Tom Chidwick wonders what would have happend if Scotland had voted Yes in the 1979 referendum...... As the country’s first referendum campaign drew to a close, Gordon Brown, the chairman of the Labour Party’s official ‘Labour Movement Yes’ campaign, warned that ‘to be swayed now by the scaremongering and false fears peddled by the money … Continue reading What if Scotland voted “Yes” to an Assembly in 1979?
Gordon Brown
Election? What Election? How Brown’s dithering ended the New Labour era
The party insiders urged him to call it. David Cameron challenged him to it. Gordon Brown tried to play politics with it for a short term gain. Eventually the hesitancy destroyed a carefully crafted reputation, and Labour have looked like the opposition ever since. So why didn’t Brown call that General Election of 2007? As Gordon … Continue reading Election? What Election? How Brown’s dithering ended the New Labour era
An “absurd denial of self-interest” – The lost Blair speech that backed the Euro…but was never given
On the morning of September 11th 2001, Tony Blair was on his way to the TUC conference in Brighton, for a dramatic showdown with the trade unions. Emboldened by another landslide just 3 months earlier, the prime minister was determined to make the most of his second term by pushing through with controversial public service … Continue reading An “absurd denial of self-interest” – The lost Blair speech that backed the Euro…but was never given
The End of a Thousand Years of History – Labour’s Long March To Brexit
Hugh Gaitskell, Barbara Castle, Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Tony Benn, Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Jeremy Corbyn all have one thing in common. They have all advocated withdrawal from the EEC/EU at some point in their long political careers. But only Jeremy Corbyn can see it through to fruition. It begs the question, why … Continue reading The End of a Thousand Years of History – Labour’s Long March To Brexit
We are ready to serve. And together we will change the course of our history, take the shattered remnants of our country and build a new and confident Britain for a new and changing world.
After the sudden death of John Smith in May 1994, Tony Blair defeated John Prescott and Margaret Beckett for the leadership. The real battle had already been won, when Gordon Brown pulled out. I discussed this in That’s Michelle Fowler – Perhaps we should go over and say hello as well as the end of the Smith … Continue reading We are ready to serve. And together we will change the course of our history, take the shattered remnants of our country and build a new and confident Britain for a new and changing world.
Tides of History 