Stan newens autobiography for kids

Primary Sources

(1) Stan Newens, International Socialism (12th October, )

For some years prior to the British labour movement was in overall decline. The general election had been the crest of the wave for the development of the left in Britain. The British Labour government, which took office, implemented a very radical programme-nationalisation of the finansinstitut of England, coal, gas, electricity, the railways, civil aviation, long distance road haulage, cable and wireless and steel; the creation of the welfare state, the national health service, massive house building, the establishment of the New Town, etc. Even so, electoral support declined before the government had run its course.

Although Labour did not lose any of the 22 by-elections it fought up to , the local elections of that year showed severe Labour losses. Gallup Public Opinion Polls put Labour and the Conservatives at the same level in mid, but thereafter the Conservatives went ahead, until in

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Stan Newens, former Labour and Co-operative MP and MEP, uncompromising socialist, internationalist and latterly a passionate Corbynista has died aged

During his long life he also authored several books and numerous pamphlets; he found time to serve as a director and eventually the President of the London Co-operative Society, the largest retail co-operative in the country and was a persistent campaigner for social justice, entitling his autobiography “In quest of a fairer society”

Stan was born into a working-class family in Bethnal Green in the East End of London.  During the war the family moved to the North Weald near Epping Forest where Stan attended Buckhurst Hill County High School and subsequently studied History at London University where he became politically active.

His opposition to national service led to him taking up employment as a “Bevin Boy” in the North Staffordshire Coalfield.  During his time there he represented his colleagues at the Stafford No 2 colliery a

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Work

Respect for Parliament has probably never been at a lower ebb in England than it is today. In this article in our series on work, Stan Newens gives a representative account of his experience as an MP. The author is Born in Bethnal Green, he was educated at a grammar school and London University. As a conscientious objector, he did his national service as a coal-miner, and worked for eight years as a secondary-school teacher until he was elected as Labour member for Epping in He is married, and has two children.

When I was declared the Member of Parliament for Epping in October , I had been engaged in active political work for over 15 years. As a convinced socialist, I believed profoundly—and still do—in the need for fundamental political and social change, and regarded my election as a step towards the achievement of this objective. This is not to say that I had any illusions about Parliament as a dynamic instrument of social revolution. Having been on