Politics, Poverty and Belief: A Political Memoir

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Field has spent his life fighting poverty in Britain, and has found allies on all sides of the political spectrum. In this book, Field talk about his activism, his foundational work with the Child Poverty Action Group and his work passing legislation for the Minimum Living Wage. He explains why he has dedicated his life to speaking out against the corruption of greed and power and writes with great alacrity about the titans of his political age, including Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher. In the end, Field's zeal for reform was too much for too many people, and, in 2015, he was deselected by his own local Labour party. His faith must often have been challenged? Blair used me, which was OK. I was perfectly happy to be used

Indeed, he would regularly pop into Downing Street during the Eighties and was one of the last people to see the PM the night before her resignation. It was his first time in Parliament in two years and he was cheered loudly, but found the experience a bit pointless. The Right says poverty is a personal failure, yet it’s also about societal injustice; the Left says the problem is economic, but it is also shaped by culture. Field concludes that we’ve undergone a rupture between the “tough love” of the Victorian era and the permissiveness of today, with the result that self-discipline is no longer transmitted between generations and many young Britons don’t know how to be good citizens. The job of the state, as per the Christian idealist tradition, must be to teach them, not for the sake of making them dependent on the government, but to empower them to be free from hunger and dependency.

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She was wrong because she didn’t balance it. There was too much of the Fallen and not enough of the Redeemed. But what she said [about self-reliance] spoke to the nation during much of that period.” In this touching but also profound memoir, Field explains two key factors in his upbringing – the poverty of his own childhood and the deep and lasting effect of his Christian socialism, as exemplified in the writings of F. D. Maurice and William Temple. The great success of Field’s career has been to show what is possible if there is a sharp focus on a particular issue. He did this, first of all, with his work for the Child Poverty Action Group and Low Pay Unit, leading to child benefits and the minimum wage. Later, he campaigned against modern slavery and climate change. By focusing sharply on one issue, doing good research, gaining the support of influential people, and persevering, he has been a key player in movements that have brought about real change. The book – and his politics – is full of the will to keep pursuing a New Jerusalem in the knowledge of human failure. When did that conviction form? If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us

No, he didn’t talk about [belief] to me. If I sent something I’d written to him, he would say, ‘Of course, I agree with a lot of this, Frank.’ But he wouldn’t be specific. I don’t suppose he bothered to read it.” His right against the hard left momentum tribe took some guts, as did his fight against anti-semitism. I admire his collusion with Ian Duncan Smith when he tried to modernise the benefit system, and no doubt if Mr Smith had taken his advice we may have had a short painful period that would eventually bring forth the required gains. Frank Fields is a giant of a politician, and now we have to think the unthinkable about being without such a great character AND politician. The Rt Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth is a former Bishop of Oxford, and an Hon. Professor of Theology at King’s College, London. His autobiography, The Shaping of a Soul: A life taken by surprise , is due to be published on 31 March.He was appointed Minister for Welfare Reform by Tony Blair, and Chairman of the Work and Pensions Select Committee under John Major. With the Rowntree Trust, Field set up the Low Pay Unit (LPU). It sounds like I’ve had a stroke, which I may well have done,” he says. “But it’s mainly the cancer operating around my body that has made this happen. It’s not particularly frustrating. For the past half-century Frank Field has been an outstanding parliamentarian, social reformer and champion of the disadvantaged. In this touching but also profound memoir, the veteran former Labour MP and social campaigner Frank Field reveals the poverty of his own childhood and the deep and lasting effect of his Christian socialism.