Will Thorne

My life’s battles

John Callow (ed), Nabu Press, 227 pages, £9.99

One of the first true working-class autobiographies has been republished and given a new foreword by Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB general union and an introduction from historian John Callow.

Will Thorne helped to make a better world for ordinary people.

As a semi-skilled industrial labourer, he founded the gasworkers’ union, campaigned on behalf of the unemployed and fought for the eight-hour day.

Eventually, he went on to lead the National Union of General and Municipal Workers (a forerunner of today’s GMB) and was an east London MP for 40 years.

Along the way, Thorne experienced the street fights and bitter strikes that represented the struggles of British socialism and that gave rise to the labour movement. Speaking at the TUC Congress in 1910, he described himself as a “revolutionary, class conscious, trade unionist and social democrat”.

A must-read book for all trade unionists and activists today interested in our history.