Description
The Communist Party of Great Britain is no longer. In 1991 it conceded that times had changed and transformed itself into the Democratic Left. Its membership had all but disappeared, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe dealt the final blow. Yet despite its consistently poor electoral performance, the Communist Party exercised significant influence over many years. It mobilised widespread extraparliamentary action and attracted into its ranks an impressive range of intellectual and cultural luminaries. It was, however, compromised by its complex relationship with the Soviet Union, which continued to provide funding long after official links were much reduced. The Good Old Cause examines the shifting and often contradictory strategies through which the party tried to reach its objectives: how it attempted to fulfil its role as part of the supposed