The Power In The People: How We Can Change The World

by Michael Mansfield

'A lifetime spend fighting the powers that be and turning personal pain into collective power.
Take care of this book because you are holding our history in your hands.' - LOWKEY

'Michael Mansfield is the greatest civil liberties lawyer this country has ever produced' - Baroness HELENA KENNEDY of the Shaws KC

'Michael Mansfield has given power to the voiceless, the innocents ... For this, he too is a hero' - JOHN PILGER

'Michael Mansfield combines rare humanity with a brilliant understanding of the law' - JON SNOW

'A book of great importance ... Mr Mansfield's thoughtful reflections demand our attention' - KEN LOACH

'An impressive and inspiring read' - DUNCAN CAMPBELL

' I want this book to inspire people, give them a blueprint for fighting their own battles, and challenge the status quo. To see that together, we are always stronger. To understand that those who stand in the way of change cannot do so forever.' Michael Mansfield, KC

Barrister Michael Mansfield, KC, has spent his career fighting injustice, persecution and corruption. And be it the Birmingham Six, Bloody Sunday, Stephen Lawrence, the Marchioness, Hillsborough or Grenfell, he has come to learn one thing - that people power is unstoppable.

Time and again he has witnessed governments, police forces, legal institutions and the establishment, try to block change and maintain the status quo in order to protect their interests. But almost every time he has seen that passion, perseverance, collectivity and courage create a powerful momentum which is increasingly difficult to stop.

In this short but powerful book, the veteran barrister draws upon his 50 years of fighting for justice and revisits his most important cases and clients, proving without doubt that when people get together they can make lasting and positive change.

The power is in the people - not the people in power.

Genres: Nonfiction, Law, Legal, Politics

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2023

Reviews

[Michael Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mansfield has long been a central figure in the legal fight against injustice. Injustice often perpetrated by those in power and with influence. He has seen first hand the preparedness of individuals, and communities, to join together in the pursuit of the truth. Always against overwhelming odds and unlikely to succeed until many decades have lapsed. But as the book title implies...the power in the people...can and does win through. A powerful call to arms. And a recognition that the struggle for truth and justice depends just as much on what happens legitimately outside of the legal system, as within it.

[Julie Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on Spotify.

Having previously heard of Michael Mansfield and recognising him as a force for good I was interested to read this short but effective book highlighting the power that we do have as people if we are dogged in our convictions and have a lot of patience.

He delves into some of the high profile cases he has been involved with from Hillsborough to Grenfell, the Birmingham Six to Stephen Lawrence, all examples where sheer tenacity and determination by people fighting against the injustices they have suffered has finally effected positive change.

Also interesting to me that two of the lesser known cases he talks about I've already read about in other books - Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe covers the story of Dolours and Marian Price charged with IRA activity and the case of Mahmood Mattan, the last man to be hanged at Cardiff Prison for a crime he didn't commit is brilliantly fictionalised by Nadifa Mohamed in The Fortune Men.

[Siobhan Markwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unsurprisingly for a KC, Michael Mansfield has an entertaining, easy-flowing writing style that brings his subject to life: how determined and dauntless campaigners have made a crucial difference throughout the late 20th Century in combatting the excesses of the ruling classes. Having brought his considerable dedication and legal expertise to bear on an impressive number of high profile miscarriage of justice, public interest and wrongful imprisonment cases, he shares his hopeful and often highly moving reflections on cases like the Stephen Lawrence Murder, the Birmingham Six, attempts to discredit early Black British Civil Rights campaigners such as Darcus Howe and the victims of Bloody Sunday and the Ballymurphy massacre. Essential reading for all who need encouragement to keep on keeping on in the face of sometimes overwhelming odds in the battle for justice.

[Emma Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I watch a period of injustice in a documentary, Michael Mansfield always seems to be the man on the rescue mission who saves the day and ends years of pain and suffering to the victims.

This account is part memoir but part commentary on the social injustice, racism, and just downright craziness of some laws.

From Grenfell to Hillsborough this covers them all, and he even includes the Atomic Nuclear Test Veterans.

He was a delight to listen to at Hay festival a couple of weeks ago and I really do think that this book should be on the curriculum for Secondary Schools so we learn from these catastrophic events and move forward. He is an absolute hero in my eyes.

This made me feel like I wanted to change the world. But more importantly, he made me feel like I could.

[Rupen Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening. This book is a series of stories about the power of common people advocating for fairness from the police, law enforcements, politicians and governments. What really shook me was the Hillsborough disaster where a group of people were crushed to death in a Football stadium. The victims and the families successfully brought this case into mainstream conversation and pushed for changes to be made in stadiums. I read this story in the wake of RCB fans being crushed to death and it made me sad that in India, the common folk feel powerless to even put the blame on public administration.

[Darren Ambler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packed full of examples where individuals and campaign groups have taken on the people in power and through sheer force of will, sometimes over many decades have brought about the changes they know in their hearts are needed in the name of justice. It has been inspiring.
Also inspiring is the example set by Michael Mansfield KC; one of the experiences recounted is that of defending people accused planting a bomb that could have killed him.

[Éabha Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief but inspiring overview of some of the cases and inquiries Mansfield has been involved in. I’ve read his memoir before which contains much more detail about the cases but this book provides a great introduction. Very relevant for the world today and provides some hope as to what can actually be achieved by the people.

[Patrick Dennehy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb book from a superb man. Everything that's wrong with the world has always been wrong. Plus ca change!

[Salman Rauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

More books should be written about ordinary people doing extraordinary things! Not just in the field of sport but in the field of being good humans! In the field of doing what is right!

[Sally Gooch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read after hearing Mansfield speak at Felixstowe Literary Festival 2024. Very timely given threat of Trump and the Tory Government we had til recently. Powerful like the man. Read it

[Rebecca Nuttall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Time for change, the change is in you