Difference between revisions of "James Callaghan"
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'''James Callaghan''', Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, was a [[Labour party|Labour]] Prime Minister of the [[United Kingdom]] from 1976-1979. | '''James Callaghan''', Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, was a [[Labour party|Labour]] Prime Minister of the [[United Kingdom]] from 1976-1979. | ||
Revision as of 14:51, January 14, 2013
| James Callaghan | |
|---|---|
| |
| 70th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | |
| Term of office April 5 1976 - May 4 1979 | |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Preceded by | Harold Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Thatcher |
| Born | March 27 1912 Portsmouth |
| Died | March 26 2005 Ringmer |
| Spouse | Audrey Callaghan |
| Religion | Atheist (originally Baptist)[Citation Needed] |
James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, was a Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976-1979. The only Prime Minister of the 20th century to have previously held all three of the other Great Offices of State (Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary and Chancellor of the Exchequer), he became Labour Party leader and PM following Harold Wilson's unexpected resignation.
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
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).
