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Churchill was a divisive, reactionary politician – unpopular even within his own party – and an open enemy of the working class. The life he lead was that of a racist imperialist, and he was sympathetic to fascism – a supporter of Mussolini and Franco. How has this wartime leader become a household god for many? In this video (and his new book) Tariq Ali looks at the development of the Churchill cult: where it came from, why his legacy is being used in this way, and how long it will last. Winston Churchill: His Times, His Crimes by Tariq Ali is out now: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3971… “In Ali’s telling, which draws on more honest existing historical scholarship than most popular biographies of Churchill, the two-times prime minister emerges not so much as deeply racist – some of his contemporaries remarked on it in shock – as profoundly authoritarian, with a soft spot for fascist strongmen, and a hostility to working-class assertion.” – Priyamvada Gopal