London’s Ours!: Images From The Greater London Council 1981-1986 | Hazel Atashroo

This new title, about the GLC of the early to mid '80s is everything we have come to expect from its publisher, Four Corners: restorative (of faith in human kind), edifying (especially on the eyes), surprising (in its affordability) and elucidating (in the way it sheds light on things that need that light). A proper heart-lifter and a reminder that the position of power can be used for good, for betterment, for unity and for solidarity. anyway - read the blurb below (also good).

In the early 1980s, London's city-wide authority, the Greater London Council, embarked upon a radical experiment in how to run the capital, which transformed British politics. Campaigning and energetic, the GLC made extensive use of poster campaigns, public art and popular events to take aim against racism, sexism, nuclear war — and eventually, their own abolition.

After the 1981 GLC election victory, a Labour paper ran with the headline, 'London's Ours!", a celebration but also a guiding principle of the GLC's approach to tackling London's inequality: expanding who could claim their right to the city and its resources, and who got a fair chance to succeed.

Offering an ambitious alternative to Thatcherism, GLC Leader Ken Livingstone was a thorn in the side of central government, famously taunting Westminster with a running total of unemployment figures from the roof of County Hall opposite the Houses of Parliament.

This combative attitude, combined with the pioneering work of committees addressing overlooked groups - including women, ethnic minorities, gay rights, and Londoners with disabilities - put inclusivity and social equality at the GLC's political core.
This book documents the remarkable visual culture of the GLC, with over 250 images. Sometimes confrontational, frequently humorous, it provides a unique picture of a remarkable period in British politics and of London itself.

Size: 270 x 200mm (softback)

Pages: 230

Publisher: Four Corners