Badgeland by Steve Rayson

 Badgeland by Steve Rayson

 

Memoir of a Labour Party Young Socialist in 1980's Britain

Badgeland by Steve Rayson is published early in 2023 by Bavant Press. My thanks to the author who sent me a copy and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.  

Synopsis

Steve Rayson believed working-class people had everything to gain from socialism. The only problem was they didn’t agree with him.

In 1979 Margaret Thatcher was threatening to change Britain forever, and not in a good was. Determined to stop her, Steve joined the Swindon Labour Party Young Socialists, wore protest badges and joined mass demonstrations. He believed his generation was going to change the world but, bewildered by consecutive Conservative victories he has to reassess what he had been taught by his Badgeland  comrades. He would come to realise that politics isn’t all it seems at seventeen.

Badgeland is an insightful, warm and frequently hilarious memoir about coming of age, politics, class and social mobility in the 1980s. It is deeply personal account of loss and renewal that will resonate with everyone regardless of the party they support.

My review

This is an engaging read for anyone born in the 60s to reminisce  with whilst also providing an historical insight into the working class, social mobility and the political issues of the time. For anyone wanting to gain an understanding of what it was like to grow up through the political unrest of the 70's and 80's - strikes, power cuts, picket lines and dole queues this book will create an informative background from Steve's perspective. 

Steve talks at the beginning of not being able to remember certain memories whilst other, seemingly lesser important ones can’t be recalled. For me, whilst reading his autobiography, I found so many of my memories of that era were triggered by what I was reading and even though I was one of the Sheffield “Troglodytes” it was strangely comforting to read about what it was like for our generation, growing up and trying to find our role in life in a world that generally didn’t want to listen to the points of view of those of us who were too young to vote.

Steve has a way of writing that makes you feel that you're sat having a cup of coffee with him whilst chatting about what experiences in life you have in common. By the time I had read to the end of the book I felt that I had known Steve since 6th form and if I met him now we would just sit down and have a natter from where the book left off. This, to me, is a skill when writing autobiographies as, all too often, I am left feeling that I cannot relate to the author and generally don't finish their book.

Regardless of your political viewpoint this is an astute look at the social class system that was still so evident at the time and it is narrated with  humour and candour as it moves to the present day and the various aspects of Steve's life that he covers . If you only read one autobiography this year I would urge it to be Badgeland as every reader should be able to find some aspect of it that they can relate to.

About the author

Steve Rayson is a researcher and author. His previous book The Fall of the Red Wall was an Amazon bestseller.

He completed his MSc on Political Communication at the London School of Economics and won the best dissertation prize for his work on political podcasts.

He was previously the co-founder of four successful companies: BuzzSumo, Kineo, Anders Pink and Totara. He was also a public sector consultant at KPMG and the Director of Resources at Brighton and Hove Council.