This book is a unique contribution to the history of British Trotskyism. Ted Grant (1913 – 2006) joined the Trotskyist Left Opposition in South Africa in the late 1920s. He emigrated to Britain in late 1934 and joined the Trotskyists in the Independent Labour Party and subsequently the Labour Party.
During the war, Grant became the chief theoretician of the Workers’ International League, and later the Revolutionary Communist Party. The historic events of the period are fully covered, including the author’s personal recollections, and his role in events.
The book begins with the debate on Trotskyism in the British Communist Party in 1924 and ends with the break-up of the Revolutionary Communist Party in 1949 and the beginning of more than thirty years of work within the Labour Party.
Ted Grant was the founder and political leader of the “Militant Tendency”, which haunted the Labour leadership, and was eventually expelled along with the Militant editorial board in 1983. A postscript by Rob Sewell, who was the national organiser for the Militant throughout the 1980s, brings this unique history up to date.
Ted Grant’s contribution has served to preserve the unbroken thread of genuine Trotskyism. This book is a first-hand account of the life of a Trotskyist pioneer, and will be indispensible to students of political history, and above all, an inspiration to all those seeking to change the world.