An English Uprising

 A review by Ben Soton

  

Peterloo by Robert Poole, Hbk, 480pp, illus., Oxford University Press 2019, £25.00

I was once told to read the book then see the film.  In this case I would be forgiven as the film Peterloo was released in 2018.  The book is a study of the period and gives an insight into the events resulting in the Peterloo Massacre.

The 1810s, or late Regency England coincided with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Instead of women getting engaged to some posh bloke in tight trousers it was the time of the dark satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution.  According to Poole this era marks the end of the Long Eighteenth Century (1688 – 1832) in British history – a period beginning with William of Orange’s Glorious Revolution and ending with the Great Reform Bill. 

The Massacre took place in Manchester where the contradictions of this period were sharpest.  Manchester was an area of the expanding cotton industry, making it one of the most developed places in Britain if not the world.  Meanwhile administratively it had changed little for centuries.  Manchester was run by a clique of high-Tory landowners and clergy who lived outside the township.  These issues combined with economic hardship and even a period of bad weather created a perfect storm that led to the Peterloo Massacre.   

There are many histories about the good guys – Levellers, Chartists, Suffragettes and Communists.  Poole rightly gives coverage to the other side.  He discusses the political trend known as Loyalism; the idea of subjects actively supporting the Establishment.  Meanwhile there were occasions when Tory magistrates intervened to stabilise bread prices; Loyalism is paid for with Paternalism – think government handouts near election time.  It was also the ideological basis for the network of spies that reported back to the Home Secretary Lord Sidmouth.  Loyalism is the foundation of far-right and fascist movements to this day; a few years ago, the English Defence League threatened to attack public sector strikers.   

 Poole goes into considerable details about the opposition movements of the day.  He discusses their tactics, political theories and key figures.  The tactic of printing multiple petitions and distributing them across the country is still used by left-wing activists today.  The idea was developed by William Cartwright (1760-1824).  He also championed the idea of the franchise being extended to all tax payers; rather than just men of property.  As most goods were taxed this would have effectively meant universal suffrage; whilst property qualifications existed until the early 20th century.  

The book would be incomplete without an account of the massacre in which 15 people were killed and hundreds more injured when armed cavalry attacked a pro-democracy rally in the heart of Manchester, Poole uses a range of eye witness accounts and newspaper reports to describe the events of the day.  The attacking Yeomanry would later parade the reformers’ banners as trophies in the same way a victorious army would display enemy colours. 

The actual events of the massacre are best shown through the medium of film.  However, the book provides you with an insight into the background to the events and politics of the day making it a good companion to the film.  Although not possible in this case I now know why you should read the book first.    

 

The White Working Class – What Everyone Needs to Know

Review

By Ben Soton

The White Working Class – What Everyone Needs to Know, by Justin Gest (2018). Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780190861407; paperback, 208pp, £10.99.

This book by Justin Gest is an academic study into the plight of the white working-class  in Britain and the USA. There is renewed interest in this group, which is interesting because 20 years or so ago we were told that the working class would soon cease to exist. A narrative espoused by the Blairite Extreme Centre; a grouping more extreme than centrist. Recent studies have focused on derogatory characterisations such as Chavs, Pikies and White Trash; although this study avoids such negative terminology.

Chapter one concentrates on definitions of both white and working class. Being white is simply a reference to those of us of European lineage and the author goes into the history of how this terminology developed from the 18^th century onwards. Guest views class in terms of social and educational factors, therefore missing the point – many call centre operatives with limited job security have degrees but earn less and have worse terms and conditions than say a docker in the 1960s or 1970s.

To Marxists, class is about relationship to the means of production; the working class are those who sell their labour, namely wage earners. This definition may become blurred in the case of, for example, heart surgeons or film directors, but there is little to distinguish call-centre workers from the factory workers. Class is not some cultural lifestyle choice but about pure hard economics.

Gest covers issues of mass immigration and the decline of manufacturing industry in both countries. The book is full of the results of surveys on the attitudes of white workers towards immigration and welfare. Some of these surveys, although they show the subject group sometimes taking a tougher stance, are not at huge variance with the rest of the population.

Working-class people sometimes take a harsher view of benefit claimants, namely those who do not work., and terms such as Chav and Pikey are just as likely to be used as terms of abuse between working class people than at them. Such attitudes as well as being fuelled by tabloids may well have their origins in 19^th Century values such as thrift, punctuality, hard work and respectability.

The book discusses the impact of mass immigration of poorer communities. Gest correctly points out that historically, many migrants in low-skilled employment are often over qualified for the jobs they are initially forced to take. This means that they are sometimes in a position to both undercut the native poor and have better chances of upwards mobility. This shows the need for trade union organisation amongst all workers. He also makes the valid point about working-class people being made to feel guilt for the past actions of our rulers, such as the slave trade and imperialism.

Gest discusses how the far-right on both sides of the Atlantic have managed to tap into some elements of working angst. Donald Trump proved successful in parts of the so-called ‘rush belt’ of the USA, whilst in Britain the former EDL [English Defence League] leader and self-styled ‘journalist’ Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) poses as some kind of working-class hero. It should be pointed out that Mr Yaxley-Lennon is in fact a small businessman who owns a tanning salon, a business that will only attract custom from white people.

Research perhaps needs to be done into what attracts some working-class people to the far-right. Many of these people are essentially small ‘c’ conservatives who believe in an ideology that never existed for their benefit. Unfortunately, when it ceases to work for them, rather than rejecting the ideology they demand more of it and, as a result, moving farther to the right. This is not helped if the alternative is a Labour Party dominated by the Extreme Centre.

In the section Why do working class people vote against their interests?, he raises the question of why some working-class people vote for reactionary parties. Although it may be against their interest to vote for Donald Trump, UKIP or the Tory party there is that crucial area where the many on the left missed a trick. Yes…Brexit. By campaigning for a Remain vote some of the left pushed many working-class voters into the reactionary camp. Labour effectively finished off UKIP in 2017 however, by agreeing to honour the referendum result. Remainiacs on both the right and left of the Labour Party are handing the far-right an opportunity on a plate by calling for a second referendum.

Gest poses the question: “Was the White Working class ever on Top?” This is a question only Marxist-Leninists can answer. The Second World War saw the victory of the Red Army over fascism, stronger communist parties and a powerful trade union movement. The ruling class in the developed world lived with a degree of fear, hence the need to give concessions. In Britain we saw the NHS, The Welfare State, Social housing and various opportunities for self-improvement.

Since the 1980s these gains have been undermined; the process continued during the Blair–Brown era when neo-liberalism further eroded the welfare state, education and social housing. Meanwhile the far-right have managed to tap into some of this frustration.

The ruling class is not afraid of the far-right. One of the first publications to support the so-called Football Lads Alliance (FLA) was the rather well-heeled Spectator. The left now has an opportunity to turn the tide and win over or at least neutralise those who may have been tempted by reactionary politics. Lets just hope that Corbyn can see off the fifth column of Zionists and Remainiacs.

Unfortunately Gest advocates a rather worn out Blairite narrative, which includes calls for so-called meritocracy combined with suggestions for improved education. At no point does he suggest that capitalism might be the problem. He rejects definitions of Left and Right, but instead politics should be viewed in terms of Open and Closed. Sounds a bit like the Third Way to me.