Against the Cold War: The History and Political Traditions of Pro-Sovietism in the British Labour Party, 1945-1989 (International Library of Political Studies)

Few historians, including Left-wing scholars and writers, have a good word to say about British Members of Parliament sympathetic to the Soviets--"the neo-Stalinist Left", "crypto-Communists", "left-wing gadflys". Much has been published on "Soviet spies" and their connections with Labour MPs but Against the Cold War debunks this popular literature and shows in detail the relationships between the MPs and their "handlers". Lilleker shows the largely well-meaning attempts on the part of British MPs to develop a coexistence with the Soviet bloc--both culturally and politically--and to change negative perceptions of the Soviets. Through detailed analysis and extensive research he emphasizes that far from being a danger to the state, as has been generally accepted, these Labour MPs were largely innocent and ineffectual.