Winter of Discontent

The "Winter of Discontent" is a nickname given to the British winter of 1978–79, during which there were widespread strikes by Trade Unions demanding larger pay rises for their members. The strikes were a result of the attempted enforcement of a government rule that pay rises be kept below 5%, and began in private industry before spreading to the public sector; many of them seriously disrupted everyday life. Whilst the strikes were largely over by February 1979, the government's inability to contain the strikes earlier helped lead to Margaret Thatcher's victory in the 1979 general election and legislation to restrict unions.

Political impact

The strikes appeared to have a profound effect on voting intention. According to Gallup, Labour had a lead of 5% over the Conservatives in November 1978, which turned to a Conservative lead of 7·5% in January 1979, and of 20% in February. On March 1, referendums on devolution to Scotland and Wales were held. That in Wales went strongly against devolution; that in Scotland produced a small majority in favour which did not reach the threshold set by Parliament of 40% of the electorate. The government's decision not to press ahead with devolution immediately led the Scottish National Party to withdraw support from the government and in a motion of no confidence on March 28 the government lost by 1 vote, precipitating a general election.

Related Topics:
Gallup - March 1 - Scottish National Party - March 28 - General election

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher had already outlined her proposals for restricting trade union power in a party political broadcast on January 17 in the middle of the lorry drivers' strike. During the election campaign the Conservative Party made extensive use of the disruption caused during the strike. One broadcast on April 23 began with the Sun's headline "Crisis? What Crisis?" being shown and read out by an increasingly desperate voiceover interspersed with film footage of piles of rubbish, closed factories, picketed hospitals and locked graveyards. The scale of the Conservatives' victory in the general election has often been ascribed to the effect of the strikes, and the party used film of the events of the winter in election campaigns for years to come.

Related Topics:
Conservative Party - Margaret Thatcher - Party political broadcast - January 17 - April 23

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~