Help Tony Mulhearn Publish His Memoirs
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This is a political autobiography of a working class man who came to be a leading figure within the Militant organisation in Liverpool: it examines his personal trajectory, his time as a printer, seafarer, cabinet maker, car worker, the changes in his political development and the issues and individuals he met and dealt with along the way.
Celebrated film maker and playwright Jimmy McGovern says "This is just not one man's story. It's the story of Liverpool, beautiful, bolshie, passionate Liverpool. I couldn't put it down."
Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey writes the forward to Tony's book:
"This book is a must read to gain an understanding of the author’s experience in forging his industrial and political perspective. I have known Tony Mulhearn for over five decades and shared many of the experiences which informed his political development. He was at the heart of turbulent events in Liverpool in the 1980s. It explores the journey of a working-class lad whose personal experience led him towards a socialism which recognised the need to transform society from a capitalist to a socialist one. While many in the Labour Movement pay lip-service to this noble objective, Tony has campaigned all his life for the concept to be translated into reality.
Tony describes in vivid detail the events leading to his surcharge and removal from office by an unelected district auditor, his expulsion from the Labour Party, and the witch-hunt against the 47. It was led by a gaggle of anti-socialist forces ranging from the rabid anti-Labour media, aided and abetted by those in the Labour Party who would pave the way for Blairism. It was based on a tissue of falsehoods, guilt by association and ‘anonymous’ testimony, used commonly throughout the ages.
But Tony’s brand of socialism was not confined to words, and moving resolutions, although he was adept at both. He actively campaigned for the ideas to be translated into reality. Some newspapers described him as ‘man of action’, while the Liverpool Echo dubbed him ‘Militant mastermind.’
I stood four-square with him and his comrades of the Liverpool 47 Labour councillors who, between 1983 and 1987, refused to make the cuts in council expenditure demanded by the Thatcher government. History has proved their courageous stand correct. As President of the Liverpool District Labour Party and a councillor, Tony played a pivotal role in ensuring that the policy determined by the Labour Party members would be implemented by the council. I am proud to say that as an officer of the Transport and General Workers Union I, along with my colleagues, gave full support to the campaign whose slogan was ‘No cuts in jobs and services to compensate for Tory cuts.’
Above all Tony was respected by friend and foe.
This memoir provides a fascinating insight into working-class life in Liverpool in the post-war period, the role of the church, education, deprivation, and the hardship which was the lot of the working-class, particularly in the down-town areas of the city where I was born. It graphically records the making of a Liverpool Militant, and I am pleased to recommend it as a book of immense value to those seeking a true and accurate portrait of historic events."
Celebrated film maker and playwright Jimmy McGovern says "This is just not one man's story. It's the story of Liverpool, beautiful, bolshie, passionate Liverpool. I couldn't put it down."
Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey writes the forward to Tony's book:
"This book is a must read to gain an understanding of the author’s experience in forging his industrial and political perspective. I have known Tony Mulhearn for over five decades and shared many of the experiences which informed his political development. He was at the heart of turbulent events in Liverpool in the 1980s. It explores the journey of a working-class lad whose personal experience led him towards a socialism which recognised the need to transform society from a capitalist to a socialist one. While many in the Labour Movement pay lip-service to this noble objective, Tony has campaigned all his life for the concept to be translated into reality.
Tony describes in vivid detail the events leading to his surcharge and removal from office by an unelected district auditor, his expulsion from the Labour Party, and the witch-hunt against the 47. It was led by a gaggle of anti-socialist forces ranging from the rabid anti-Labour media, aided and abetted by those in the Labour Party who would pave the way for Blairism. It was based on a tissue of falsehoods, guilt by association and ‘anonymous’ testimony, used commonly throughout the ages.
But Tony’s brand of socialism was not confined to words, and moving resolutions, although he was adept at both. He actively campaigned for the ideas to be translated into reality. Some newspapers described him as ‘man of action’, while the Liverpool Echo dubbed him ‘Militant mastermind.’
I stood four-square with him and his comrades of the Liverpool 47 Labour councillors who, between 1983 and 1987, refused to make the cuts in council expenditure demanded by the Thatcher government. History has proved their courageous stand correct. As President of the Liverpool District Labour Party and a councillor, Tony played a pivotal role in ensuring that the policy determined by the Labour Party members would be implemented by the council. I am proud to say that as an officer of the Transport and General Workers Union I, along with my colleagues, gave full support to the campaign whose slogan was ‘No cuts in jobs and services to compensate for Tory cuts.’
Above all Tony was respected by friend and foe.
This memoir provides a fascinating insight into working-class life in Liverpool in the post-war period, the role of the church, education, deprivation, and the hardship which was the lot of the working-class, particularly in the down-town areas of the city where I was born. It graphically records the making of a Liverpool Militant, and I am pleased to recommend it as a book of immense value to those seeking a true and accurate portrait of historic events."
Organizer
Hazuan Hashim
Organizer