After a tumultuous early December 1936, King Edward VIII had been left with two options. The first, give up any thoughts of marriage to the twice divorced Wallis Simpson, and remain King. Or abdicate and marry. The government, under Stanley Baldwin, was unwilling to consider necessary legislative changes that might have enabled the marriage on any terms, and the King was equally determined. The result was inevitable.
On December 10th, 1936, at his Fort Belvedere retreat, the King signed the Instrument of Abdication, in the presence of his three brothers, who also countersigned the document.
The following day, the former King broadcast to the Empire on the BBC, and was introduced as His Royal Highness, Prince Edward;
"...At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to withhold anything, but until now it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak. A few hours ago, I discharged my last duty as King and Emperor, and now that I have been succeeded by my brother, the Duke of York, my first words must be to declare my allegiance to him. This I do with all my heart..."
"...I now quit altogether public affairs and lay down my burden. It may be some before I return to my native land, but I shall always follow the fortunes of the British race and empire with profound interest, and if at any time in the future I can be found of service to his Majesty in a private station, I shall not fail..."
The key element of the speech, and probably the best known, was his succinct explanation of his reasons;
"...But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as King, as I would wish to do, without the help and support of the woman I love..."
The following summer, the former King, now Duke of Windsor, and Wallis Simpson, were married in France. None of the Royal Family attended, and celebrations were dampened by the fact that the new Duchess would be denied royal rank (HRH; Her Royal Highness). The rift in the royal family was now beyond repair, with anger and bitterness on both sides. There ensued arguments over the Duke and Duchess's financial settlement, when it was discovered that the Duke had not been entirely honest about the extent of his personal wealth, claiming he had around 90 000 pounds to his name, when he actually had saved as much as 1 000 000 poundsfrom his royal revenues.
You can listen to a number of fascinating first-hand recollections of the wedding, and the preceding crisis, thanks to the BBC Witness History programme. Link here;
The Duke's younger brother Bertie, Duke of York, had succeeded as George VI. After an anxious beginning, it soon became apparent that his work ethic and adherence to the old traditions set him apart from his wayward brother. He had a clear understanding of what was expected of him, his first duty, in his own words, tostabilise this rocking throne. The subsequent coronation had a healing effect upon the nation, and even supporters of the former King fell in to line. On observing the blessing of the Queen Consort as part of the Coronation ceremonies, Winston Churchill, according to his daughter Lady Soames, commented to his wife Clementine; you were quite right, the other one would never have done. The previously warm relationship between Winston Churchill and the former King soon cooled. In 2001, the Telegraph reported on
Churchill's frustration at the Duke's clumsy attempts to meddle in British foreign affairs, and over a number of petty demands made around the time of the Duke's appointment as Governor of the Bahamas in 1940. Questions were raised over the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's alleged Nazi sympathies, and even of a plot to restore him to the throne in the event of Nazi annexation of Great Britain. The Duke's tenure as governor ended in 1945, after which the Duke and Duchess lived in Paris as society retirees. In 1969, the Duke and Duchess granted an interview to the BBC, during which they talked about their lives in Paris society. The Duchess told the reporter; "...I have a great many young people come here because that makes me feel young. They behave like we did when we were young...They do little dances I don't know, they show them to me and we all try..." The Duke added; "...The Duchess and I are a little past the age of being what they call with it today...But don't for one minute imagine that we weren't with it when we were younger, in fact, I was so much with it, that that was one of the big criticisms that was levelled against me by the older generation..."
With President Nixon
The Duchess described her husband as ahead of his time, and observed that the Establishment, during the time the Duke had been Prince of Wales, had not been ready for his desire to modernise the business and image of the Royal Family, "...He was very interested in everything that was going on, in people...he made a lot of trips, not only ceremonials but to go down among the people, which, for me as an American, is what I'm used to people doing, and I thought that was very clever..." The Duke told the BBC interviewer that he had offered his services to Britain, but had been rebuffed. He wouldn't be drawn on why no job offer had been forthcoming, but made the point that most the the people who had prevented his return to any kind of public service were now underground. Other reports suggested that the Duke's acceptance of any such role would be conditional upon the Duchess finally receiving her HRH, the absence of which remained a festering source of resentment. Inevitably, the stalemate remained. In the absence of any meaningful work, the Duke and Duchess spent their time socialising, travelling in Europe, and overseeing their investments. The Duke himself remained a keen golfer, but household sources suggested that this was not the kind of life that either Edward nor the former Mrs Simpson had envisaged for themselves, and they both regretted their inability to be useful. On nights in which there were no parties or interesting company as a distraction, the mood was apparently often silent and a little bleak. The Duke died of throat cancer in 1972, at which time his body was flown back to England by the RAF, for a traditional lying-in-state and subsequent funeral service at St George's Chapel, Windsor. Thousands of people, queuing for miles and waiting for hours, as the Associated Press reported, came to pay their respects. The Duchess of Windsor was afforded a royal fight to Britain and accommodated at Buckingham Palace, after the Queen had visited them in Paris in the Duke's final days, where it appeared there was some resolution of the family rift. The Express reported that even the Queen Mother agreed to the attend services at the graveside, in a further gesture of reconciliation. In the ensuing years, the Duchess' own health declined. She died in 1986, having unsuccessfully tried to stop the award winning Thames Television series, Edward and Mrs Simpson, which aired to great acclaim in 1978. The Duchess was buried alongside her husband in the Royal burial ground, Frogmore. The service, also in St George's chapel, was described as simple and stripped of all trappings of state. The Royal Family, including the Queen Mother, were all in attendance. Here is a contemporary (BBC) news report of the funeral.
End Notes;
The Sun from the Summer of 1977. The death of Elvis predictably dominates, but it's interesting to note reference to the Duchess at the bottom of the page. The mini-series, Edward and Mrs Simpson, starred Edward Fox as the King and Cynthia Harris as Wallis Simpson. It appears to be historically accurate, with scenes actually shot at Fort Belvedere, and including verbatim re-creation of speeches, public and private. The art direction, costumes and performances bring you as close to the 1930s as you could possibly be without a time machine. Perhaps there is an argument that the portrayal of the the Prince of Wales, then King, was just a little too sympathetic, something that was remedied years later in a drama more from the point of view of the Duke and Duchess of York, Bertie and Elizabeth. Read more about Edward and Mrs Simpson here;
In the autumn of 1936, and around the time of the Jarrow March, King Edward VIII toured the Welsh Valleys, where poverty and unemployment were laying waste to the remnants of coal mining communities. While much of middle-class London and the Home Counties remained generally prosperous during the Great Depression, conditions were very different in the North and in Wales. The King was deeply affected by his visit to Wales, and publicly stated; something should be done to find these people work. This quote was also reported as something must be done, but either way, the King's contribution wasn't appreciated by the Baldwin National Government, with whom a final showdown was looming over his desire to marry the twice-divorced American, Bessie Wallis Simpson, known as Wallis.
By December he had abdicated, telling the Empire by means of a radio broadcast that he was unable to discharge his duties as King, on his own terms, without Wallis by his side. His younger brother, the Duke of York, succeeded as George VI, and the following year the former King, now Duke of Windsor, married Mrs Simpson in what was a rather sparsely attended and sad affair in France. The refusal to grant the new Duchess royal rank, (HRH; Her Royal Highness) put something of a dampener on the celebrations, and was, perhaps, the last nail in the coffin of already strained relations within the Royal Family, whose female members the Duke of Windsor famously described as ice-veined bitches.
How had it come to this? As Prince of Wales, Edward, then known as David, was enormously popular and was described in the vernacular of the times as dedicated to fashion. He was outgoing, charming, charismatic and good-looking; a 1930s equivalent of a rock star. He moved in a social circle of which his rigidly straight-laced father, George V, strongly disapproved. As Prince of Wales, David enjoyed a close and loving relationship with his younger brother Bertie (then Duke of York), and his mischievous nature appealed to Bertie's wife Elizabeth, Duchess of York, (later Queen Mother), who had once written to the Prince of Wales, describing him as so naughty but delicious.
In 1934, David had begun a relationship with Wallis Simpson, who was at that time married to Ernest Simpson, a successful shipping agent. Rumours of this liaison eventually reached the Prince's parents, King George V and Queen Mary, however the Prince of Wales denied any impropriety. With the prince spending so much time, at home and abroad, with the still married Mrs Simpson, his royal duties were neglected, frustrating his father, who predicted that the boy willruin himself in eighteen months after I've gone.
The relationship continued, unreported by the press yet tolerated by the Establishment, and, it would seem, by Mr Simpson himself, and thoroughly enjoyed by elements of high society. Upon the death of George V in January of 1936, David ascended the throne as Edward VIII. But it soon became apparent that Mrs Simpson was far more than simply another in a line of married mistresses. There was a degree of perceived safety provided by the fact that Wallis Simpson was married, but when the decree nisi (first stage of divorce proceedings) was granted in October 1936, and when the King finally told Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin of his desire to marry her, and make her Queen, both the government and the Church of England stood firm in their opposition. Although it's hard to understand by current standards, the royals, in those days, were supposed to set the moral example, and having a divorced woman as Queen Consort, Anglican bishops asserted, would undermine the family unit, the bedrock of British christian respectability. The King was also was Defender of the Faith, and at that time the church did not recognise the marriage of divorced persons. Sir Robert Rhodes James, author of A Spirit Undaunted -The Political Role of George VI, said; "...The key moment was when (The King) told Baldwin, the Prime Minister this, and then he, and not Baldwin, said, that if you don't agree, I will abdicate. He was the person that first introduced the thought of abdication into their discussion, which was a threat. And this revealed that the King had no idea whatever, of the Constitutional Monarchy. The Monarchy is perfectly entitled to argue, to warn, to complain, to discuss. What he has no right to do, is tell the Prime Minister of an elected government what to do..."
The King's own behavior during the first months of his reign left himself open to feelings resentment and frustration. There were raised eyebrows when Wallis assumed the duties of official hostess at a number of functions. As the King's Godson, David Metcalfe, later recalled; "...(Wallis) was soon running the show, and the King did as he was asked..."
Lord Deedes, a journalist for the Morning Post from 1931-37, described the King's attitude thus, in a 1999 BBC documentary; "...He was impatient with what many people felt was an important surrounding of majesty...He was impatient with majesty...He was more a man of this age, than his own age. He began to deformalise the court..." In stark contrast to his father, the new King was not scrupulously attentive to his royal duties. Official documents were returned unsigned and with circular stains from wine glasses, and he spent his time largely at Fort Belvedere with Mrs Simpson and her racy circle of friends. Wallis' own attitude did not endear her; long serving royal attendants were treated poorly, she disparaged Balmoral (This Tartan has got to go) and was disrespectful to the Duchess of York, commenting unkindly about her weight and her clothes. The Duchess of York, for her part, was certainly no fan of Mrs Simpson, and her feelings toward her brother-in-law had also cooled dramatically. She wrote that the country was different, especially spiritually and mentally, since the death of George V, lamenting the pursuit of fashion rather than tradition. The relationship between the hitherto close brothers also became strained, and there emerged two rival royal courts, with very different values.
Although the romance had been reported in the United States, and was an open secret in London society, the vast majority of the British public remained oblivious. A gentlemen's agreement was in place between the proprietors of British newspapers and there was, as a result, no local reporting. As the conflict with the government deepened, the King was taking advice from supporters including Conservative backbencher Winston Churchill, press baron Lord Beaverbrook, and the King's old friend and lawyer, Walter Monckton.
One proposed compromise was a morganatic marriage, whereby the consort would not be Queen, and any children would fall outside of the line of succession. The Statute of Westminster, however, set out in law that dominions must be consulted if there was going to be any change to the accepted rules of succession. Following consultation in writing, Baldwin claimed that almost all of the dominion governments opposed the marriage, even on morganatic terms. Only New Zealand demurred, replying to Prime Minister Baldwin that they would respect the Kings wishes, and the government's decision. In 2013, however, the Telegraph wrote that the opposition to the marriage might not have been as strong as Baldwin led the King to believe, citing (although not specifying) public support in new Zealand and Canada for the morganatic marriage. Yet Baldwin and the government stood firm. The King remained equally adamant that he would not give up Mrs Simpson, to the dismay of Prime Minister Baldwin, Queen Mary, and other members of the Royal family. The uncertainty took a particularly heavy emotional toll on the King's brother, the next in line, who, despite cracks in their relationship, remained loyal and supportive.
Baldwin made it clear that if the King defied his government, the Prime Minister and Cabinet would resign. The Opposition, led by future Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee, would likely refuse to form any kind of government so there would be a constitutional crisis, and deeply divisive general election with the King's personal life and royal scandal the central issue.
At the beginning of December, following a vague reference to the King in a speech by the Bishop of Bradford, the press decided to break their silence, and events gathered pace. A newsreel of the day reported; "...Ever since the newspapers, which had observed silence for months, first uncovered the soul-rending drama being fought out in the solitude of Fort Belvedere, the whole emotional life of the nation, indeed of the entire British race, has seemed to hang poised in suspense..."
Winston Churchill (1935 Photograph)
The King had prepared a speech, apparently with some help from Winston Churchill, to put his position to the British public through a radio broadcast. Baldwin subsequently described the proposed speech as a grave breach of constitutional principle. "...Such a broadcast can only be given on the advice of his ministers, who would be responsible for every sentence of it...For the King to broadcast in disregard of that advice, would be appealing over the heads of his constitutional advisers...The last time when this happened in history was when Charles the First raised his standard at the beginning of the Civil War on August 22nd, 1642..." And look what happened to him, Mr Baldwin might just as well have said. The Prime Minister also suggested that the Royal Household's most loyal constituency, the womenfolk of Britain, would be shocked to hear directly from the King of his intention to marry a woman still, in the eyes of the church at least, married to another man. Keen to bring the matter to a conclusion, the Prime Minister was no doubt frustrated by the efforts of the King's supporters, including Churchill, to play for time. Government was being disrupted, and there were grumblings that the Christmas trade was suffering. The day after Baldwin refused the King' permission to make his public statement, Churchill wrote to the Prime Minister; "...The King having told me that he had your permission to see me as an old friend, I dined with His Majesty last night and had a long talk with him. I strongly urged his staff to call a doctor. His Majesty appeared to me to be under the greatest strain and near breaking point...He had two prolonged blackouts in which he completely lost the thread of the conversation..." Churchill described how, during the dinner, the King's gallant and debonair demeanor soon wore off and how His Majesty's mental exhaustion was painful to see. He appealed to Baldwin not to fail in kindness and chivalry and that; "...It would be a most cruel and wrong thing to extort a decision from him in his present state..." On Friday, 4th December, the Prime Minister spoke in the House of Commons, and was subsequently reported in the Daily Mirror the following day, with the provocative headline; Tell us the Facts, Mr Baldwin.;
Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
"...Suggestions have appeared that if the King decided to marry, his wife need not become Queen. These ideas are without any constitutional foundation...There is no such thing as what is called a morganatic marriage known to our law......The King himself requires no consent from any other authority to make his marriage legal, but, as I have said, the lady whom he marries, by the fact of her marriage to the King, necessarily becomes Queen...She herself therefore enjoys all the status, rights and privileges which, both by positive law and by custom, attaches to that position. And her children would be in direct line of succession to the throne...The only possible way in which this could be avoided would be by legislation dealing with a particular case. His Majesty's government are not prepared to introduce such legislation... Such a change could not be effective without the consent of all the dominions. I am satisfied from enquiries I have made, that this assent would not be forthcoming..." Winston Churchill publicly pleaded for time and patience for the King, then on the following Monday, continued his advocacy on the floor of the House of Commons. His attempt at a question; I ask that there should be an assurance that no irrevocable step...was aggressively shouted down by members across the House. After words of caution from the Speaker to the effect that he should ask a direct question and not make a speech, Churchill tried again; "...I ask that there should be an assurance that no irrevocable decision will be taken until at least a statement has been made to Parliament of the constitutional issues involved..." But by now, parliament, and public opinion, appeared to be united, and firmly on the side of Stanley Baldwin. Churchill's question was ruled out of order, and the House moved onto other business of the day.
The Telegraph The Guardian The Daily Mirror The Daily Express
Edward and Mrs Simpson (Thames Television 1978) Additional research and verification shows this to be a generally reliable account, including speeches quoted verbatim) George VI-The Reluctant King (BBC Reputations Series, 1999) Winston Churchill Blog by Bradley P Tolppanen BBC World Service (Witness)
Photo Credits;
Public Domain unless specified Edward and Wallis -By National Media Museum Edward in top hat ; Bundes Archive Link to Source Blog sponsored by the Armstrong and Burton series.
The 1987 UK General Election saw the emergence, for the first time, of three MPs of African and/or Caribbean background, all on the Labour side. Bernie Grant was elected MP for Tottenham, Paul Boateng for Brent South, and Diane Abbott for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.
It's interesting to note that the first MP of South Asian background was Dadabhai Naoroji, who served as Liberal MP for Finsbury Central (1892-95) and had been one of the founding fathers of the Indian National Congress in 1885. On the Conservative side, Sir Mancherjee Merwanjee Bhownaggree served as MP for Bethnal Green Northeast from 1895-1906. These two pioneering MPs don't take into account the presence of David Dyce Sombre, an Anglo-Indian, who had a fleeting career as MP for Sudbury, but was unseated for corruption in the 1840s.
But to the class of '87...
Bernie Grant
Bernie Grant is described as one of the most charismatic black political leaders of modern times, on the website 100 Great Black Britons.Tony Blair said that he was an inspiration to Black British communities everywhere. Bernard Alexander Montgomery (Bernie) Grant was born in 1944, in British Guiana, now Guyana. He arrived in Britain at the age of 19, and began working for British Rail. He soon became active in trade union affairs, including the Black Trade Unionists Solidarity Movement, and after a decade as a Councillor for the London Borough of Haringey, was elected as its leader in 1985. He was the first black leader of a local authority, and at the general election of 1987, was elected Labour MP for Tottenham.
Bernie Grant was seen as being toward the radical socialist Left of the Labour Party, and earned a reputation for outspokenness and independence. He fought against racism and discrimination on the basis of gender or sexuality, advocated for those with disabilities, and worked tirelessly for social justice. His career was not without controversy. Following rioting in the Broadwater Farm area of his borough in 1985, resulting in the death of a police officer, Grant opined that the general feeling within the community was that the police had been given a bloody good hiding.
Having battled ill-health for some time, he died in 2000, at the age of 56.
Mike Phillips, writing The Guardian's obituary, said this;
"...Even those who characterised him as rash and hasty, acknowledged that he was likeable, charming, generous to friends and enemies, and relentlessly honest. Those closest to him understood that he never accepted the dogmatic positions of faction and party. He had a passionate devotion to an ideal of justice, and be believed that politics was about these notions..."
Read in more detail about the life and professional achievements of Bernie Grant here;
Paul Boateng was born in London in 1951. He spent his early years in Ghana, his father being a Cabinet Minister in the Ghanaian government. Following a military coup in 1966, his family returned to England, and by the late 1970s, Paul Boateng was building a reputation as a crusading housing and civil rights lawyer in Lambeth, South London. He was elected to the GLC (Greater London Council) in 1981, and served on the police and ethnic minorities committees. As chair of the police committee, he fought for greater accountability from the Metropolitan Police, particularly in their dealings with minority and disadvantaged communities. He was elected as Labour MP for Brent South at the general election of 1987. He was part of the move toward a more moderate ideology that was emerging under the leadership of Neil Kinnock, and served in a number of key Opposition posts.
Ten years later, Tony Blair's New Labour defeated the Tories under incumbent Prime Minister John Major, consigning them to Opposition for the first time since 1979. Boateng served as a junior minister for Health and Home Affairs, and as a financial secretary at the Treasury.
In 2002, he achieved another milestone, when he was promoted to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, becoming the first black member of the Cabinet. He did not seek reelection in 2005, and subsequently served as British High Commissioner to South Africa. In 2010 he was granted a Life Peerage, as Baron Boateng of Akyem and Wembley.
Of his background, he once said;
"...My colour is part of me, but I do not choose to be defined by my colour..." You can follow Lord Boateng's latest work at his official parliamentary page here;
Diane Abbott was born in Paddington, London in 1953, to Jamaican parents. Having achieved a Masters Degree in history at Cambridge, she went into the Civil Service, then worked as a journalist, broadcaster and PR Consultant. She was active in the National Council for Civil Liberties, and in the general election of 1987 was elected Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington, becoming Britain's first black female MP.
Her areas of particular interest include human rights and justice, in Britain and abroad. Like her fellow class of '87 MPs featured here, she has also been a vocal - and at times controversial - on issues around race-relations, social and class issues, policing ethnically diverse and minority communities, and the relentlessly controversial issue of police stop-and-search powers. She founded the London Schools and the Black Child initiative, to work towards greater equality in education, as well as Black Women Mean Business, to encourage and support black women entrepreneurs.
Her poor media performance during the 2017 election campaign attracted widespread criticism, although she later explained that her Diabetes had been poorly managed during this period of intense personal pressure. In spite of her stumbles, her personal popularity was undiminished, and she won in a landslide, with a constituency majority in excess of 35 000, or 75.1% in percentage terms. She served as Shadow Home Secretary under leader Jeremy Corbyn, however stood down in February 2020. You can listen to Diane Abbott's 2008 interview on the BBC's Desert Island Discs programme here;
The first Conservative MP of African or Caribbean background is Adam Afriyie, MP for Windsor since 2005, and who has Ghanaian heritage. Link here to his parliamentary web page;
The focus of this piece has been purely on the first black MPs in Britain. It's worth noting also that at the general election of 1987, Keith Vaz won the constituency of Leicester East, and was the longest serving MP of Asian background until his controversial career ended in late 2019.
An ongoing important character in the Armstrong and Burton series is Janice Best, Tory MP for the fictional constituency of Streatham and Vauxhall, from 1979 to 1987. Janice is the only black MP in our slightly adjusted Conservative Party, and serves briefly as a junior whip, then as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Sir Norman Armstrong at the Home Office.
“….One nanny said, feed a cold, she was a Keynesian. Another nanny said, starve a cold, she was a Monetarist….”
Conservative Prime Minister (1957-1963) Harold Macmillan
The Prime Ministership of Margaret Thatcher began on 4th May 1979 following the Conservative victory in the General Election. The Tory majority, in its own right, was 43 seats. Mrs Thatcher had been Leader of the Opposition since 1975, having unseated the incumbent, former Prime Minister Edward Heath.
Read more about the general election, and about the Tory manifesto here;
The Conservative, or Dry, wing of the Tory Party looked back on their previous term in office, Heath’s 1970-1974 administration, as a great wasted opportunity. The lack of resolve demonstrated by Heath and his more moderate government, it could be argued, had laid the foundations for uncontrollable inflation, rising unemployment, huge government overspending, unchecked union militancy and general economic and industrial decline that became a hallmark of the decade leading up to the Tory victory in 1979. Now in firm control of the Party, Thatcher and her conservative faction had no intention of repeating the same mistakes.
Margaret Thatcher was born Margaret Hilda Roberts in 1925, the daughter of a Methodist grocery shopkeeper who was also a local councillor and Mayor. Like her predecessor, Edward Heath, she had been active in Conservative student politics while studying chemistry at Oxford. Upon graduation she worked as a research chemist and married Denis Thatcher in 1951. She continued to study and by 1954 qualified as a taxation lawyer.
While still in her mid-twenties, she contested general elections for the Labour-held constituency of Dartford in 1950 and 1951. Despite losing in both contests, she made her mark; in those days a young female Conservative candidate was a rare occurrence. The biography in the Margaret Thatcher Foundation website says of her experiences in Dartford,
“….(She) cut the Labour majority sharply and hugely enjoyed the experience of campaigning. Aspects of her mature political style were formed in Dartford, a largely working class constituency which suffered as much as any from post-war rationing and shortages, as well as the rising level of taxation and state regulation. Unlike many Conservatives at that time, she had little difficulty getting a hearing from any audience and she spoke easily, with force and confidence, on issues that mattered to the voters…”
In 1959 she became the Conservative Member for Finchley, which would remain her constituency until she was kicked upstairs with a life peerage to the Lords in 1992, becoming Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven.
In 1960, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan appointed Thatcher Parliamentary Under Secretary for Pensions and National Insurance. After the Labour victory in 1964, she progressively increased her influence within the Conservative Party in opposition. When her party regained power in 1970 under Edward Heath, she achieved Cabinet rank as Secretary of State for Education. It was in this role that she famously provoked outrage by ending the provision of free milk in public schools, for children aged 7 to 11.
With the Conservatives once again consigned to opposition by 1974, Thatcher joined a successful leadership challenge against Edward Heath and assumed the duties of Opposition Leader in 1975.
Following 2 election defeats in one year under Edward Heath, the Conservative Party was in no mood for forgiveness. There were misgivings about Heath’s political abilities as well as his ideology, with the Dry faction of the party uncomfortable with his willingness to countenance nationalised industries and government interference in business, including statutory income policies. The Margaret Thatcher Foundation describes the Heath government as the most interventionist in history. MPs, during their constituency surgeries, were hearing that Heath was an electoral liability. The embattled Opposition Leader refused to step down, but conceded changes to party rules allowing the annual re-election of the party leader. Heath’s most likely successor, William Whitelaw, had hesitated to precipitate a leadership spill, as had a number of other likely candidates from the Shadow Cabinet. As a result, the first leadership ballot was, by default, principally between Heath, Margaret Thatcher and a Scottish MP without Cabinet experience, Hugh Fraser. Both challengers were unlikely candidates, which perhaps led to a somewhat complacent campaign by Heath’s supporters. With strong support from the 1922 Committee, Mrs Thatcher unexpectedly polled 130 votes to Heath’s 119. Accepting the party’s mood for change, Heath stood aside for the second ballot. No longer restrained by residual loyalty, William Whitelaw re-entered the race along with a number of other lesser candidates. Whitelaw ran second to Mrs Thatcher, 79 votes to Mrs Thatcher’s 146, reflecting the strong campaign run by the future Prime Minister, who had now captured the Party’s imagination.
It was during her tenure as Opposition Leader that Mrs Thatcher had earned the title Iron Lady over her strident criticisms of the Soviet Union. With a manifesto promising to reverse the economic decline, fight union domination, control inflation and reduce the size of government, she took the Conservatives to an election victory in 1979, defeating the beleaguered Labour Government of Jim Callaghan. When Mrs Thatcher first arrived at Ten Downing Street, she spoke to reporters from out the front of the Prime Ministerial Residence;
“…Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope…”
Clearly not everyone was convinced over Mrs Thatcher’s conciliatory speech. Former leader of the Liberal Party, Jeremy Thorpe said, probably quite accurately;
“...I’m horrified. She makes Ted Heath look like a moderate...”
It was probably a factually correct observation, although blatantly stating the obvious. Any credibility that Thorpe’s observation might have had must be tempered with the knowledge that he had just lost his own constituency of North Devon in what the BBC described as a crushing defeat, and was, at that time, due to stand trial in the Old Bailey for conspiracy and incitement to murder, although he would be later found not guilty. But the opinion, and concern over the change in ideological direction implied therein was not an isolated one.
Unlike the Keynesians of the Post War Consensus period, Mrs Thatcher was a Monetarist who rejected the consensus view that a government should spend to achieve full employment. She accepted that some short term pain might be suffered by the tightening of economic policy, but, unlike her more moderate, or Wet, predecessor had no intention of abandoning reforms if things got tough. She was a strong exponent of the theory, now conservative orthodoxy, that the taming of inflation should become the primary economic policy objective, and the free market should be allowed to operate with minimal interference from a small government.
The key was to be careful management of the money supply.
MV=PQ
(Money Supply x Velocity of Circulation)=(Average Price x Quantity of Goods and Services)
Five weeks after winning the election, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Geoffrey Howe, handed down the new Conservative Government’s first budget. With inflation hovering around 8% and threatening to rise again, the government raised interest rates to slow growth in money supply. The Value Added Tax, a broad based consumption tax, was almost doubled from 8% to 15%. The Chancellor blamed a generation of economic underperformance on the Keynesian consensus and made it clear that a new approach was going to be resolutely prosecuted.
It was a politically courageous budget. To compensate for the rise in VAT, major income tax cuts were made to the value of 3.5 billion pounds with the major beneficiaries being those on the highest tax brackets. Public sector borrowing was cut by 3 billion pounds. A mixed economy would no longer form part of the government’s economic renewal, with a further 1 billion pounds expected to be raised by the privatisation of nationalised industries. The Bank of England raised the minimum interest rate to 14%, then 17% by year’s end, applying an ever tightening squeeze to the money supply in circulation.
The initial positive response by the stock exchange to the Conservative victory lost momentum and the market went into decline. The Sterling rate of exchange rose on the back of North Sea Oil which was expected to contribute 7 billion pounds and make Britain 80% self-sufficient in terms of petroleum, not quite the 100% self-sufficiency that had been predicted a few years earlier. But the higher currency rate meant that exporters began to suffer, worsening the already consistently poor balance of trade position and pushing the deficit to 5 billion pounds, the worst trade result since the record deficit blowout of 1974. Despite the anti-inflationary measures, the holy grail of low inflation remained elusive, and the cost of living rose dramatically.
The Bank of England joined in with the generalpessimism, and in the September edition of their quarterly bulletin foresaw growing impoverishment and unemployment unless Britain’s economic and industrial decline was not reversed.
The Government looked to its own backyard and set about cutting civil service staffing levels by 20%, or 150 000 jobs. Government-owned shares in Nationalised corporations like British Airways, British Aerospace, British Petroleum and the British National Oil Corporation were offered to the public for sale. Significant cuts were announced for the BBC’s overseas services, but were thought better of after failing to gain support by Conservative backbenchers.
The Troubles remained an ongoing and often murderous thorn in the side of successive Governments. A British intelligence report on Irish republican paramilitary activities, which the IRA themselves managed to acquire and then publicise, warned that Republican forces were embracing technology and had safe refuge in the Irish Republic. The report stated that the IRA could not be defeated by police and military forced to work within the constraints of civil law, although their activities could be contained. The report further anticipated the intensification of targeted terrorist violence.
On 30th March 1979, just months before the General Election, Shadow Secretary of State for for Northern Ireland, Airey Neave, had been killed in a car bomb explosion within the precincts of the Houses of Parliament. Responsibility was claimed by an IRA splinter who called themselves Irish Republican Liberation Army. This was a particularly devastating blow for Mrs Thatcher, for whom Neave had been a mentor and strong supporter.
On the 27th August Earl Mountbatten of Burma, on Summer holidays in County Sligo, was killed with 3 other members of his family, when a remotely controlled bomb planted in his fishing boat exploded. The IRA claimed responsibility, promising to tear out Britain’s imperialistic heart. As a facilitator of India’s move to independence amongst a wider and distinguished military and public career, Mountbatten might have been a poor individual choice against whom to direct a protest against the evils of imperialism, although Mountbatten's role in the arbitrary partition of the subcontinent, which resulted in a post-independence bloodbath, would remain controversial. On the same day, 18 British soldiers were killed by an IRA ambush in County Down.
The Mountbatten assassination provoked global outrage, and the Government of the Irish Republic acted quickly, with two suspects in custody within a week. One of the two, Thomas McMahon, was later found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. His alleged accomplice, Thomas McGirl, was acquitted.
After Mountbatten’s funeral on September 5th, Irish Prime Minister ( Taoiseach) Jack Lynch met with Margaret Thatcher in London to discuss potential joint anti-terrorism initiatives. Lynch stood firm on his government’s refusal to allow the extradition of terror suspects to the United Kingdom. He also declined to amend their policy that prevented Royal Ulster Constabulary officers from interrogating suspects held by the Garda Siochana (Irish Police) in the Republic. No tangible progress was made during the meeting, with Lynch reportedly saying that change would depend on the political initiative of the British Government. Each leader did at least promise to do all they could to maintain cordial relations between to two countries and step up security as much as possible within the existing framework.
Amongst other legislation enacted during the latter half of 1979, the government attempted to overturn Harold Wilson’s 1965 abolition of the death penalty. Mrs Thatcher herself voted for the motion, which was defeated 362 to 243. Home Secretary William Whitelaw had voted against. The Thatcher Government also announced restrictions that would place greater controls on immigration.
Unemployment and inflation were rising even as the money supply was tightly controlled. The manufacturing sector was in decline. Britain was slipping into recession. The new decade would be getting off to a rocky start, with the new government deeply unpopular, even with some of its own members.
THE EIGHTIES
As the recession began to bite, the government’s critics became more strident. The ideological battle was gearing up. Those opposed accused the government of aggravating the country’s economic woes by steadfastly adhering to Monetarist policies. Despite the Prime Minister using the fight against inflation as the key economic priority, inflation was, in fact, rising along with unemployment.
The Conservatives maintained the view that inflation was the root cause of instability and a major inhibitor of national prosperity, and contributed to toward the ultimate disintegration of the nation generally. The government’s position was that, although a relaxation of their monetary policies might have allowed for improved output and employment figures in the short term, the inevitable resultant spike in inflation would undo any benefits therein. The dramatic reduction in public sector borrowing, achieved by massive cuts in government spending, would theoretically ease pressure on interest rates and afford private industry, free from government ownership and interference, some room to manoeuvre.
The Budget in 1980 forecast a continuing bleak picture for the British economy. With the economic indicators heading almost exclusively in the opposite direction to the government’s stated objectives, the Labour Party, unsurprisingly, heavily criticised the Thatcher Government's economic performance, accusing them of blindly following the Monetarist doctrine at the expense of the shrinking numbers British workers. With the country now well and truly in recession, the government’s line was to play for time, and call for patience while their policies took effect.
With unemployment heading toward an unprecedented 2 000 000, or over 8%, and inflation temporarily spiking to 21%, the government’s critics intensified their attacks. Former Prime Minister, Edward Heath, still apparently smarting over his demise as party leader, was a strong critic from the Prime Minister’s own backbenches and became strongly identified with the so-called Wet faction of the party, calling for a more compassionate brand of Conservatism.
But this time, there would be no crumbling or back-flipping in the face of opposition from within or without. Prime Minister Thatcher made this clear during the 1980 Conservative Party Conference, where she called upon the faithful to hold their nerve.
“…For those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase-The U-turn-I have only one thing to say..You turn if you want to…The Lady is not for turning…”
By the following year, the government was under attack from all sides, and internal dissent had grown into a full-on factional fight. The Thatcherite Dry, or more Conservative, wing of the party against the Heathite Wets. Meanwhile, 364 prominent economists put their names to an open letter urging moderation. The uncompromising economic management was reflected in a famous headline of the time, referencing the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Geoffrey Howe;
“HOWE IT HURTS!”
The factional warring came to a head when, in an atmosphere of unemployment well over the 2 million mark and the government’s popularity in freefall, The Prime Minister was approached by the Conservative Party Chairman and elder statesman, Lord Thorneycroft, in company with two Cabinet Ministers, Humphrey Atkins (Northern Ireland Secretary then Lord Privy Seal) and Lord Carrington (Foreign Secretary), and was asked to step down in the interests of the Party and the Country. Mrs Thatcher dismissed the distraction. Tim Bell, PR consultant and special adviser to the Prime Minister, said that Margaret just told them to go away.
Disunity in the Tory Party was being played out in public, so much so that it even attracted the attention of the New York Times;
“...With little improvement evident in Britain's troubled economy and the unpopularity of the incumbent Conservative Party rising, voices of opposition to the economic policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher have risen to a chorus within her party. In recent days, the mutterings of discontent by several members of the Cabinet have deepened to open statements of unhappiness by a variety of influential Tories, including Lord Thorneycroft, the Conservative Party Chairman who has been supportive of Mrs. Thatcher…
The grumbling moved into the public arena in large part because of a contention made last Thursday in the House of Commons by Sir Geoffrey Howe (Chancellor of the Exchequer) that we are at the end of the recession. The statement was intended to provide a rationale for maintaining the Government's tough economic policies…”
Conservative Party Chairman, Lord Thorneycroft, a former Chancellor himself and hitherto strong Monetarist, disagreed, stating:
''...I don't see it picking up where I am, My friends don't detect bottoming out. It clearly has not bottomed out. It's very, very rough indeed...''
Mr Howe subsequently softened his assertion that the recession was ending, however the Wets were vocal in their concerns as to the party’s direction, as the New York Times reported:
“...Sir Geoffrey's comments represented just one of several recent developments of concern to the so-called Wets as the left wing of the Conservative Party is called. The group's basic goal is modestly increased Government spending to combat the recession, even though the next general election need not be called before 1984.
The wets were equally unsettled when the Government's response to the recent riots and the Conservatives' devastating defeat in the key Warrington by-election was a more modest youth employment package than they had expected…The unsettlement became undisguised anger within days when it became clear that Sir Geoffrey expected the cost of the new program, estimated to be as much as $1 billion, to be matched by new spending cuts…”
The rising opposition, capped by Lord Thorneycroft's comments to reporters and an equally strong speech by Francis Pym, the Leader of the House of Commons, has captivated the British newspapers, whose headlines in recent days have included such words as rebellion, mutiny and revolt…
"...The British people will not be prepared for very much longer to tolerate the worst effects of the recession if there is not a clear sign that the sacrifice will have been worthwhile, said Mr. Pym in his address. They look to us as a Government for measures to alleviate our temporary programs and for a demonstration that hope in the long term is not misplaced...''
The strength of the Home Secretary and one time leadership aspirant, William Whitelaw reinforced the Prime Minister’s position and the dominance of the Dry faction along with newly appointed Employment Secretary, Norman Tebbit. By autumn, a number of changes were made to solidify the Prime Minister’s support base in Cabinet. The fact that rank and file Tories and the 1922 Committee remained supportive somewhat alleviated any threat posed by the Wet faction, who were derided as weak willed.
As reported in the New York Times, there were some key ideological differences between the two Conservative Party factions. The Thatcherite faction were the dogmatic Monetarists who were prepared to, courageously or stubbornly depending on your point of view, steadfastly adhere to the direction they had set, toughing out any temporary difficulties.
●Control of Money Supply in the pursuit of low inflation as a priority
● Reduction in Public Service Borrowing
● Less Government spending and intervention in private enterprise
● Restrictions on Trade Union power and militancy
● Privatisation of nationalised industries
● Lower taxes
The political difficulty faced by the Thatcherite faction was that the (hopefully) short term consequences of their policies gave the appearance of economic disaster. Claims to the electorate that a less inflationary, more competitive and productive economy to the betterment of all would be the result in the longer term, would appear increasingly without foundation as violent civil disobedience, urban poverty, record-setting unemployment figures and massive industrial unrest loomed large.
The Wet faction of the party remained as apparently unconvinced as the electorate. Perhaps more politically pragmatic, they were looking as much to the next election as to the longer term economic future. They had a point. It was looking like the government might not see a second term, given the state of their unpopularity in the country. The Wets, as demonstrated by the actions of Heath’s 1970-1974 government, were more comfortable with elements of the discarded Post-War Consensus, including limited government intervention to counter out-of-control unemployment, and economic stimulation to moderate the recession. They also gave the impression of being more concerned with the human and social cost of the current direction than the dominant Dries.
In spring 1981, the South London suburb of Brixton was engulfed by 4 days of rioting, arson and looting. The manor had a high concentration of Afro-Caribbean families. Young black men made up a large proportion of the rioters. Missiles and Molotov cocktails where thrown at Police. Three hundred Police and 65 civilians were injured and about 200 people were arrested amidst widespread damage.
The unrest was blamed, in part, on the actions of a large contingent of undercover police who had been tasked to combat street crime which was rife in the area, and whose conduct was perceived as targeting suspects on racial grounds. Poor housing and high unemployment were also seen as contributing causes, although Norman Tebbit, appointed Employment Secretary later that year, rejected unemployment as any sort of justification for civil unrest.
“...I grew up in the 1930s, with an unemployed father. He did not riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he went on looking until he found it…”
By 1981, unemployment had reached 12.4%, well over 2.5 million people. By comparison, the percentage in 1931 as the Great Depression took hold had been 25%.
By Mid-Summer, racial violence had broken out in Southall, South London, between skinheads and Asian youth. In Toxteth, Liverpool, a combination of white and black youths went on a violent rampage during which tear gas was used by British civilian police for the first time in combatting civil disobedience. Amidst widespread arson and looting, hundreds of police were injured. Rioting and looting spread to Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Huddersfield, Newcastle-on-Tyne and Hull.
The government’s social policies were suddenly under wide scrutiny. Unemployment, a laissez-faire attitude to social and community issues, the effectiveness and morality of policing attitudes and methods, the alienation of youth particularly in racially diverse communities, the state of the inner cities, and the lack of employment and other opportunities for young people were all brought into question. Anxious to counter the Government’s uncaring image, Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine moved his departmental headquarters to Merseyside to better assess the causes of the inner city crises and develop policies to improve conditions and opportunities.
The government also continued a trend, maintained by both Labour and Conservative over the previous decade, of enhancing its abilities, through strengthening of legal powers, to fight against sectarian violence arising from the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Mrs Thatcher had made a powerful statement to the House of Commons the year before, effectively sidelining influence from the Government of the Irish Republic. (Although there would be a softening of this attitude in 1985 with the promulgation of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.)
“…The future of the constitutional affairs of Northern Ireland is a matter for the people of Northern Ireland, this Government, this Parliament and no-one else..”
During 1981, a number of Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners along with Irish National Liberation Army prisoners embarked on a coordinated hunger strike in Maze (formerly Long Kesh) Prison. The principal sticking point was the British Government’s refusal to reinstate political status, or effectively prisoner-of war status, to IRA and INLA soldiers held in custody.
In November 1974 IRA activity on British mainland soil had been stepped up when two crowded Birmingham pubs were bombed, killing 21 people. The Wilson Labour Government reacted by passing emergency legislation that proscribed the IRA and other republican paramilitary groups as terrorist organisations. This in turn enabled the Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, to arbitrarily expel Irish nationals, including those from Northern Ireland, and increase the powers of police and British soldiers assisting the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Under these new powers, Police were able to detain terrorist suspects for an initial 48 hours without charge and then for up to 5 days if authorised by the Home Secretary. The effectiveness and fairness of these new powers would later be questioned after a number of convictions of alleged IRA terrorists were overturned. In August 1971, the Heath Government had ordered the British Army to enact Internment; to preventatively arrest those suspected of being members of paramilitary organisations, who would then be detained indefinitely without trial, and without even being charged. The practice of Internment was abandoned in 1975, after almost 2000 had been imprisoned, some for the entire period. Three years later, the European Court of Human Rights found that prisoners had been subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment.
An initial hunger strike, leading up to Christmas 1980, was called off when prison authorities offered a number of concessions in terms of the prisoners’ day-to-day regimes, but a strike resumed early in the new year with prisoners accusing prison authorities of failing to honour their commitments. Prime Minister Thatcher refused to give any ground on the issue of political status, stating emphatically; Crime is crime is crime. It is not political.
The 6 strikers dropped the issue of political status in favour of a Five Point Plan concerning privileges. This would include permission to wear their own clothes, associate with fellow paramilitary inmates, remission of their sentences and softening restrictions on letters and visits.
In a by-election held in Spring 1981, leading hunger striker Bobby Sands, serving 5 years on firearms offences, was elected to the Northern Ireland constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone, after what might have been described as the more peaceful voice of Irish Republicanism, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, withdrew to avoid splitting the nationalist vote. Both the British Government and Ulster Protestants were stunned by the reality that a convicted IRA soldier, in prison, could carry a constituency with a majority of 1,446 votes. Bobby Sands died of starvation one month later, and in another by-election his majority was actually increased when his election agent stood in what amounted to a Prisoners’ Party.
The British Government told the prisoners that they might be receptive to some reform of prison conditions, but steadfastly refused to enter negotiations or grant any concessions while the hunger strike continued. Attempts at mediation were made by Pope John Paul II, the European Human Rights Commission, the Irish Commission for Justice and Peace, and the International Red Cross. By October, 10 strikers had died, all of whom were publicly interred with paramilitary honours. Five prisoners were saved after their families, supported by the Catholic Church, granted permission for medical authorities to intravenously feed the prisoners who had become comatose. After the strike ended, the Government announced a raft of measures toward prison regime concessions.
Targeted IRA bombings continued. In November a Ulster Unionist member of the British Parliament, Reverend Robert Bradford, was gunned down in Belfast. The British troop contingent in Northern Ireland was half of what it had been in 1972, down to 10,700, however following the Bradford assassination an additional 600 troops were deployed in support of Northern Ireland’s civilian police, the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary).
By the Spring of 1982, British troops would also be deployed in the South Atlantic. A short but brutal war would provide the Prime Minister with a public triumph that would reverse her own, and her government’s, deep unpopularity and enable them to secure a second term with a greater majority and stronger mandate to pursue economic reform. On election eve, June 8th 1983, Margaret Thatcher gave an interview to the BBC;
The 1983 election saw the Conservatives dramatically increase their majority; their mandate to continue their economic and social plan was beyond dispute. They now held 397 seats compared to 209 to the fractured Labour Party, which had been rocked by the defection of key moderate members, the so-called Gang of Four, whose Social Democratic Party (SDP) was now in alliance with the Liberals.
Having battled relentlessly against extravagant government spending, inflation, unemployment, terrorism, foreign military dictatorships, socialists and Tory Wets, the stage was now set for another major struggle that would come to define Margaret Thatcher’s premiership as much as the Falklands War had defined her first term.
This fight would be violent and bitter and entrench hatreds that would still be felt more than three decades years later. In 1984, the direct fight would be against Arthur Scargill and the National Union of Mineworkers, but the collateral effect would go well beyond. In October of 1983, Neil Kinnock succeeded Michael Foot as leader of the Labour Party, fought against the radical leftist Militant Tendency, and clashed with NUM leader Arthur Scargill. But his attempts to steer Labour toward an electorally viable, more moderate position, was not enough to win government in in 1987, nor in 1992 with the Tories now being led by John Major. Labour would finally return to power in 1997, under Tony Blair.
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Churchill's frustration at the Duke's clumsy attempts to meddle in British foreign affairs, and over a number of petty demands made around the time of the Duke's appointment as Governor of the Bahamas in 1940. Questions were raised over the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's alleged Nazi sympathies, and even of a plot to restore him to the throne in the event of Nazi annexation of Great Britain. 
