Francis Beckett (born 12 May 1945) is an English author, journalist, biographer, playwright and contemporary historian. He has written biographies of

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan Privy Council (United Kingdom), PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician, noted for spearheading the creation of the British National Health Service during his t ...

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British statesman who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. At ...

Harold Macmillan Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

and

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

. He has also written on education for the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''and has been the editor of ''Third Age Matters'', the national magazine published by the

University of the Third Age The University of the Third Age (U3A), is an international movement whose aims are the education and stimulation of mainly retired members of the community — those in their third 'age' of life. There is no universally accepted model for the U ...

. Beckett has been described as "an Old Labour romantic" by ''Guardian'' associate editor Michael White. He is the recipient of an Independent Radio Drama Productions Award for the ''Sons of Catholic Gentlemen'' and the Ted Wragg Award for lifetime achievement in education journalism.

Career

Beckett studied at Keele University, and co-led the late night review by the university's theatre company whilst there. He is a former press officer of the National Union of Students. He was elected president of the

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...

in 1980, and has also worked as a Labour Party press officer. In 1983 he worked for the unsuccessful Labour Party deputy leadership campaign of

John Silkin John Ernest Silkin (18 March 1923 – 26 April 1987) was a British left-wing Labour politician and solicitor. Early life Silkin was born in London. He was the third son of Lewis Silkin, 1st Baron Silkin, and a younger brother of Samuel Sil ...

. Since 1984 he has been a freelance writer. He has written regularly on education for ''

,'' as well as other newspapers, and was education correspondent of the ''

'' for seven years.

Works

Beckett's works include journalism, biography, plays and contemporary history. He has written a biography of his own father, John Beckett, entitled ''The Rebel Who Lost His Cause: The Tragedy of John Beckett MP.'' His father was a Labour MP from 1925 to 1931 and whip of the

Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was a British political party of the left, established in 1893 at a conference in Bradford, after local and national dissatisfaction with the Liberal Party (UK), Liberals' apparent reluctance to endorse work ...

group of MPs. He was later chief propagandist for

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, f ...

and co-founder (with

William Joyce William Brooke Joyce (24 April 1906 – 3 January 1946), nicknamed Lord Haw-Haw, was an American-born Fascism, fascist and Propaganda of Nazi Germany, Nazi propaganda broadcaster during the World War II, Second World War. After moving from ...

) of the

National Socialist League The National Socialist League (NSL) was a short-lived Nazi political movement in the United Kingdom immediately prior to the Second World War. Formation The NSL was formed in 1937 by William Joyce, John Beckett and John Angus MacNab as a sp ...

. He was interned during the Second World War for his fascist activities. Peter Catterall, writing in ''Albion'', described the biography as "an act of filial piety" and noted that much of the work is based on John Beckett's own unpublished memoirs. ''Fascist in the Family'' (2016) returned to update this family history.

Martin Bright Martin Derek Bright (born 5 June 1966) is a British journalist. He worked for the BBC World Service and ''The Guardian'' before becoming ''The Observer's'' education correspondent and then home affairs editor. From 2005 to 2009, he was the polit ...

, writing in ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

'' described as "part political history, part memoir: an attempt to come to terms with the horror of growing up with a fascist as a father". The subjects of Beckett's other biographical works include:

,MacShane, Denis
"New Labour, old Clem."
''Critical Quarterly'' 40.2 (1998).

Michael Whit
"Gordon the saint – meet Brown the sinner"
''

'', 14 July 2007 and

. He was also editor of the twenty-book series ''Prime Ministers of the Twentieth Century''. His biography of

was described by Denis MacShane as a "joy to read", in contrast to other more "ponderous" works on Attlee. MacShane also praised how the biography quoted from the poetry that Attlee wrote throughout his life. His biography of Attlee was endorsed by

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician and writer who served as the sixth President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliamen ...

who was quoted in its publication as saying: "Beckett gets near to the essence of Attlee, and does so in an easy, flowing narrative" wrote Jenkins. Beckett's co-authored (with

David Hencke David Hencke ( ) is a British investigative journalist and writer, named "Political Journalist of the Year" at the 2012 British Press Awards. Career Hencke began as a student journalist in 1965 at Warwick University as editor of its first univ ...

) 2004 biography of Tony Blair was considered hostile by

Roy Hattersley Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, (born 28 December 1932) is a British politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. A member of the Labour Party, he was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and ...

. ''Blair Inc: The Man Behind The Mask'', co-written with David Hencke and

Nick Kochan Nick Kochan is a financial and political journalist based in London. He has written extensively on financial and white collar crime. He writes for UK newspapers and international magazines, and has written and co-written books. Kochan is also a ...

, was published in March 2015. Beckett has been described as "an Old Labour romantic" by ''Guardian'' associate editor Michael White. The 2009 book, ''Marching to the Fault Line'', also written with David Hencke, is according to

Seumas Milne Seumas Patrick Charles Milne (born 5 September 1958)''Winchester College: A Register''. Edited by P.S.W.K. McClure and R.P. Stevens, on behalf of the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester College. 7th edition, 2014. pp. 582 (Short Half 1971 list hea ...

, "the first attempt since its immediate aftermath to offer a full account of the iners'strike." It is, according to

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...

, who isquoted on the cover of the book, "full of vital insights and written with a sense of pace that does justice to the tragic drama." His portrayal of

Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, a major event in the history o ...

in it led Andrew Murray, in the ''

Morning Star Morning Star, morning star, or Morningstar may refer to: Astronomy * Morning star, most commonly used as a name for the planet Venus when it appears in the east before sunrise ** See also Venus in culture * Morning star, a name for the star Siri ...

'' to advise readers not to "feed the jackals". In response, with co-author

, Beckett insisted that the writers were not jackals but lifelong trade unionists, and asserted that "for Murray to try to make out that you are doing something bad by buying or reading our book is not just censorship, but also the bitterest form of ideological rigidity and sectarianism". In 2010 ''What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us?'' was published by

Biteback Publishing Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in Hull, and concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and ...

. The book claims that the

baby boomer Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...

generation benefitted from historical circumstances, but has not continued to share the benefits of this with future generations. Beckett is also a playwright. His first play ''Sons of Catholic Gentlemen'', was performed by

LBC LBC (originally the London Broadcasting Company) is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadc ...

in 1997 and won Independent Radio Drama Productions Award. His 2012 play ''The London Spring'' is portrays a dystopian future where an American tourist discovers that in this London bribery and corruption and mass poverty are everywhere. Michael Billington, in his review in ''

'', described the play as having a "graphic vividness" but the love story was unbelievable. His 2024 play ''Vodka with Stalin'' told the life of

Rose Cohen Rose Cohen (; 20 May 1894 – 28 November 1937) was an English feminist, suffragist, and founding member of the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1920. She worked for Communist International (Comintern) from 1920 to 1929. Between 1931 and 1 ...

, a British suffragist who was murdered in a Stalinist purge in Russia in 1937. The same year he wrote ''Tom Lehrer is Teaching Math and Doesn’t Want to Talk to You'', which features songs that

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, who later taught mathematics and musical theater. He recorded pithy and humorous, often Music and politics, political songs that ...

placed in the public domain in 2022. It was performed at the

Upstairs at The Gatehouse Upstairs at the Gatehouse is an Off West End theatre in Highgate in the London Borough of Camden. The venue is a refurbished 1895 auditorium, upstairs from the Gatehouse pub, which has served over the years as a music hall, cinema, Masonic lod ...

theatre in

Highgate, London Highgate is a suburban area of north London in the London Boroughs of Camden, Islington and Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive Londo ...

. He also edited ''Third Age Matters'', the national magazine published by the

Awards

* Independent Radio Drama Productions Award for ''Sons of Catholic Gentlemen'' (1997) * Ted Wragg Award for lifetime achievement in education journalism (2009)

Bibliography

Biographies

*''The Rebel Who Lost His Cause: The Tragedy of John Beckett MP'',

Allison and Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

, 1999 *''Nye Bevan'', (co-author Clare Beckett), Haus Publishing, 2004; updated edition, paperback, Haus Publishing, 2024 *''The Blairs and Their Court'' (co-author David Hencke), Aurum Press, 2004 (revised and enlarged in paperback as ''The Survivor: Tony Blair in Peace and War'', Aurum Press, 2005) *''Gordon Brown'', Haus Publishing, 2007 *''Clem Attlee'', Politicos, re-issued 2007 *''Laurence Olivier'', Haus Publishing, 2005 *''Harold Macmillan'', Haus Publishing, 2006 *''Blair Inc: The Money, The Scandals, The Power'', John Blake Publishing Ltd., 2015 *''Fascist in the Family: The Tragedy of John Beckett MP'',

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

, 2016

Contemporary history

*''Enemy Within – The Rise and Fall of British Communism'', John Murray (hb), 1995; Merlin Press (pb), 1998 *''Stalin's British Victims'', Sutton Publishing, 2004 *''Marching to the Fault Line – The Miners’ Strike 1984-5'' (co-author David Hencke),

Constable and Robinson Constable & Robinson Ltd. is an imprint of Little, Brown which publishes fiction and non-fiction books and ebooks. History Constable & Co. was founded in 1795 by Archibald Constable, and became the publisher of works by Sir Walter Scott. In ...

, 2009 *''Firefighters and the Blitz'', Merlin, 2010 *''What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us?'', Biteback Publishing, 2010 *''1956: The Year That Changed Britain'' (co-author Tony Russell), Biteback Publishing, 2015 *''Jeremy Corbyn and the Strange Rebirth of Labour England'' (co-author Mark Seddon), Biteback Publishing, 2018

Education

*''The Great City Academy Fraud'', Continuum, March 2007 * ''How To Create a Successful School'', Biteback, 2010

Published plays

*''Money Makes you Happy'',

Samuel French Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing A license (American Englis ...

, 2008 *''The Right Honourable Lady'', Samuel French, 2009 *''Clement Attlee – A Modest Little Man,'' TSL Publications 2022

Unpublished plays

* ''Clement Attlee: a Modest Little Man'' perfromed at Labour Party Conference 2022 * ''Vodka with Stalin'' (originally entitled ''Harry and Rose'')

Upstairs at the Gatehouse Upstairs at the Gatehouse is an Off West End theatre in Highgate in the London Borough of Camden. The venue is a refurbished 1895 auditorium, upstairs from the Gatehouse pub, which has served over the years as a music hall, cinema, Masonic lod ...

2024 *''Tom Lehrer is Teaching Math and Doesn't Want to Talk to You'', performed at

, London, May–June 2024

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckett, Francis 1945 births Living people 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers Alumni of Keele University English biographers English historians English male biographers English male dramatists and playwrights English male journalists English people of Jewish descent People from Chiltern District Presidents of the National Union of Journalists Stalinism-era scholars and writers Trade unionists from Buckinghamshire