17,394
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 19:
Line 19: + + + + + + + + + + + + +
add
His tenure was notable for industrial unrest, culminating in the [[Winter of Discontent]] of late 1978, a period of widespread public sector union strikes whose images of uncollected rubbish and unburied dead did much to keep Labour out of power for the next eighteen years.
His tenure was notable for industrial unrest, culminating in the [[Winter of Discontent]] of late 1978, a period of widespread public sector union strikes whose images of uncollected rubbish and unburied dead did much to keep Labour out of power for the next eighteen years.
Callaghan blundered in the timing of the 1979 election; after declining the opportunity to call the election in late 1978 when the economy was showing signs of recovery, Callaghan was stunned as everything went wrong in the 'winter of discontent.' Massive strikes broke out over the government's proposed maximum 5% pay increase, angering both union members and everyone else. Conservative leader [[Margaret Thatcher]] seized the offensive as Callaghan was on the defensive, battling not only with the campaign but also with the likes of Tony Benn, on Labour's left.
==See also==
*[[Labour Party]]
*[[Miners' Strike 1984]]
*[[Harold Wilson]]
*[[Margaret Thatcher]]
==Further reading==
* Davies, Andrew. ''To Build a New Jerusalem: The British Labour Party from Keir Hardie to Tony Blair'' (1996)
* Morgan, Kenneth O. ''Britain since 1945: The People's Peace'' (2001)
* Morgan, Kenneth O. ''Callaghan: A Life'' (1997).
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers|Callaghan, James]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Prime Ministers|Callaghan, James]]
[[Category:British Politics]][[category:British History]]