popularity and the shock hung parliament of 2017 to Labour's humbling in 2019 and the election of Keir Starmer。 It reveals a party at war with itself， and puts the reader in the room as tensions boil over， sworn enemies forge unlikely alliances and lifelong friendships are tested to breaking point。
This is the ultimate account of the greatest experiment seen in British politics for a generation。
'Gripping。。。 Every bit as good as people say' Guardian
'Reads like a thriller。。。told with panache and pace' Financial Times
'The definitive post-mortem of the Corbyn project' Sunday Times
Reviews
Ted Richards
，
A concise， focused exploration of the UK Labour Party from the surprising success of 2017 to the disastrous election in 2019。Descriptions of this book as ‘breath-taking work of political journalism’ may be slightly exaggerated， but not wholly off the mark。 It’s very good。 For anybody interested in contemporary labour politics， specifically the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn， this feels like a must read。 Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire have done an exceptional job of collecting a variety of opi A concise， focused exploration of the UK Labour Party from the surprising success of 2017 to the disastrous election in 2019。Descriptions of this book as ‘breath-taking work of political journalism’ may be slightly exaggerated， but not wholly off the mark。 It’s very good。 For anybody interested in contemporary labour politics， specifically the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn， this feels like a must read。 Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire have done an exceptional job of collecting a variety of opinions and perspectives。 Going in I worried it would be a hatchet job， but it works because their portrayal of Corbyn comes across as well balanced， with a good understanding of why he was such a popular leader。 The audiobook is also superb。 It’s well produced and superbly narrated by Matthew Spencer at an easy pace， well suited to non-fiction storytelling。In general， the book focuses on different hotspots throughout Corbyn’s term as Leader of the Opposition， consistently illuminating the hidden figures surrounding him。 It is geared towards a general reader， with a healthy but not obsessive interest in politics。 This means that readers are not expected to remember everyone and job titles， in relation to Corbyn are repeated and often well explained。 It’s a very accessible book and focuses on the political relationships rather than policy。 One consequence of this is that it further characterises the Labour Party in this period as lacking clear policy direction。 It will ring true to the general opinion on the party， which the authors seem to have little interest in dispelling。 John McDonald and Tom Watson probably come out of this best， but nobody looks splendid in how Pogrund and Maguire detail the infighting between Southside （The institutional Labour party）， LOTO and the Parliamentary Labour Party。 Moreover， as would be expected， in ends on a rather pessimistic viewpoint， reiterating that all the ideological merit in the world goes little way without meaningful power to enact it。 I’d recommend this to anybody interested in Corbyn， the UK Labour movement or political intrigue。 It’s remarkably easy to follow， detailed and well researched。 。。。more
Alexander， James Pickering
，
An engaging and informative account of Labour under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn。Despite strong support at the grassroot level of the party and a better-than-expected performace during the 2017 election， Corbyn struggled to gain the support of his MP's， the press， and the public。 As Paul Hilder notes， "the souffle never rises twice" and the party's performace during the 2019 election proved fatal to Corbyn's position。 While Pogrund and Maguire are not unsympathetic to Corbyn's difficulties as An engaging and informative account of Labour under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn。Despite strong support at the grassroot level of the party and a better-than-expected performace during the 2017 election， Corbyn struggled to gain the support of his MP's， the press， and the public。 As Paul Hilder notes， "the souffle never rises twice" and the party's performace during the 2019 election proved fatal to Corbyn's position。 While Pogrund and Maguire are not unsympathetic to Corbyn's difficulties as Labour leader， their concluding remarks are quite damning:"。。。his [Corbyn's] Labour Party was neither brutal nor conciliatory。 It was nothing。" 。。。more
Oliver
，
a 350 page narrative on the importance of effective corporate structures and the pitfalls of a political leader unwilling， or unable， to wield executive power， with all the glamour and cheer that implies。
Alex Clare
，
This was a comprehensive account of what happened。 What I really wanted was why it happened - why people who all shared the same objective seemed to be unable to work together or agree on anything？
spen
，
I believe the chief significance of this book is its airing of a couple of scandals which otherwise received little attention。 It almost succeeds in expressing a crucial description of Corbyn's unsuitability for extraordinary scrutiny and high office （his reliance on others; his insecurities; his indecisiveness; his defensiveness， etc。）， but stutters because it lacks substantive psychological insight on the man， instead repeating canards and rumours。 As a partial catalogue of internal natter， it I believe the chief significance of this book is its airing of a couple of scandals which otherwise received little attention。 It almost succeeds in expressing a crucial description of Corbyn's unsuitability for extraordinary scrutiny and high office （his reliance on others; his insecurities; his indecisiveness; his defensiveness， etc。）， but stutters because it lacks substantive psychological insight on the man， instead repeating canards and rumours。 As a partial catalogue of internal natter， it has value。 。。。more
Sean
，
A must read for political buffs， that being said I listened to the audio book。After the disastrous December 2019 general election this book was almost a piece of nostalgic escapism for the Indian summer of Labour socialism， albeit nostalgia for tinged with feelings of my own naivety that Corbyn might eventually succeed。 I remember the election of 2017 as a beautiful piece of schadenfreude for the government of Theresa May， I woke up to the news that she could not form a majority administration， A must read for political buffs， that being said I listened to the audio book。After the disastrous December 2019 general election this book was almost a piece of nostalgic escapism for the Indian summer of Labour socialism， albeit nostalgia for tinged with feelings of my own naivety that Corbyn might eventually succeed。 I remember the election of 2017 as a beautiful piece of schadenfreude for the government of Theresa May， I woke up to the news that she could not form a majority administration， the future of the nation was hanging in the balance。 There was much enthusiasm from people of my generation in the following weeks， but what happened？ Corbyn seemed poised to take over the reigns of Prime Minister at any moment， but the party imploded descended into ignominy。 The ground built up in 2017 had crumbled to dust， I recognised this but never had a deep understanding as to why this had happened。This book fills in the gaps by detailing the circumstances of Corbyn administration the party behind the scenes。 The overall picture is not pretty and includes much in the way of political deadlock and incompetence。 Corbyn emerges as a decent but naïve leader， lacking the hard-headed ability to make hard decisions。 The book is balanced and wide-ranging， with each major player being well drawn。 If you are interested in the history and future of the Labour party them don't pass on this masterful summary of an exciting， sometimes infuriating， and certainly unique， period of its existence。 。。。more
Matt
，
As someone with minimal knowledge of the intricacies of UK politics， this could easily have been a long read。 However， it was instead a delight。 Deeply engaging and fast-moving， the authors present a whirlwind history of Corbyn’s Labour Party。 I couldn’t recommend it more highly。
Glyn
，
This book chronicles the remarkable not to say catastrophic period when the British Labour Party was run by the "Project" a group eager to restore the Party to it's left wing roots。 The core of this book is Jeremy Corbyn the least likely political icon it is possible to imagine。 British readers will know how this ended in the 2019 General Election， for non Brits the clue lies in my use of "catastrophic" as it was Labour's worst electoral defeat since 1935 （ ab election where they were the sole o This book chronicles the remarkable not to say catastrophic period when the British Labour Party was run by the "Project" a group eager to restore the Party to it's left wing roots。 The core of this book is Jeremy Corbyn the least likely political icon it is possible to imagine。 British readers will know how this ended in the 2019 General Election， for non Brits the clue lies in my use of "catastrophic" as it was Labour's worst electoral defeat since 1935 （ ab election where they were the sole opposition to a coalition of every other party called "the National Government"The book is written by two respected members of the British political press and they have used their contacts to talk to most of the people who inhabited the upper echelons of the Labour Party and more importantly the Leader of the Oppostiion （LOTO） offive。 They retain an ttheir theexcellent sense of impartiality and their prose is never less than readable。Pogrund does a superb job in conveying the inside vibe which veers dramatically from a Sophoclean sense of tragedy with a tale of a profoundly good man who is blind to his own failings yet pushed by circumstances beyond his control into a job he never wanted。 The self inflicted crisis around the Party's stance on anti Semitism is portrayed as existentially crippling Corbyn who was accused of being the thing he had spent his life fighing。 There is somethng moving in reading about the flunk Corbyn is described as descending into。That sense of tragedy is swoft;ly replaced with the Whitehall farce that erupted with the attempt to unseat the Deputy Leader Tom Watson。 I will not spoil it for you but the writers of such political comedies as Yes Minister and the Thick of it would enjoy it。 Others may struggle to believe it happened。 The abiding memory I will have from this book is the petty fighting and paranoia that consumed the whole Project that led to a General Election campaign that bordered on farce on several occasoionsAn essential read for any Labour party member seeking answers of the student of politics。 。。。more
Barney
，
This。。。 isn’t great。 It feels like you’ve been trapped in the lift with the office gossip。 There’s moments of genuine insight re: some of the decisions/leadership （or lack thereof） around issues that plagued and divided the Party under Corbyn - namely antisemitism and Brexit。But mostly， it’s what you’d expect from a Sunday Times political journalist。 It’s super Westminister-focused and gives absolutely no insight as to what was happening around the country。 It makes blanket Westminster-y stateme This。。。 isn’t great。 It feels like you’ve been trapped in the lift with the office gossip。 There’s moments of genuine insight re: some of the decisions/leadership （or lack thereof） around issues that plagued and divided the Party under Corbyn - namely antisemitism and Brexit。But mostly， it’s what you’d expect from a Sunday Times political journalist。 It’s super Westminister-focused and gives absolutely no insight as to what was happening around the country。 It makes blanket Westminster-y statements like the expulsion of Blair’s spindoctor Alastair Campbell from the party infuriating “remainers” when in reality no-one outside of Westminster would care about him。 It also shows real bias - one moment that sticks out is a person quoted who basically says “Corbyn was nice to work for but was stressed by the pressures of the 2019 election” and then using it to insinuate Corbyn was suffering some kind of mental breakdown related to his age。 I also don’t think any account of the Labour disaster in 2019 is complete without an examination of how a tiny set of billionaires own the U。K。 press， and how viciously said media and the BBC attacked Corbyn while giving the Tories a free ride。It’s final chapter about Keir Starmer really sticks in the throat too， just serving to underline how much Starmer has betrayed the values and principles he ran his leadership campaign on。So， yeah。 Genuinely depressing reading， and not just for reasons the authors might expect。 Avoid。 。。。more
Étienne-Alexandre
，
Les auteurs nous emmènent dans les coulisses du Labour Party de Jeremy Corbyn entre sa presque victoire surprise de 2017 et sa cuisante défaite de 2019。 Un livre très bien documenté， qui rappelle les deux excellents ouvrages de Tim Shipman du côté conservateur。
Ben Walker
，
A brilliant and insightful， if not educating， read on the state of the Labour party。"Power was not something he [Corbyn] pursued。 At times it felt like he was a man living in anticipation of another happy accident。" A brilliant and insightful， if not educating， read on the state of the Labour party。"Power was not something he [Corbyn] pursued。 At times it felt like he was a man living in anticipation of another happy accident。" 。。。more
Louisa Holgate
，
A really interesting review of Corbyn’s time as Labour leader。Includes accounts from senior politicians， journalists and advisors。
Sam Allen
，
The definitive account and impressively neutral and fair。 Works well in combination with Tim Shipman's All out war and Fall out。 Should be a must-read for Labour activists。 There's a lot to learn about what went well， and what didn't go well， and also the significant difficulty of managing one of the two big tent parties in British politics。 The definitive account and impressively neutral and fair。 Works well in combination with Tim Shipman's All out war and Fall out。 Should be a must-read for Labour activists。 There's a lot to learn about what went well， and what didn't go well， and also the significant difficulty of managing one of the two big tent parties in British politics。 。。。more
Rob Lloyd-jones
，
Fascinating account of the internal workings of the Labour Party between 2016 and 2019。 Only drawback was that the timeline seemed to move around within chapters creating some confusion。 Karie Murphy strikes as a key character throughout the book although the main lesson throughout is the lack of decisiveness from Corbyn。 Although a very principled man， it was clear that leadership was ill suited as it always requires compromise if you want to appeal to the electorate。 Well written but could do Fascinating account of the internal workings of the Labour Party between 2016 and 2019。 Only drawback was that the timeline seemed to move around within chapters creating some confusion。 Karie Murphy strikes as a key character throughout the book although the main lesson throughout is the lack of decisiveness from Corbyn。 Although a very principled man， it was clear that leadership was ill suited as it always requires compromise if you want to appeal to the electorate。 Well written but could do with better sign posting at times but this maybe a reflection on my own knowledge。 。。。more
Sam Cleary
，
The best political book I've ever read。 The best political book I've ever read。 。。。more
Rick Nonsense
，
Maybe it is because there isn't really much of a dramatic arc in the book。 The whole thing just peters out， exactly as it felt at the time。 Or maybe I just don't care about this stuff as much as I used to。 So much of it just seems small。 It's three hundred pages of various Labour MPs and staff fighting with each other while Corbyn doesn't do much。 If you are a fan of Corbyn you will just find it depressing， if you aren't it probably won't tell you anything you didn't already suspect about his le Maybe it is because there isn't really much of a dramatic arc in the book。 The whole thing just peters out， exactly as it felt at the time。 Or maybe I just don't care about this stuff as much as I used to。 So much of it just seems small。 It's three hundred pages of various Labour MPs and staff fighting with each other while Corbyn doesn't do much。 If you are a fan of Corbyn you will just find it depressing， if you aren't it probably won't tell you anything you didn't already suspect about his leadership and the internal state of the labour party。 。。。more
Ciar
，
God that was depressing
Ester Scott
，
A depressing account， detailing how the Left’s biggest enemy after the 2017 general election wasn’t the Tories; it was their own fellow comrades。
Johnny Lyne
，
The level of access in this book is astonishing tbh。 I a not sure this has changed my ideas about/feelings towards any of the principal players but it was great to get a high level of detail to contextualise some of the failings of that time and the types of challenges facing the Corbyn project。 I think I left it feeling sympathy for a fair number of people involved， overwhelmingly due to Corbyn being totally ill-equipped for the job and the near impossible position that put everyone else in。
Andrew Nelson
，
This book offers the evidence that some politicians have next to zero interest in doing the right thing for the country， compromising and cooperating with each other when necessary。 Instead it's constant posturing and politicking。 Nobody comes out well in this book: neither the Blairites （or indeed Blair himself） nor Corbyn and his entourage。At times it is comic; Corbyn cannot even manage his own inner circle and they are forever "bullying" each other; fighting with Sixth Form Communist vocabula This book offers the evidence that some politicians have next to zero interest in doing the right thing for the country， compromising and cooperating with each other when necessary。 Instead it's constant posturing and politicking。 Nobody comes out well in this book: neither the Blairites （or indeed Blair himself） nor Corbyn and his entourage。At times it is comic; Corbyn cannot even manage his own inner circle and they are forever "bullying" each other; fighting with Sixth Form Communist vocabulary and demanding Union representation。 The saga of Iram Chamberlain being a case in point。 Although as Left Wing as Corbyn; Murray; Milne et alia she arrives late to the LOTO party and is immediately thrust into a power struggle with Karie Murphy。 When Chamberlain's security clearance takes a while， LOTO immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's islamophobia （it isn't， she has brothers with links to Al Qaeda） - but why let facts get in the way of unjustified outrage and conspiracy theory？Other chapters are just depressing。 The utter shambles of the HoC Brexit debates under May gets a chapter which shows that LOTO was， if anything， worse。 LOTO has ample opportunity to put aside party politics to try to resolve the issues but instead chooses to encourage crisis whilst never having a position of its own。Corbyn and his comrades were full of hubris after the 2017 election loss and set about building a party in Jeremy's image。 However chapter after chapter shows he is clearly not capable of leading anything and within two years the Labour Party is lost as a political force。 I look forward to reading about the Starmer years in due course。 He has a job on his hands， that's for sure。 。。。more
Bradley Endsor
，
A detaile dlook at a movement that shook british politics and gave the left the most influence it has ever had。 A fascinating tale of the rise and fall of what they refer to as the project。 Highly enjoyable and well worth your time reading
Brian Hanson
，
Very entertaining。 And not unsympathetic to Jeremy。 Even a deep-died Tory like me was able to recognise his more admirable human qualities。
Rowena
，
OMG ngl comrade， I wanted to give this a 3 because it was a bit dry for long stretches， but obviously it was worth the effort otherwise I wouldn't have traipsed through it。 So much detail on things you just can't get from the telly。 Kind of heartbreaking that it ended up like this and that the Tories somehow don't seem to have these problems？ And the implication is that having a big heart will get you nowhere with people and politics， which is kind of disgusting？ Anyway， much to learn from， and OMG ngl comrade， I wanted to give this a 3 because it was a bit dry for long stretches， but obviously it was worth the effort otherwise I wouldn't have traipsed through it。 So much detail on things you just can't get from the telly。 Kind of heartbreaking that it ended up like this and that the Tories somehow don't seem to have these problems？ And the implication is that having a big heart will get you nowhere with people and politics， which is kind of disgusting？ Anyway， much to learn from， and nice to have it all in one place。 Now I'm off to read some poetry about， you know， life， to counterbalance the achievement of stomaching the minutiae of my least favourite topic for 350-odd pages。 Also it strangely can help you come to terms with Brexit， because seeing things from behind-the-scenes helps you to understand why it was inevitable to 'Get Brexit Done' from a party leader's point of view， no matter what the godawful basis for doing it。 I wish it wasn't so。 I wish it was 'Time For Real Change'。 Alas， that one fell flat。 （There's pathos and comedy here， so it isn't all dry。 I did actually chuckle a few times）。 I honestly think timing had a lot to do with the flop。 Seemed like pointless anger at Brussels and xenophobia （that had been stewed up years before） was more important to the country than socialism， which somehow became 'evil'。 Also， the authors don't shift blame outwards so I'll do it for them: why didn't youth vote？ So many young people loved Corbyn。 Why didn't they show up？The verdict: Worth it because I give a shit about future generations， but kind of painfully so。 。。。more
Rebecca
，
Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Entertaining and completely depressing。 The authors have put in a good deal of research and obviously have a wealth of Labour insiders spilling the beans and verifying what really went on in the 17-19 period。 They have clearly attempted to be as balanced as possible， but the muck ups are all too stark for all to see。 Although I vividly remember the key events here actually happening， I still found myself shouting at the book on occasion in frustration （“Jeremy， just Thoroughly enjoyed this book。 Entertaining and completely depressing。 The authors have put in a good deal of research and obviously have a wealth of Labour insiders spilling the beans and verifying what really went on in the 17-19 period。 They have clearly attempted to be as balanced as possible， but the muck ups are all too stark for all to see。 Although I vividly remember the key events here actually happening， I still found myself shouting at the book on occasion in frustration （“Jeremy， just apologise for the anti-Semitism already！！”）。 Cannot recommend highly enough - terrific read。 。。。more
Niamh
，
Good if you like politics but not a par on the likes of Tim Shipman's books of recent years！ Good if you like politics but not a par on the likes of Tim Shipman's books of recent years！ 。。。more
Callum
，
Thoroughly depressing read， but a necessary one for anyone really looking to understand just why the Labour Party failed so miserably to recapture the spirit of the 2017 election。 Also shows the inherent dangers of indulging in populist politics。 Highly recommend， especially as the authors are both exceptional journalists。
Igor Zurimendi
，
Does what the title says it will do brilliantly， was left wanting a bit more analysis。
Jonathan Downing
，
Quite apart from the gossip （of which there's plenty）， what this book does so effectively is really humanise the motivations and principles behind the Labour Party between 2015 and 2019。 I left with a much more rounded view of people like Corbyn and Karie Murphy's characters， which was refreshing and quite cathartic after so long seeing them through the lens of factional antipathy and， frankly， deep frustration。 Quite apart from the gossip （of which there's plenty）， what this book does so effectively is really humanise the motivations and principles behind the Labour Party between 2015 and 2019。 I left with a much more rounded view of people like Corbyn and Karie Murphy's characters， which was refreshing and quite cathartic after so long seeing them through the lens of factional antipathy and， frankly， deep frustration。 。。。more
Molly
，
Interesting insight into the inner workings of the project and the failings that led to the 2019 election result。 A balanced account but still pretty damning。 Thankfully the book concludes with a little bit of Starmer induced hope！！
Andy Walker
，