Working-class hero  Left Behind: lessons from Labour's heartland
Peter Kilfoyle Politico's, 327pp, £17.99 I  Relying on deep
popular reaction to Thatcherite politics, a small group strongly
attached to its own self-interests took over the Liverpool
Labour Party in the early 1980s. The group intimidated
opponents, relying on elected members' fear of losing office to
keep them in line. In the face of deep national electoral
discontent, it persisted in its idiosyncratic political line,
often drawn from inappropriate foreign examples. Yep, new Labour
certainly learnt a lot from Militant in Liverpool.  To anyone
who knows Peter Kilfoyle, his disdain for the fellow travellers,
in whatever guise, will come as no surprise. Indeed, many of us
wondered how he stuck it out on the front benches for as long as
he did. Left Behind reveals exactly why Kilfoyle was the perfect
person to flush out Militant and its cronies. His indignation
was unfeigned at what Militant, in collaboration with Margaret
Thatcher, had done to Mer