The Wild Men: The Remarkable Story of Britain’s First Labour Government

The incredible story of the first Labour administration and the ‘wild men’ who shook up the British establishment.

In 1923, four short years since the end of the First World War, and after the passing of the Act which gave all men the vote, an inconclusive election result and the prospect of a constitutional crisis opened the door for a radically different sort of government: men from working-class backgrounds who had never before occupied the corridors of power at Westminster.

The Wild Men tells the story of that first Labour administration – its unexpected birth, fraught existence, and controversial downfall – through the eyes of those who found themselves in the House of Commons, running the country for the people. Blending biography and history into a compelling narrative, David Torrance reassesses the UK’s first Labour government a century after it shook up a British establishment still reeling from the War – and how the establishment eventually fought back.

This is an extraordinary period in British political history which echoes down the years to our current politics and laid the foundations for the Britain of today.

Reviews of The Wild Men: The Remarkable Story of Britain’s First Labour Government

This lively and interesting book is based on an impressive amount of archival research. Combining engaging anecdotes and sound judgements, it provides a highly readable guide to a landmark historical episode. * Richard Toye, author of Age of Hope: Labour, 1945, and the Birth of Modern Britain. * In the nick of time, as its centenary approaches, David Torrance has rescued the first Labour government from the lay-by of British political history. With meticulous reconstruction and careful judgement, he shows there was more policy achievement in its precarious nine months of minority life than it has been given credit for. Civil war has always been Labour's special subject, but all the factions can agree on this – that David Torrance's story is a fine and fascinating piece of work with some intriguing parallels for our own times to savour and ponder. * Peter Hennessy *