Billy Bragg takes the Great Leap Forward at Hay

Oliver Bulch (chair) asked what the difference was between writing a book as a vehicle for change and a protest song? Bragg said “writing a book on accountability has more authority” and at 61 years old, he admitted “it’s a long time since I have been on Top Of The Pops”.

The singer-songwriter and activist said his book is more “polemic essay” and sees freedom in the dimensions of “Liberty, Equality and Accountability” rather than taking a “linear” approach.

He said “one of the things about being a song writer is you are not delivering answers…but trying to work out where we are.  A map is just a piece of paper if you don’t know where you are. I’m just trying to work out where we are on the landscape sir, how we go forward and the way we go forward.  Providing we have that, the three dimensions, and we respect them, I trust the British people to get their way out of this”.  Possibly to “A New England?”

If you are interested in more events like this, please also see Event 325 at 10am on Saturday 1 June.

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Picture by Paul Musso