Keir Hardie

by Bob Holman

Overview

Keir Hardie was a founder and the first parliamentary leader of the Labour Party. At the turn of the 19th century he was Labour's most famous face. But despite being voted Labour's 'Greatest Hero' at the 2008 Party Conference, in recent years his extraordinary story seems all but forgotten. Born illegitimate just outside Glasgow in 1856, his life didn't start gently. Before the age of 10, he was the sole wage earner in his working class, atheist family. He never went to school but was self-taught, avidly reading books lent him by a kind young clergyman. This led to two major conversions in his life: first to Christianity, and then to socialism. While earlier biographies have neglected the former, pointing out his experience of hardship as the source of his passion for social justice, the role of Christianity in Hardie's life was profound. It shaped his involvement in many of the greatest social changes of the time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745953540
Publisher:	SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)
Publication date:	03/19/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

BOB HOLMAN worked as a social worker before becoming a professor of social administration. He then spent 20 years living in poor housing estates, latterly Easterhouse in Glasgow, supporting the poor in practical ways. Driven by his Christian faith, he continued to campaign for the pooruntil his death in 2016. His books included A New Deal for Social Welfare, Children and Crime, and biographies of Keir Hardie and Woodbine Willie.

Table of Contents

Contents
Preface 7
Introduction 9
1 Never a Child, 1856–78 13
2 Journalist and Trade Unionist, 1879–86 30
3 From Scottish Liberals to Scottish Labour, 1887–88 45
4 Keir Hardie MP, 1889–95 60
5 Fight with Lord Overtoun; Friendship with the TUC,
1895–1900 92
6 South Africa and South Wales; an MP again,
1900–1905 111
7 Socialist, Party Leader, Traveller, 1906–1909 130
8 Class War and World War, 1910–1915 155
9 The Man and His Legacy 181
10 Epilogue 205
Sources and Bibliography 208
References 212
Index 219

Editorial Reviews

A captivating biography of the first parliamentary leader of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie (1856-1915)

From the Publisher