LABOUR HISTORY
Series One: British Labour Party Research Department Memoranda & Information Papers, 1941-1979
Part 4: Memoranda, November 1974 - May 1979, with Information Papers, 1975-1979
Dr Kevin Theakston,
Department of Politics,
University of Leeds, and author of The Labour Party and Whitehall (London 1992).
The Labour Research Department evolved from the Fabian Society Research Bureau and was the principal fountainhead of policy ideas within the Labour Party. They produced over 100 'Memoranda' in a given year, each of which vigorously examined a chosen topic and proposed a policy.
Part 4 completes the project with coverage of the period from November 1974 to May 1979. Under the Wilson and Callaghan administrations, these were difficult years for Labour, featuring:
- Inflation reaching 25% following the oil crisis.
- The decline of manufacturing in Britain.
- IMF intervention.
- Widespread union unrest - "Crisis, what crisis?"
- Discussion of alliance with the Liberal Party.
Harold Wilson’s final term as Prime Minister witnessed two of the most significant turning points in British politics since the Second World War. First, Edward Heath was replaced as conservative leader by Margaret Thatcher in February 1975. Second, Tony Benn launched his campaign to set Labour on an irreversible course towards socialism.
Europe, inflation and unemployment continued as dominant problems. The economic outlook remained bleak with the Western world still in recession following the quadrupling of oil prices at the end of 1973. Price inflation in Britain was to rise to a peak of 25%. Another problem was the decline of British manufacturing coupled with anxiety over the Balance of Payments. Wilson was keen on proposals for the National Enterprise Board as a way to help industries with investment capital. These subjects feature heavily in the Research Department Memoranda.
Economic weakness dominated the lifetime of Callaghan’s Government. The IMF crisis in the second half of 1976 was followed by a period of difficult negotiations with the TUC. Trouble with the Trade Unions was never far away. When the Prime Minister returned from an international summit in the West Indies in early January 1979 he was confronted with hospital nurses, ambulance men and airline pilots on strike. Lorry drivers, tanker drivers, Ford car workers, local council manual workers and other industrial groups were also in disputes with their employers. Jim Callaghan’s upbeat remarks at the airport gave rise to the newspaper headlines: "Crisis ? What crisis ?"
The Callaghan Government also had to contend with a constantly perilous parliamentary position. Callaghan never enjoyed an overall majority. The defection of two Labour MPs to the newly formed Scottish Labour Party, together with further by-election losses, deprived Labour of control in the Commons. Scottish Nationalism seemed to be on the advance. Unemployment and industrial relations troubles in Scotland put the administration in a difficult corner. Many north of the border viewed "North Sea Oil" as "Scottish Oil". However, Callaghan was anxious to harness, if possible, any favourable circumstances flowing from "North Sea Oil" to restore the fortunes of the entire British economy. It was a vote on Scottish devolution which was to prove Labour’s downfall in 1979.
Labour were divided amongst themselves over direct elections to the European Parliament.
Callaghan’s last hope of clinging to office appeared to be refuge in form of the Lib-Lab Pact and protection against defeat in the Commons offered by the Liberal leader David
Steel.
A sample selection of reports on issues during the period includes:
In RE 242 of July 1975 in which the Transport Sub-Committee discusses “The Need for Fair Competition Between Road and Rail”. Ron Atkins reports, “The Government should invest freely in British Rail to increase productivity and reduce costs … The Government should direct certain traffic to the railway where that traffic is eminently suitable for rail transport especially where grants are available for private sidings … New electrification is badly needed and full advantage should be taken of electronics which are more easily applied to railways than any other form of land transport. Now, during industrial depression, is the time to invest. To delay is to weaken rail transport further so that it may never recover.”
In RE 1868 of November 1978 the Home Policy Committee reports on the European Monetary System in which the following issues were discussed:
- The Present Snake
- New Proposals: Parity Grid v the Basket, the EMF, Britain’s Attitude, The Progress of Negotiations
- The Dangers for Britain: A Heavy Dose of Deflation? Exchange Rate Policy
Greater Stability or Less?
- Attitudes in Other Countries: The EMU connection
- The Party’s Policy.
RE 1394 of December 1977 looks at the ‘Problems of Pollution Control’ in a Discussion Paper. “Introduction. Most major nations now recognize the impact on the environment of ever expanding industrial activity coupled with population growth. Public opinion is increasingly demanding action to control and limit the environmental despoilation which is occurring. In the long tem progress can only be achieved by the development of new industrial strategies along more socially responsible lines. There is as yet little sign of progress in the development of such strategies although the present debate on alternatives to nuclear power and the growing interest in alternative technologies of all types may be the first tentative steps in this direction.”
In RE 436 of January 1976 Richard Barry provides a ‘Report of a Visit to Northern Ireland in January 1976’ for discussion by the Home Policy Committee. In Part II, ‘What Happens Next’ Barry states, “On the surface any hopes of a constitutional “settlement” in Northern Ireland appears to be very slim. The majority Loyalist report, rejected in part by the Government, did not contain any surprises. Indeed it was widely accepted before hand that the loyalists would reiterate their demands that any future system of government for Northern Ireland must exclude enforced power-sharing and an institutionalised Irish dimension. The Government have manifestly refused to give way to these demands and have re-convened the Constitutional Convention for a further four weeks from February 3rd. It is not at all clear what the Government expect the Convention to achieve in four weeks, having failed to produce a report acceptable to the British Parliament and the British people, after six months deliberations. Nevertheless the seventy eight members of the Convention will, as far as the Government is concerned, have to “think again” if Northern Ireland is to have a system of government which will “command the most widespread acceptance throughout the community”. At the moment there are few signs that the pro and anti-power sharing parties will abandon their intransigence and get down to building the foundations of democracy within the province.”
In RE 2107 of March 1979 the Race Relations Study Group look at the subject of
“ “SUS” The Black Community and the Police”. “ “Sus” is a charge under section 4 of the Vagrancy Act 1824 under which it is an offence to be a “suspected person loitering with intent to commit an arrestable offence” …
“Sus” and Civil Liberties
“I must say that I myself find it very difficult to equate this Law with the Rule of Law at all.” - Lord Gardener, former Lord Chancellor, December 14th 1978.
Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act has long been a cause for concern to civil libertarians…
“Sus” and Community Relations
The disproportionate number of Black youths arrested for “Sus”, the nature of the offence and the high rate of conviction (1976 Home Office figures - 78% in England and Wales, 82% in London) have led to “Sus” becoming a major factor in embittering relations between the Black community and police …The use of “Sus” has heightened the tension between the police and the Black community, and has led to the breaking down of an attitude in the older generation of West Indians, which was simply supportive of the police and which demonstrated considerable faith in the British legal system.”
Throughout these difficult times, the Labour Research Department continued its pivotal
role in the synthesis of ideas and attitudes, the provision of information, and the shaping of documentation through to agreed statements of party policy. The range of issues dealt with will be borne out by any study of the Memoranda and Information Papers it contributed during these years. The documents also reveal many of the tensions within the Labour Party during this period. Scholars can investigate the background to key decisions. Many Committee sessions discussing policy issues and papers prepared by the Research Department became deadlocked with strongly held positions on both sides of any particular argument. How often did these disputes and problems, when the left of the party argued vigorously against more moderate colleagues, sway the balance of power on the National Executive or shape or influence crucial policy decisions over the longer term?
The Labour Research Department serviced as its main function the National Executive Committee’s Home Policy Sub-Committee. These documents allow scholars to study this process in detail.
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