History of the Labour Party’s founding women to I B Tauris

I.B.Tauris is to publish an "exciting and timely" new book "shedding light" on the women at the heart of the Labour Party’s early history next September to coincide with the 2018 Labour Party Conference.

Written by Nan Sloane, director of the Centre for Woman and Democracy and Training Coordinator of the Labour Women’s Network, The Women in the Room will reconsider the first 20 years of the Labour Party, revealing for the first time the central role played by women in its foundation. The book was commissioned following the 2017 general election result which has seen 208 women elected to parliament – the highest number in British history.

Jo Godfrey, senior editor at I.B.Tauris, said: "I am really thrilled to be working with Nan Sloane on this book which will change the way we think about Labour’s early history. Nan has unearthed new material which shows how important women were in the early years of the party and how, although often excluded from formal decision-making, they were nonetheless influencing the direction of the party behind-the-scenes."

Sloane said: "I’ve always known that women must have been more active than we knew in Labour’s history, and wondered why they had been forgotten. Rediscovering them will be fascinating, and will show how important women really were in Labour’s early years."

The Women in the Room: Labour’s Forgotten History will publish in hardback in September 2018, priced at £20.