Against the Tide: Diaries, 1973-77 - Softcover

This third volume of Benn's political diaries brings us to a watershed in British politics - the post-war consensus is finally buried, with the defeat of Heath, the stormy resignation of Wilson and Callaghan's brief rule preparing the way for a new era of Thatcher domination. 1973 saw Ted Heath's ailing government locked in confrontation with the miners and the three-day week, incapable of responding to the OPEC oil crisis. Candle-lit offices and power cuts finally forced a general election on the issue of "who governs Britain", returning the surprised Labour party back into power. But Tony Benn himself is under attack from all sides - an increasingly hostile and crafty press, the CBI, the Treasury and, most important, Number 10 itself - as he attempts to pursue the radical policies in Labour's election manifesto. The first two volumes of Benn's political diaries are entitled, "Out of the Wilderness" and "Office Without Power".