Word: callaghans
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
With his party trailing the Tories by margins of 6% to 21% in the early polls, Callaghan fired the first salvo of the campaign in Glasgow, a traditional Labor fiefdom in Scotland's troubled industrial heartland. Claiming that his Labor government had "directly created and protected" 1.2 million jobs, he declared: "There is not a single part of the United Kingdom that would not suffer from the Conservative policy of cutting the jobs program. They would turn Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and many regions of England into deserts of unemployment...
...barnstorming the country with his folksy "Sunny Jim" image, Callaghan conveyed a sense of confidence that could not have been more than smile-deep. A disastrous winter of crippling strikes robbed Callaghan of what could have been his strongest campaign weapon: Labor's ability to work smoothly with Britain's powerful trade unions. Beyond that, many voters were well aware that Callaghan was saddled with a compromise manifesto, or platform, that had been hammered out between the party's moderates and its disproportionately influential left wing. Callaghan had held out for a program that would not frighten...
Carefully guarding their lead in the polls, Thatcher's Tories did not begin their official campaigning until this week. The decision to hold back was part of a Conservative strategy to put Labor out front, thereby denying Callaghan the opportunity to attack Thatcher policies by forcing him to defend his own record as Prime Minister for the past three years. There was also fear among Tory tacticians that Thatcher might fall back into her earlier habit of making provocative statements, thus committing a campaign gaffe that could cost the Tories their lead...
...personality, Thatcher poses a problem for Labor. Drawing on his own reassuring image, Callaghan makes the most of Thatcher's radical brand of conservatism, her inexperience in foreign affairs and her hard line on the unions. So far, he does not mention her by name, and he has warned his aides against any personal attacks for fear of a backlash. Women make up more than half of the electorate, and polls show that more women vote Conservative than vote Labor. Somewhat surprisingly, working-class women tend to favor Thatcher more than middle-class women do, and the Tory leader...
...Thatcher, the campaign is a crusade for a free economy and greater individual responsibility; Callaghan sees it as a choice between a caring society and a callous one. The Liberals and the minor parties are, for the moment, on the sidelines. The British will be spared a television onslaught, since both major parties will be allowed a total of 50 minutes each throughout the campaign for party broadcasts. Still, Labor delights in poking fun at the glossy publicity campaign mounted by the Tories and their trendy London advertising firm, Saatchi & Saatchi Garland-Compton Ltd. Says Callaghan...