THE WILD MEN

A century ago a Labour government took power for the first time meet the Wild Men who led the way Superb New Statesman Fascinating The Sunday Times In 1923 five 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 Who were these wild men Ramsay MacDonald their leader and Labour s first Prime Minster was the illegitimate son of a Scottish farm labourer Arthur Henderson was a Scottish iron moulder J H Thomas a Welsh railwayman John Wheatley an Irish born miner and publican and William Adamson a Fife coal miner Never before had men from such backgrounds occupied the corridors of power in 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 La