Dragged Up Proppa can be read in three parts. In the first Fallow describes his modest early life in County Durham; son of a coal miner, whose mother would often struggle to pay the bills. The middle of the book describes a period of travel around the UK and abroad for work; taking on some quite remarkable jobs, including working with mineral extraction companies and newly contacted tribes. The final section of the book describes Fallow’s return north, his establishment of a highly successful building company, and his happy family life with his wife and children.

Read like this it sounds like a rags-to-riches memoir, but I am being deliberately reductive. In fact the first third of the book describes great wealth, if not financial. He describes friendships and a particular excitement at the development and acquisition of new technologies. Notably he describes a wealth of good role models, in particular hard working men such as his father, and a community which always has each others back. The final section details the loss of many of these things, and a decline of quality of life in the north.

So this book can be read as rags-to-riches, or the opposite. The first section can be accused of being told through rose tinted glasses, although the author describes how he may have overlooked his poverty due to his being a child. Similarly, he makes clear that he would not have wanted to send his children to work as miners even though the community protested their closure. He also looks back at his time at school with anything but rose tinted glasses. The central portion of the book is the most vivid, telling the story of his discrimination while in london, his travels around the world, and his and his future wife’s love story. For me the most thought provoking portion is the last section.

A lot of ground is covered in a relatively small number of pages at end of the book, but I’ll focus on some critiques the author makes which stuck with me. Fallow’s most interesting critique is of the dependence of some sections of society on the state. He takes issue, for example, with the provision of methadone by the state to treat opioid misuse, and with how little extra can be gained financially from working versus claiming benefits. This is of course extremely subtle. Are drug addicts not more likely to quit if they receive opioids from the state rather than drug dealers who profit from their addiction? How much poorer should you be if you lose your job, particularly if it is of no fault of your own? These are arguments which will not be resolved easily but Fallow does well at articulating his point, in particular that this has a disproportionate affect in the north where wages are low.

This point feeds into a wider point that people do not take responsibility for their actions as they did in the past. He also criticises what might sometimes be called the ‘virtue signalling’ of those working in food banks in particular, believing that doing so supports an institution which should not exist. Interestingly these are similar points to those arrived at in Poverty Safari, another exceptional book by a working class author, in that occasion from Scotland. This is another example of the small c conservatism of the working class which, while extensively written about now, was forgotten about for some time.

Fallow makes two criticisms of the labour party, and Jeremy Corbyn in particular: firstly that identity politics took precedent over the priorities of working people; and secondly that people in the north could not vote for Corbyn as he was indecisive on Brexit. Fallow then goes on to propose a political movement based on regularly polling the population as a solution to some of these criticisms. Fallow does not mention the Italian Five Star movement but it strikes me that there are some similarities to what he proposes. However I find Fallow’s criticism of Corbyn’s position on Brexit, that a deal based on a customs union should be negotiated and then put to a referendum, to contradict his views on direct democracy.

The last point I will make is in regards to Fallow’s comments on the UK education system, to which he says ‘thanks for naught’. Clearly the education system did fail Fallow, who left school illiterate. While I too was born to a working class family, the education I received was of very high standard and allowed me to greatly improve my circumstances. It behoves me to thank the UK education system, not for naught, but for almost everything. This is a striking example of disparity in opportunities, with me being born only a little while later and only a little further south. If we know how to do it in one part of the country we must surely be able to do it in others.

In conclusion, this is an exceptionally well written and engaging book telling the story of an interesting and special, yet widely relatable life. It is a great case study of the experiences of a huge number of people in this country. The Labour party has always been a union of small c conservative working class voters, and liberal ideologists. I do not myself think this is an ‘uncomfortable union’, but this book does a great job of conveying what is presently the lesser told story of the two groups in that union.