The Brink

Here's what you can expect from The Brink, the podcast about Militant in 1980s Liverpool.Presented by Julia Rampen, edited by Daniel J. McLaughlin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many in the Labour Party, Liverpool became a cautionary tale of what happens when you dare to be too left-wing.The story of Militant was a warning about the dangers of entryism - how an organisation within a party can come close to taking over the party itself.Julia Rampen travels back to 1980s Liverpool to look at the most controversial group in British politics.In this episode, she speaks to former Militant members, Felicity Dowling and Lesley Mahmood, and journalist and author Michael Crick.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Julia Rampen travels back to 1980s Liverpool, where the Militant-controlled council is poised to clash with Margaret Thatcher.By 1980, a city once known for its millionaires is almost unrecognisable.The docks lie empty. Hundreds of factories have closed, taking thousands and thousands of jobs with them. One in four workers is unemployed.Margaret Thatcher's cutting money to local government is hitting Liverpool the hardest.Julia speaks to those who remember the desperate days in the city, where houses became slums, and the government prepares for managed decline.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1983, as Margaret Thatcher re-enters 10 Downing Street, a Militant-dominated Labour Party wins a sweeping majority in Liverpool.Taking control of Liverpool City Council, the Labour group is led by John Hamilton, Derek Hatton, and Tony Byrne.But who are these mismatch of leaders? Are they part of the Militant movement, or are some of them puppets?Travel back to 1980s Liverpool and see the fight between Militant and the Thatcher government.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest episode of The Brink, Julia Rampen moves the focus from Liverpool’s fight with Westminster to the changes that were happening in the city after Britain’s most left-wing local council got into power.She travels back to 1980s Liverpool and looks at the challenges faced by the Militant-dominated Labour council.From orchids to housing to race relations, Julia talks to the key figures and experts, including Derek Hatton, Malik Al-Nasir, Professor Jon Tonge, Lesley Mahmood, and more.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a time when Liverpool was fragmenting in the early 1980s, the city found an unlikely ally in a Tory minister.Michael Heseltine - nicknamed Tarzan - spent three weeks walking the streets, until he became something of a bizarre local attraction for the neighbourhood kids.He listed the Albert Dock, organised the Garden Festival and stood up for the city in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet meetings when others were ready to condemn it to "managed decline".But then Heseltine was moved to defence, just at the time when a Militant-dominated council pledged to resist Thatcher's cuts.The result was a game of brinkmanship between the Iron Lady and a group of councillors who were prepared to risk everything - even personal ruin - for their ideals.Julia Rampen speaks to key figures from the time, including Michael Heseltine, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, Militant's Derek Hatton, and more.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After winning a game of brinkmanship with the Thatcher government in 1984, Liverpool Council is enlisted in the rate-cap rebellion of 1985. But when almost all the other rebel councils cave in, the city finds itself on its own.The councillors face an option: raise the rates, or back an illegal budget. The latter could result in them voting for their own bankruptcy.In this episode, Julia Rampen explores the consequences of Militant's actions, the 30,000 redundancy notices, and whether Liverpool council underestimated Thatcher.She speaks to key figures from the time, including former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, Militant's Derek Hatton, and more.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the final episode of The Brink – the podcast that travels back to 1980s Liverpool to look at the rise and fall of Militant – we see the nadir of the political group.The Liverpool Echo's Julia Rampen speaks to key figures from the time, including former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, Militant's Derek Hatton, and more.She explores the famous Neil Kinnock speech, aimed at Militant, their expulsion from the Labour party, and whether the 30,000 redundancy notices were actually "scuttled around" in taxis.Presented and produced by Julia RampenEdited by Daniel J. McLaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices