Anne McElvoy traces the emergence of British socialism through the 19th century, from Robert Owen's visionary schemes for a society based on villages sharing goods in common, to the arrival of Labour MPs in Parliament in 1906.

Along the way, Anne traces three competing approaches to changing Britain in the interests of working people: utopian visions of transformation, local co-operative societies, and plans to take control of the central state.

Producer: Sarah Shebbeare and Phil Tinline. Show less