What"s your idea of a District Councillor? A person you never see except at election time? Someone living off dubious monetary "allowances?" A self-important idler whose life is a round of civic functions, every one of which is little more than "a knees-up on the rates?" If so, this eye-opening, entertaining and sometimes shocking book will make you think again. For seven years Hughie Griffiths combined gruelling work on the factory shop floor - including vigorous Trade Union involvement - with duties as a Labour Councillor in a Tory District in the Midlands. On call at all hours of the day and night, he was called to fight for common sense and fair play, against prejudice, injustice and bureaucratic indifference. Despite the strain on his family and on his relationship with his employers, he continued battling against the political odds until his surprise deselection. Both a compelling personal story and a vivid picture of local politics during the rise of Thatcher, this book is packed with anecdotes and wry humour, as well as profound concern for human dignity.