The Witchfinder General

Labour's octogenarian powerhouse weaves together eighty years of fascinating personal, social and political history in her memoirs. From Boots Girl to Baroness, Joyce Gould boasts an impressive list of experiences and accomplishments. Through sixty-four years as a Labour Party member, she has fought for universal equality, for the right to a good standard of life for all, and for the spirit of her beloved party. The Witchfinder General is the political autobiography of the woman who notoriously made Labour electable again - nicknamed the Witchfinder General for her determination to end the debilitating discord of the 1980s by uncovering and removing the Militant Tendency - and as such it is a tender and frank depiction of the party over the past six decades. But more than that, it is a social history as seen through the eyes of someone who lived it, and a personal history of a pharmacist's apprentice turned political warrior, who has dedicated her life to making the world a better place. These memoirs document a long career in the fight for equality, the building of the modern Labour Party and the creation of the Britain we know today.

Baroness Joyce Gould of Potternewton became a Labour life peer in the House of Lords in 1993. Originally a pharmacist's apprentice, she moved on to a career within the Labour Party, serving as chief women's offi cer between 1975 and 1985 and as the party's director of organisation from 1985 to 1993. In the House of Lords, she was deputy chair and deputy speaker from 2002 to 2012 and has held positions on various select committees, including Environmental Affairs, Constitution and Affordable Childcare. A trade unionist and dedicated advocate of women's rights, Joyce has been a member and secretary of several antiracist, women's and civil liberties bodies since 1965. She is currently president of the Family Planning Association as well as a member of the Fawcett Society and permanent chair of the Women's National Commission. She has one daughter.