Jamie Gough squatted in 117 Drummond Street in 1974 for a couple of years and then 12 Tolmers Square until evicted in 1979. He wrote ’20 years of “planning” the Tolmers Square office development’, 1981 and assisted with parts of ‘The Battle of Tolmers Square’, 1976. Both publications are listed on the books page.

Jamie writes:

After leaving 12 Tolmers Square, Cora Pearlman, Sacha Craddock, Dave Taylor and I moved to a house next to the British Museum in Great Russell Street, rented from the Museum, where I lived for the next 13 years. There, I had lovely relationships with Barry, Chris, Leslie and Den, as well as enjoying the West End gay clubs close by.

After that I made three big moves, each for my work as a university lecturer. In 1993-6 I lived in Sydney, where I had a relationship with Ken in the Blue Mountains and Peter in Canberra.  In 1996-2005 I lived in Newcastle upon Tyne where my lover was John Leask. From 2005 I lived in Sheffield.  Soon after I moved to Sheffield I met Nick Nuttgens; we lived together (the first time that either of us had done that) until his death from cancer in January 2023.  A record of the celebration of Nick’s life is here.  I now feel able to look for a new lover, so if you know a single gay man over 60 who is attractive and socialist, send him my way.

From 1976 to 1992 I did academic and policy work on industrial policy, including working in the Industrial and Employment Branch of the Greater London Council when Ken Livingstone was leader.  I then decided I needed a permanent job as a university lecturer, which proved difficult at my advanced age (42), but I landed a lecturership in the Geography Department at Sydney University.  In 1996 I moved to Northumbria University in Newcastle, and in 2005 moved again to the Town and Regional Planning department at Sheffield University.

In 2017 I retired, but after that I continued to write and publish.  I have written or co-written five books and about 35 articles in academic journals.  These are on the economics, labour, social life, politics and culture of localities and regions, using a flexible or ‘open’ Marxist approach.  My publications are here.  The latest is a book entitled Through Brexit to Far Right Britain: capital, labour, interests and fantasies, to be published by Brill.  My view of the Labour Party’s move towards the Far Right is here.