London, 1984: Conflict and Change in the Radical City

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, from 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, from 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 from 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 and activism, and in daily life.

In so doing,
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