Labour In Crisis - 1979 - 1987 Flashcards
What is the SDP?
Who were the main figures?
When was the SDP created?
The social Democratic Party
Created 1981
Led by the Gang of Four
David Owens, Roy Jenkins, Shirley Williams and Bill Rodgers
What was their main aim?
Rather than fight a losing battle against the majority of Tonny Benn’s supports they wanted to create a new centralist alternative to labour which was capable of appealing to the middle ground
What sparked the rebellion against labour?
A special conference was held at Wembley which was dominated by the labour left, who were notorious for displaying hostility towards those on the right of labour. The conference convinced moderates such as Shirley Williams to give up on labour
How successful were SDP in the beginning?
Made a big impact on national politics
Shirley Williams won the conservative seat of Crosby & Jenkins won Glasgow Hillhead in 1981
Why was labour regarded as unelectable?
The liberals and the SDP came together to form ‘The Alliance’ which seemingly broke the old two party system
The alliance also overtook the Labour Party as credible opposition to the conservatives.
The problems facing labour….
As well as facing the revival of the liberals, the new SDP and internal bitterness, labour also suffered from losing the traditional support of working class voters as some became Thatcherite conservatives, whilst others became apathetic and didn’t vote at all
