Word: callaghan
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...straightforward: 'That this House has no confidence in Her Majesty's government." By a margin of a single vote, the Commons agreed. Thus last week, in one of the most dramatic episodes in Britain's recent political history, the Labor government of Prime Minister James Callaghan went down to defeat, thereby forcing an early election. The last such sacking took place 55 years ago, when Britain's first Labor government, led by Ramsay MacDonald, lost a similar vote of confidence...
...general election has been scheduled for May 3. Labor's Callaghan, 67, and Conservative Leader Margaret Thatcher, 53, have squared off for an election campaign that is already regarded as perhaps the most important since 1945, when a massive Labor victory ushered in the welfare state. If the Tories win, as the polls now predict, Britain will gain not only its first woman Prime Minister, but a government whose resoundingly conservative views will run counter to the whole leftward drift of British politics since the end of World...
...immediate cause of Callaghan's crisis came on March 1, when the referendum in Scotland and Wales fell short of the 40% approval by the total electorate required for the government's home rule, or devolution, bills. The eleven members of the Scottish National Party, whose votes had been essential to the survival of Callaghan's minority government,* nevertheless insisted that the government go ahead with legislation for Scottish home rule. When Callaghan demurred and asked for an all-party conference instead, the Nationalists angrily withdrew their support and demanded a no-confidence vote. Sensing victory...
...Callaghan's real troubles, however, began last October when he confounded the experts by failing to call an election that many of them thought he could win. Inflation was 8%, the pound was strong, the unions were peaceful, and the Prime Minister was running well ahead of Margaret Thatcher in popularity polls. Nevertheless, Callaghan passed up the opportunity and seemed inclined to let his government run its full five years, or until October...
...streets, and schools and hospitals in many cities either shut down or operated part-time; in an action that offended the country's sense of decency and fair play, ambulance drivers went on strike, putting life itself at risk. By the end of a nasty winter, Callaghan's popularity had been severely damaged, while the new "concordat" struck between the Labor government and the unions was widely regarded as a sham. The settlements sabotaged Callaghan's principal economic policy, a 5% wage-increase ceiling. The failure of the devolution referendums was an almost lethal blow...