Waiting for the Revolution

Waiting for the revolution is a second volume of essays examining the diverse currents of British left-wing politics from 1956 to the present day. The book is designed to complement the previous volume, Against the Grain: The Far Left in Britain from 1956 (Manchester University Press, 2014), bringing together young and established academics and writers to discuss the realignments and fissures that maintain leftist politics into the twenty-first century. The books endeavour to historicise the British left, detailing but also seeking to understand the diverse currents that comprise the far left. Their objective is less to intervene in on-going issues relevant to the left and politics more generally, and more to uncover and explore the traditions and issues that have preoccupied leftist groups, activists and struggles.

To this end, the book will appeal to scholars and anyone interested in British politics. It serves as an introduction to the far left, providing concise overviews of organisations, social movements and campaigns. Where the first volume examined the questions of anti-racism, gender politics and gay rights, volume two explores anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid struggles, alongside introductions to Militant and the Revolutionary Communist Party.