The End of Post-War Consensus (1970-1979) Flashcards
1
Q
What was Selsdon Man?
A
The Shadow Cabinet met at Selsdon Park in early 1970 to decide what changes were necessary to win the next election
The following policies were adopted:
- Economic policy would concentrate on reducing state intervention and deregulation
- Focus on achieving entry to the EEC
- Greater competition in industry
- Reduced personal and corporate
2
Q
What were the promises of the Heath government in 1970?
A
- A break with interventionist policies
- Market solutions would be sought
- Legal reform of trade unions to bring them under control
- Taxpayer money would no longer be spent on helping ‘lame duck’ industries
- The rejection of compulsory wage control
3
Q
What were the initial economic policies in 1970?
A
- March 1971 budget (Replaced purchase tax with VAT and relaxed exchange controls)
- ‘Competition and Credit Control’ (Liberalisation of the banking system with high level lending and increase in sterling money supply)
- Reduction of direct taxes
- Decimalisation in 1971
4
Q
What problems did the economy face in 1971?
A
- Increasingly powerful trade unions
- Inflation rose - 5% in 1969 to 10% in 1971
- Country’s growth rate decreasing - 2.5% in 1969 to 1.7% in 1971
- Imports increasing - Surplus of £1 billion in 1971 -> deficit of £1 billion + in 1973
- Unemployment rising - 1972 = 1 million unemployed
4
Q
Describe nationalisation U-turns 1970-1974
A
Rolls Royce nationalised in 1971
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders nationalised in 1971
5
Q
Which economic policies 1970-74 impacted on inflation?
A
Worsened:
- Abolished the Prices and Incomes Board (set up under Wilson to combat inflation)
- Reduction in standard rate income tax
Improved:
- Severe public expenditure cuts (including cuts in subsidies to council house rents and school milk)
6
Q
What was the 1972 Barber Boom?
A
March 1972 budget cut taxes and increased public expenditure. This pushed up the growth rate to 7.4% by 1973. However, this was against Heath’s earlier promises and eventually voluntary wage control proved impossible to maintain, forcing yet another economic U-turn.
7
Q
Describe the 1972 economic policy U-turn
A
- Creation of a Prices Commission and a Pay Board in an attempt to control inflation
- 90-day freeze of pay, prices and rents starting 6th November 1972
- Price and Pay Code to strictly limit increases in pay, rent and prices
This was against everything agreed at Selsdon park.
8
Q
Describe the 1973 Oil Price Crisis
A
Started due to the Yom Kippur War when the OPEC declared an oil embargo targeted at nations perceived to be supporting Israel (this included the US and the UK)
Price of oil went up by 4 times its usual price
Price of oil rises:
1973 - $3
1974 - $12
1980 - $35
9
Q
What was the Industrial Relations Bill 1971?
A
Curbed unions power using the following measures:
- Agreements between employers and workers were to be legally enforceable
- Closed shop was to be banned
- Industrial Court was set up to try cases
Became law in August 1971.
10
Q
What were the problems of the Industrial Relations Bill 1971?
A
- There was a loophole which the TUC exploited liberally
- According to opinion polls, the public opinion of trade unions was at its highest for three years and the public did not take the new law well
This resulted in a law with huge political, economic and industrial costs but with no pay off.
11
Q
Who were the Pentonville Five?
A
- Five shop stewards in the London docks in 1972, arrested after threatening to provoke a paralysing strike
- A political deadlock was reached and forced the release of the five
23 million working days lost to strikes in 1972
12
Q
What caused the First Miners Strike under Heath?
A
- Between 1957 and 1972 the National Coal Board cut jobs from 700,000 to 300,000
- Miners wages were increasing much less than all other industrial workers
- NUM President Joe Gormley secured a 14% miners wage increase in 1971 but then lodged for a bigger claim in 1972
- The miners rejected an 8% wage offer
13
Q
Describe the First Miners Strike under Heath
A
In January 1972 a national coal strike began
‘Flying pickets’ soon cut off the movement of coal to power stations
Heaths response was to declare a state of emergency:
- Ration electricity (using power cuts to domestic consumers and an enforced 3 day work week)
- Schools were closed
- 1.2 million workers laid off
14
Q
Describe the results of the First Miners Strike under Heath
A
- Miners victory
- Sanction settlement negotiated by NUM leader Joe Gormley - worth between 17 and 24% to the miners
- This was another U-turn for Heath’s government
15
Q
What caused the Second Miners Strike under Heath?
A
- November 1973, Pay Board offered the miners a 13% rise to counter rising dissatisfaction with the pay freeze
- NUM didn’t even ballot its members but rejected the offer and imposed an overtime ban
16
Q
Describe the effect of the Oil Price Crisis on the Second Miners Strike
A
- The oil price crisis added to the miners bargaining power
- The deficit of £1 billion in 1973 reached £3 billion in 1974
- The miners situation needed a quick fix but Whitelaw was unable to break the impasse and a second strike loomed
17
Q
Describe the Three Day Week during the Second Miners Strike
A
In December 1973 the government imposed a three-day week for the British industry
Despite predictions of a drastic fall in output, the manufacturing production in the first quarter of 1974 was 95% of normal
18
Q
Describe Heaths policy towards public services
A
- Large increase in the educational budget
- The Minister of Health, Minister of Agriculture and Secretary for the Environment also spent freely
This added to the inflationary pressure before the Yom Kippur War
19
Q
Describe race relations under Heath?
A
The Immigration Act passed 1971 and enacted 1973, carried the 1968 legislation to its conclusion:
- Commonwealth citizens with patrial status were allowed unrestricted entry into the UK
- Entry for citizens without patrial connections was dependent on a work permit
- All commonwealth citizens without patrial links who obtained employment in Britain were effectively reduced to a contract labourers
20
Q
Describe Heath’s policy towards Ugandan Asians
A
In 1973, the Ugandan military dictator (Idi Amin) announced that he would give Ugandan Asians three months to emigrate
Under the 1968 quote, 3,000 were allowed to enter Britain in one year:
- The government set up the Ugandan resettlement Board and used military camps as holding centres
- 28,000 Ugandan Asians arrived
- 30,000 new jobs were created in Leicester as a result
21
Q
What was the problem in Ireland in 1970?
A
- Inherited situation of violent Catholic versus Protestant outbreaks in Ireland
- Heath backed Brian Faulkner, the Ulster Unionist Party leader who led the Belfast government
22
Q
Describe Home Secretary Maudling’s policies towards Northern Ireland
A
He tried to respond with a tough approach:
- Night time curfews
- August 1971, introduced policy of internment without trial
This alienated the Catholics:
McVeigh (IRA commander) - internment was ‘among the best recruiting tools the IRA ever had’
23
Q
What was Bloody Sunday?
A
- 30th January 1972, Catholic Bogside area of Londonderry
- A civil rights march led to clashes with troops of the Parachute Regiment
- 26 unarmed civilians shot
- 13 Catholic civilians dead
24
What was the aftermath of Bloody Sunday?
- British Embassy in Dublin was burned down
- Support for the IRA grew as did funding from America
- 1972, bloodiest year of the Troubles = 1,382 explosions, 10,628 shootings, 480 people killed
25
Describe 'Direct rule from Westminster'
- March 1972, Heath suspended the Northern Ireland government at Stormont
- Replaced by direct rule from Westminster
- Situation continues to polarise with British troops (‘security forces’) hated by catholics and the IRA escalating its campaign of violence
26
What was the Sunningdale Agreement?
December 1973, Whitelaw negotiated a power sharing agreement at Sunningdale:
- Power sharing executive of both nationalists and unionists, both sides guaranteed representation
- A new Assembly of Northern Ireland elected using proportional representation
- A council of Ireland that would have some input from the Republic of Ireland
27
What were the effects of the Sunningdale Agreement?
This sounded good on paper but in reality it failed to combat the root problems of the Catholic unrest and collapsed quickly:
- Denounced by extremists on both sides
- Opposed by the UVF and the UDA
- UUP voted to pull out in January 1974
The prospect of settlement was also undermined by the problems in Britain (miners strike and 1974 General Election)
28
Describe British entry to the EEC under Heath
Decision to enter the EEC approved by Parliament in 1971 and Britain was eventually accepted in 1973
29
Describe the reform of local government under Heath
The Local Government Act of 1972 removed old counties and imposed new boundaries in Northern Ireland. Walker also refused to allow the customary gerrymandering.
30
Describe the deaths and scandals in Heaths conservative government, leading up to the 1974 election
- Macleod died almost immediately
- Maudling had to resign from the Home Office in 1972 following corruption with a jailed architect, John Paulson
- Two minor members of the Government, Jellicoe and Lambton, were forced to resign in 1973 following a sex scandal involving London prostitutes
31
Describe the Labour party opposition in the 1974 election
The Labour party was in extreme disarray on almost every issue between 1970 and 1974 and Wilson was becoming a less and less inspiring leader. Labour slipped even further back in public support.
32
What the results of the 1974 election?
Nobody won:
Labour - 301
Conservative - 297
Liberals - 14
Labour forms a minority government until a second election can be called in October 1974. Here Labour wins narrowly.
33
Describe Heath's economic successes
- March 1971 budget
- ‘Competition and Credit Control’
- Decimalisation in 1971
- Unemployment falls to 500,000 by 1973
34
Describe Heath's economic failures
- Abolished the Prices and Incomes Board
- Inflation rising (5% to 10%, 1969 to 1971)
- Growth rate decreasing (2.5% to 1.7%, 1969 to 1971)
- 1972, 1 million unemployed
- U-turn on nationalisation (Rolls Royce and Upper Clyde Shipbuilders nationalised)
- Pound floated in 1972 and value immediately drops
- Yom Kippur War forced up price of oil
34
Describe Heath's successes with the unions
- Industrial Relations Bill of 1971 appeared, on paper, to be a big step forward (At least Heath was attempting to curb the trade unions power)
- The 3-day week imposed in December 1973 was surprisingly effective and output stayed at 95% that of normal
35
Describe Heath's failures with the unions
- Loopholes in the 1971 Industrial Relations Bill meant in had huge political, economic and industrial costs but no pay off
- Pentonville Five had to be released to end political stalemate
- 1972, 23 million working days were lost to strikes
- First Miners Strike paralysed the distribution of coal and Heath was forced to give in to demands
- Second Miners Strike brings down Heath’s government at 1974 election
36
Describe Heath's social policy successes
- Public expenditure increases
- 28,000 Ugandan Asians allowed into Britain fleeing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in 1973
37
Describe Heath's social policy failures
- Public expenditure increase adds to inflationary pressure
- 1971 Immigration Act limits entry for commonwealth citizens
38
Describe Heath's political successes
- December 1973, Sunningdale Agreement for Northern Ireland appeared good on paper
- Local Government Act of 1972 changes county boundaries with no gerrymandering allowed
- Britain accepted into the EEC in 1971
39
Describe Heath's political failures
Northern Ireland:
- Heath backs internment without trial
- Bloody Sunday, 30th January 1972
- Direct rule from Westminster continues to escalate crisis
- Sunningdale Agreement opposed by extremists, UVF, UDA and UUP and collapses
40
Describe how inflation was a problem for Labour 1974 - 1976
- This was following the Oil Price Crisis 1973
- Inflation = 15%
- Balance of payments deficit = £3 billion
- 1976, Government negotiate IMF loan of £4 billion
- 1978, unemployment = 1.6 million
41
Describe how the unions were a problem for Labour 1974 - 1976
- Labour was usually cooperative with the Unions but the economic crisis put this under strain
- Wilson had implied that Labour would end the policy of Stop-Go economics but both Wilson and Callaghan were forced to adopt similar policies
42
Describe how a small majority was a problem for Labour 1974 - 1976
Labour had to rely on support from the Liberal party
43
Describe Wilson's cabinet 1974 - 1976
- Wilson balanced the hard and the soft left in his cabinet to maintain allies
- A record of two women in the cabinet (Barbara Castle and Shirley Williams)
44
What was the Poulson Affair?
- Political scandal in 1974
- Two labour figures, Cunningham and Smith, were sent to prison on corruption charges
- Wilson set up a Royal Commission on standards of conduct in the government
45
Describe the EEC referendum under Wilson
- Wilson agreed to hold a referendum on whether to remain in Europe, this was to placate the hard left
- June 1975 referendum
- 67% of the country voted to remain
46
Describe the emergency decisions made by Wilson in 1974
Make a deal with the liberals or act as minority government?
- Wilson decided to carry on as a minority government
What to do about the economic and industrial relations crisis?
- Wilson abolishes the Industrial Relations Act
- Wilson abolished the Pay Board
- This makes it clear to the Unions that Wilson is not looking for confrontation
47
Describe Northern Ireland under Wilson 1974 - 1976
- Both the Sunningdale Agreement and the Constitutional Convention fail
- Ended internment
- Introduced Prevention of Terrorism Act in November 1974
- More power given to the RUC and SAS used against the IRA
48
Describe the resignation of Wilson
Wilson resigned April 1976, to get out while on top, and was replaced by Callaghan
49
Describe the May And July budgets in 1974
- Strong Keynesian feel
- Tax increases were countered by higher pensions and increased food subsidies
- No serious cuts in public services and stability in balance of payments
- Inflation remained at 20% and manufacturing production stagnated
50
Describe the repeal of the Industrial Relations Act
- Coal strike was ended by buying off the miners
- Honouring the Social Contract, Heath’s Pay Board was abolished and the Industrial Relations Act repealed
- Industrial earnings increased; 15% in 1973, 19% in 1974 and 23% in 1975
- Number of days lost to strikes declined
- By the end of 1974, inflation was at 28% and the Unions demands were out of control
51
Describe the unions awareness of the economy under Wilson 1974 - 1976
- Jone’s flat rate of £6 per week was accepted by the TUC in June 1975
- This showed the unions awareness that excessive wages were crippling the economy
52
Describe Wilson's attempts to curb inflation 1974 - 1976
- By 1975, curbs on public spending were needed
- The Department of the Environment imposed spending controls on local authorities
- April 1975 budget raised taxes to over £1 billion a year and imposed a 3% maximum for wage increase
- Inflation and strikes fell steadily in 1975 and 1976
53
Describe Wilson and sex discrimination 1974 - 1976
- 1975, Sex Discrimination Act made it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex in employment, educational facilities, housing, goods and services
- An Equal Opportunities Commission was created with investigator powers
- Discrimination was still hard to prove
54
List the governments of the 70's
Heath (1970 - 1974) - Conservative
Wilson (1974 - 1976) - Labour
Callaghan (1976 - 1979) - Labour
55
Describe the Lib-Lab Pact 1977 - 1978
- The Liberals agreed to back the government and avoid a vote of no confidence
- Callaghan also relied on the support of the Scottish and Welsh nationalist parties who supported government plans for Devolution
56
Describe devolution under Callaghan's government
In the Welsh referendum for a National Assembly there was strong opposition
Scottish referendum for National Assembly
Voted ‘yes’:
- Government ruled the vote illegitimate due to poor turnout
- The SNP stopped supporting the government
57
Describe the vote of no confidence under Callaghan
- SNP brought in vote of no confidence
- The government lost, 310 votes to 311
Callaghan was forced to call an election in May 1979 and Labour lost to Thatcher’s Conservatives
- It was the first time since 1914 that a government had been brought down by a vote of no confidence
58
Describe race relations under Callaghan's government
- Race Relations Act of 1976 made dicrimination unlawful in employment, training and education and in the provision of goods and services and made it illegal to incite racial hatred
- Race Relations Committee set up
- Non-white Britons were having a growing impact in sport and entertainment
- Racist attacks and discrimination continued
59
Describe racial tensions with the police in the 70's
The police force shared many features of the national front and strongly resented Race Relations legislation
A 19th century ‘sus’ law was resurrected which allowed the police to arrest people they ‘suspected’ of possible crimes, with no evidence necessary:
- Over 50% of people arrested by the ‘sus’ law were black
- The black population launched the ‘Scrap Sus’ campaign and ‘The Black Parents Movement’ (a response to police brutality towards black children in London)
- The Sus Law was finally abolished a decade later after a fierce campaign
60
Describe the economy when Callaghan took over in 1976
- There were signs of economic recovery by 1976 but the whole trend of economic growth had shifted to a lower level
- From 1960 to 1973, economic growth had averaged over 3% a year but in 1974 - 1979, growth averaged only 1.5% per year
61
Describe the 1976 Sterling Crisis
By Autumn 1976, the economy was deteriorating:
- Balance of payments deficit = £1 billion
- 1.25 million unemployed
- Annual inflation = 16%
- Callaghan negotiates a £4 bill loan from the IMF but this requires expenditure cuts of £2 billion
- By-election loses meant the Government lost its parliamentary majority
- By 1977, the Balance of Payments was in surplus
62
Describe North Sea Oil
- In 1974, the UK imported over 100 million tons of oil and exported less than 1 million
- 1975, North Sea Oil deposits came on stream
- By 1980, imports and exports were almost balanced in quantity and price
63
Describe industrial relations under Callaghan and the Winter of Discontent
- 1977-79
- 1978, 5% wage settlement was rejected by the TGWU and other trade unions
- Ford motor workers started an unofficial strike and were followed by truck drivers and oil tank drivers
- The increasing number of strikes kick-started the Winter of Discontent
64
Describe the feminist movement in the 1970's
- Women’s Lib groups sprang up all over the country from 1970 onwards
- The movement became increasingly politicised and the first National Women’s Liberation March took place in London in 1971
- Socialist feminists campaigned on issues that would enable women to achieve financial independence
Radical Separatists:
- Demanded feminism based on lesbian relationships
- In 1971, the first Gay Pride march was held in London and a lesbian march took place soon after
65
Describe the key events for the feminist movement in the 70's
- **1970 Miss World Contest**: Women’s Lib groups objected as they felt it objectified women
- **1971 demonstrations**: Demonstration in London and Liverpool in March 1971, demanding equal pay and free 24 hour nurseries
- Literature: Women’s writing became an established literary genre and departments of Women’s Studies opened in universities
- **The first rape crisis centre opened in London in 1976**
- **The first Reclaim the Night marches were held in 1977 in response to the Yorkshire Ripper murders**
66
Give some of the women's rights legislation introduced during this period
- The Sex Discrimination Act 1975
- The Equal Pay Act 1970
- Social Security Act 1975
- Employment Protection Act 1975
- The Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act
67
Give the background for the rise of environmentalism
- 1962, ‘Silent Spring’ by the American biologist Rachel Carson had an enormous international impact about the decline in birds and other wildlife in the farming countryside
- 1963 Hunt Saboteurs organisation set up to carry out direct action against fox hunting
- 1967, wreck of oil tanker, Torrey Canyon, caused a massive oil spill and polluted a stretch of south-west England
- 1968, The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrlich dramatized the threat to the environment from overpopulation
68
Describe the environmental protests and politics
* Friends of the Earth was formed in the US in 1969, expanded to Britain in 1971
* The British Ecology Party (later the Green Party) was formed in 1973
* Greenpeace UK was formed in 1977
CND protest moved to campaigning about the long term damage of radioactive nuclear waste:
- Between 1957-59 there had been 5 incidents at the nuclear power station Sellafield in Cumbria
69
Describe the animal rights protests
- 1975, outrage about dogs in labs being made to smoke 30 cigarettes a day to study the effects
- 1973, several violent attacks by animal rights protestors on pharmaceutical labs
- Animal Liberation Front, formed 1976, adopted extreme violence (letter bombs were sent to politicians, including Thatcher in 1984)
70
Give examples of some of the new environmental media
- 1979, David Attenborough’s ‘Life on Earth’
- 1972, Watership Down
- 1975, The Good Life
- 1972, A Blueprint for Survival
71
Describe the rise of the National Front
- 1977 Britain’s 4th largest party
- Marches - Trades Council of East London gave details of over 100 incidents
- Assaults on immigrants rose by 1/3rd
- Anti-Nazi League set up 1977
- 1976 Rock Against Racism. 1978 concert Trafalgar Square attracted 100,000.
72
Describe relations with the USSR
- An easing of hostility post-Cuban missile crisis
- Fears about USSR's influence in Eastern Europe
- George Markov Affair
73
Describe relations with China
- 1972, Britain exchanged ambassadors with China
- Heath made many visits to China and was awarded the title of 'People's Friendship Envoy', the highest honour given by the Chinese government to foreigners
- 1979, the first visit to Britain by a Chinese leader since the communist revolution
74
Describe what happened when the pound was floated
- Barber floated the pound in 1972
- Value immediately plummeted
- Despite this, unemployment had fallen to only 500,000 by 1973
75
Describe the effects of the 1973 Oil Price Crisis
- Imports became more expensive
- Value of the sterling reduced - £1 fell to US $1.50
- Inflation grew again - to 16% by 1974
76
Describe the George Markov Affair
- A Bulgarian who defected to the West in 1969
- Publicly criticised the Bulgarian communist regime
- Assassinated in London in 1978, supposedly by a poisonous pellet fired from an umbrella by a KGB agent
77
Describe the Sex Discirmination Act 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975:
- Made it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of sex or marital status in the field of employment, or in the provision of educational facilities, housing, goods and services
- An Equal Opportunities Commission was created with investigator powers
- 1976 - 1983, only 10% of workplace sex discrimination claims were successful
78
Describe the Equal Pay Act 1970
The Equal Pay Act 1970:
- Became operative in 1975
- Was not wholly successful but was an important legal step forward
Women’s earnings as a proportion of men’s were 63% in 1970, 73% in 1980
79
Describe the Social Security Act 1975
Social Security Act 1975:
- A State Earning Related Pensions Scheme became more generous to women whose contributions were limited by caring responsibilities
80
Describe the Employment Protection Act 1975
Employment Protection Act 1975:
- Introduced paid maternity leave and outlawed dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy
81
Describe the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act
- Made it easier for women to gain protection from violent husbands
- 300 applied for injunctions in 1972, rose to 3,000 in 1973
82
Describe punk
* Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones and others were popular British bands
* Unisex clothing with safety pins, swastikas, chains and brightly dyed spiked hair
* Westwood and Mclaren open a boutique on Kings Road, Chelsea called 'Sex'
* The Sex Pistols swore on live TV and released a song called God Save the Queen
* Despite the BBC refusing to play the song, it still reached number 2 on the charts
83
Describe skin heads
* Adopted by National Front
* Also reflected social isolation
84
Describe football hooliganism
* Organised groups
* 'Chelsea Headhunters', Newcastle's 'Gremlins', Sunderland's 'Seaburn Casuals'
* Became known as the 'English Disease'
85
Describe crime
* Violent crime and vandalism increased
* Rape received increasing publicity
* Prisons became seriously overcrowded
* 1980s began with riots in Bristol, Brighton and Scarborough
86
Describe drugs
* Cannabis use peaked in the mid-70s
* 1/3rd of students used cannabis, twice the rate of the rest of the population
* The market for heroin was growing significantly
* Punishments went from prison sentences to fines across the decade
87
Describe television
* TV became more traditional and less challenging
* 'Till Death Us Do Part' and 'Love Thy Neighbour' showed racial jokes and stereotyping
88
Describe movies
* Mostly became safer
* New special effects lead to more collaboration with the US e.g 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Star Wars Trilogy
* Films featuring famous musicians such at The Who in Quadrophenia
* Independent artists formed collectives to produce and show more controversial films
89
Describe theatre
* Became more controversial
* Equus by Peter Schaffer
* 1976, Gay Sweatshop formed, producing plays with openly homosexual themes
90
Describe how leadership contributed to Britain's entry to the EEC
* Heath was strongly pro-Europe
* Had visited Germany in the 1930's and was appaulled by the Nazi's - belived a united Europe would prevent a repeat
* France was now lead by Pompidou who believed the EEC and Britain both needed each other
91
Describe Conservative opposition to entry to the EEC
* Led by Enoch Powell
* Voted against the passage of the European Bill through parliament at every single stage
* Believed Heath had betrayed the country by signing the treaty before in had been debated in Parliament
* Refused to stand as a Conservative candidate in Feb 1974 and called on his supporters to vote Labour
92
Describe Labour opposition to entry to the EEC
* Very divided
* Argued the terms of joining were not good enough
* Wilson was forced to promise a renegotiation and a national referendum
* 69 rebel MPs helped Heath win the Commons vote with 20 abstaining
93
Describe difficulties with joining the EEC
* Lack of public support
* Opposition from labour and the conservatives
* Heath's majority was low enough to be threatened by the combination of anti-marketeers
* Talks stalled over British contributions and French concerns about the sterling
94
Describe the relationship with the US under Heath
* Declared a 'natural relationship' and did not use the phrase 'special relationship'
* Insisted the US negotiated with all of Europe, Britain would not be a go-between
* The US wanted to use NATO bases in Europe to airlift supplies to Israel during the Yom Kippur War - Britain said no because they did not want to put oil supplies at risk
* Nixon did not inform Heath when US forces were moved to DEFCON 3
95
Describe the relationship with the US under Wilson and Callaghan
* Both keen on the Atlantic Alliance
* Callaghan formed a strong relationship with Kissinger and negotiated the replacement of Polaris with Trident in 1979
* Completed withdrawal East of Suez despite US opposition
