← The Wilderness Years

Season 1

4 episodes · 1995

  1. 1Cast into the Wilderness

    03 Dec 1995 · 59 min

    Out of power and riven with strife, this programme tells the inside story of the Labour Party's bitter civil war with leading players speaking with devastating frankness about the time from 1979-81.

  2. 2Comrades of War

    10 Dec 1995 · 1 hr 0 min

    In the early 80s Michael Foot was leader of a divided Labour Party. The 1981 deputy leadership battle between Denis Healey and Tony Benn split party loyalties and Labour sank to its lowest popularity ever.

  3. 3Enter the Rose

    17 Dec 1995 · 59 min

    Senior Labour politicians explore the Labour Party's long years in opposition. In 1983 after a humiliating defeat by Margaret Thatcher, Labour elected Neil Kinnock as its new leader in the hope that he can modernise the party.

  4. 4The Pursuit of Powerfinale

    18 Dec 1995 · 1 hr 0 min

    Key political figures from the Labour Party tell the story of the struggle to modernise the party, culminating in the rise to power of Tony Blair and the arrival of a new breed of Labour politician.