THIS BOOK DESCRIBES HOW the party between 1978 and 1983 not only suffered two electoral defeats, but nearly disintegrated due to the activities of the left.
The 1979 defeat came mainly from the public’s reaction to the onslaught unleashed on the Labour government by irresponsible left-wing trades unionists in the Winter of Discontent. The defeat of 1983 came down to the adoption of unacceptable left-wing policies, particularly on defence, and deep divisions in the party. In neither election was most of the electorate in any mood to support the extremism of militant unions, nor of left-wing politicians determined to impose an extremist, dogmatic, intolerant socialism on the British people.
Because I understood this so clearly, I fought the left fiercely on Labour’s governing NEC from 1978 to 1983 and it is principally of these years that I write.
These years chart the rise and fall of the hard left in British politics and of their standard bearers, the aristocratic Anthony Wedgwood Benn, his Liverpudlian sidekick Eric Heffer and the vile Trotskyist Militant Tendency. This is the story, blow for blow from inside the ring, of the blood, sweat and certainly no tears in their defeat.
In the early part of this period, it was very hard going indeed. The left-wing majority on the party’s National Executive Committee in 1978 was hell-bent on destroying the Labour government and made life intolerable for the Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan. Things were so bad in that year that I brought together a group of trades unionists on the NEC to give Jim some co-ordinated support.
While this ‘Loyalist Group’ made some impact – removing the impression that the Prime Minister was totally friendless – it could not by its very nature save the Labour Party. The Loyalist Group was always in a minority on the NEC and for real change to take place, needless to say, it had to command a majority. And to forge that we needed the combined support of our general secretaries and presidents, who usually sat on the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the pinnacle of the country’s organised labour movement.
While the left marched on, after a long period of inaction at this highest level, the job of saving the party was finally undertaken by a small group of moderate trades union general secretaries and presidents and their political officers, who came together in 1981 to organise a serious, effective fight against extremism. There was a great need to do so, as it was not only the electorate that had deserted the Labour Party. So, too, had many Labour Members of Parliament and other activists, unable to cope with fighting the fanaticism of the left. And those leading right-wingers who refused to join the lemmings of the new Social Democratic Party (SDP) were incapable of saving Labour from the inevitable destruction of a long period of left-wing control.
These changes could not be achieved just by speeches or ‘normal political means’. What was needed was to emulate the tactics of the left and set to work organising. ‘Fixers’ were needed of the kind that abounded on the left – people who would put in a vast amount of time and effort secretly bringing about alliances to win votes and elections in the party.
This is the story of those ‘fixers’, who, while only having rudimentary success in the constituencies, built an effective machine in the unions to dismantle the forces of darkness. It is a tale of intense manipulation and intrigue by both the left and their moderate opponents for control of the Labour Party. And it is unusual, I might say, because it is written this time from the point of view of the moderates.
I was persuaded to write this book by brothers in the trades unions who were irate at the ‘imperfections’, to put it politely, of Lewis Minkin’s Contentious Alliance. This ‘history’ they rightly saw as not only unfairly biased towards the soft left but also incorrect in many respects as far as they were concerned.
This book aims to improve on that: my aim is to be accurate but unfair. Although reluctant to squander time that otherwise would be spent fishing, on race courses or in the garden, my wife Llin – a good ‘brother’ throughout – believed strongly that the true story of the moderate fightback should finally be told. Not all my brothers agreed. My great friend John Spellar, now a senior government minister, wrote to me saying that ‘my instinct tells me that these things are better not written down’. John was one of the prime movers in this story who, like Roger Godsiff (now the MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook & Small Heath) and others, made an enormous contribution by being prepared to stay in the shadows in order to organise victory for the forces of sanity.
They are, however, not the only heroes of this story. Full honour also has to go to those trades union general secretaries who had to deliver the vote for moderation despite being vilified and threatened in public and private by left-wing fanatics – men such as Frank Chapple, Terry Duffy, Bill Sirs, Bryan Stanley and Sid Weighell and to those on the NEC such as Sam McCluskie who were subject to intense pressure within their organisations for the support they gave to this fight-back.
If the heroes are of interest, perhaps more so are many of the villains. Some of those we fought now hold high office in a New Labour government. Others, such as Neil Kinnock (whom I later came to advise) and Tom (now Lord) Sawyer, have since been given the credit for the fight-back. Perhaps Llin is right and it is time for the record to be put straight.
To help the reader a footnote with trades union names and abbreviations is included at the back of this book. The glossary was necessary not only because it helps the general reader, but also because the unions and indeed, Labour Party have changed so much. Old trades union Labour, which I am, and the party I have written about are things of the past.1 I must now add a warning. This story, although it has a happy ending, is not for the squeamish. It is definitely not for those who believe that reason always prevails in politics and that for success all you need is people to design appealing policies.
Nor is it for those who believe that nice guys always win in the end. It is a book about the vanity and ambition of individuals, of smoke-filled rooms and shoddy deals.
In other words it is about politics proper, not political idealism. For those looking for grand designs and theories, it is about both cock-ups and conspiracies, about how in politics events are not only settled by good luck or foul fortune, but also by how much effort those struggling to survive and win are prepared to put in.
Above all, this book is about the importance of personalities and the clash of personalities. And for me personally, it is the story of five years’ hard Labour inflicted on an innocent bystander.
1. To avoid, hopefully, any frustration on the part of the reader, the following is a glossary of the names and abbreviations of trades unions that appear in this book.
ACTT: Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians.
AEU: Amalgamated Engineering Union (became the AUEW in the 1970s, now part of Unite).
APEX: Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff (became part of the GMB in 1989).
ASLEF: Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen.
ASTMS: Association of Scientific, Technical and Managerial Staffs (joined the new MSF, the Manufacturing, Science and Finance union, in 1988, now part of Unite).
AUEW: Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (now part of Unite).
CATU: The Ceramic and Allied Trades Union (became Unity, now part of the GMB).
COHSE: Confederation of Health Service Employees (since 1993, part of Unison).
EETPU: Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union (merged with the AUEW, and now part of Unite).
FBU: Fire Brigades Union.
GMWU/GMB: General and Municipal Workers Union. Became strictly the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union (GMBATU: GMB for short) after merger with the Boilermakers in 1982. Known simply as GMB from 1987.
ISTC: Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (became Community in 2004).
NACODS: National Association of Colliery Overmen, Deputies and Shotfirers.
NATSOPA: National Society of Operative Printers, Graphical and Media Personnel. Merged with SOGAT in 1982 to form SOGAT 82 (now part of Unite).
NGA: National Graphical Association (now also part of Unite).
NUBF: National Union of Blastfurnacemen. Joined the ISTC in 1985.
NUM: National Union of Mineworkers.
NUPE: National Union of Public Employees (since 1993, part of Unison).
NUR: National Union of Railwaymen (since 1990, part of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers – the RMT).
NUS: National Union of Seamen (since 1990, also part of the RMT).
POEU: Post Office Engineering Union (became the NCU, the National Communications Union, in 1985, and now part of the Communication Workers Union, the CWU).
SOGAT: Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (now part of Unite).
TASS: Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section of the AUEW.
TSSA: Transport and Salaried Staffs Association.
TGWU/T&G: Transport and General Workers Union (became Unite in 2007, following a merger with Amicus, itself formed from a 2001 combination of the MSF, engineering and electricians’ unions).
UCATT: Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians.
UCW: Union of Communication Workers (changed name from UPW in 1981, and now part of the CWU).
UPW: Union of Postal Workers (changed to UCW in 1981, and now part of the CWU).
USDAW: Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers.