London, 1984

Book excerpt: In London in 1984 two very different cities came into conflict, one rooted in radical politics and the other shaped by Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative government. This was a city poised between two eras and identities, remoulded in conflicting ways by social democracy and neoliberalism. Using a wide array of sources, many of which have never been used before, London, 1984 explores the radical history of the capital in this tumultuous era, from a major anti-Apartheid march in central London to an alternative childcare centre in Dalston, a protest staged on the Thames against Docklands development to tensions on housing estates in the East End and Tottenham around racial violence and policing, a raid on a gay bookshop in Bloomsbury to the Greater London Council's attempt to build a challenge to Thatcherism from County Hall, Lambeth, and controversial and well-known historical actors, such as Ken Livingstone and Margaret Thatcher, to the compelling stories of numerous less famous Londoners who also sought to influence the shape and nature of their city. This is a story of struggles within the corridors of power, but it is also one of those on the ground, waged through popular culture, activism, and in daily life. In so doing, London, 1984 offers a panoramic, timely, and revealing portrait of the city in a pivotal decade in its modern history. These years saw deep problems of racial violence, policing, and poverty, as well as other controversies and struggles—over feminism, gay and lesbian rights, anti-racism, jobs and economic strategy, neoliberalism and the nature of the state, and global issues, such as Apartheid, nuclear weapons, and Northern Ireland. Across these, and the stories of those who lived, shaped, and fought them, we see the roots of London and Britian today.