The Wilderness Years

1995•59m

Documentary showing the many travails of the UK Labour Party during its long period in opposition from 1979 and through the 1980s and 1990s.

Production

Seasons

4 Episodes • Premiered 1995

1. Cast into the Wilderness

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. Comrades of War

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. Enter the Rose

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. The Pursuit of Power

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.