DOCSLIB.ORG

39 Russell Jenkins Life at the Centre Review

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
39 Russell Jenkins Life at the Centre Review REVIEWS Radice records, at the 1981 La- ce’s third element in their inter- Hennessy) that he said: ‘There bour conference when Denis action, which makes the exercise were a lot of them who are clev- Healey defeated Tony Benn for of a triple biography worth tell- erer than me; but I am here and the Deputy Leadership by four- ing in this form: ‘When personal they are not.’ There was no doubt fifths of one percent. In his di- ambitions collided, mutual co- which trio of old rivals he had ary, Giles Radice wrote on the operation was precluded.’ particularly in mind. evening of the Healey victory: So it was that time and chance Giles Radice’s book goes a ‘By beating Benn, however nar- delivered No. 10 to Jim Cal- long way to explaining how he rowly, Denis Healey has saved the laghan. When Jim was elected outsmarted them all. Labour Party.’ If that is so, then I leader of the Labour Party and played a part in that rescue. My appointed Prime Minister in Lord (Tom) McNally is Deputy final vote as a Labour Member of March 1976, it was to me (not, Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Parliament was to vote for Denis as stated in the book, to Peter the House of Lords. Healey at that conference. It was my parting gift to a Labour Party to which, as Roy Hattersley told me at the time, I owed every- thing. But I have my doubts wheth- His books were read er any of our three heroes could have led the Labour Party better Roy Jenkins: A Life at the Centre or more effectively in the 1960s and 1970s than the ‘consensus’ (Macmillan,1991; 658pp) leaders, Wilson and Callaghan. Reviewed by Conrad Russell The structure of the party gave too much power to the trade ell me. Where is fancy bred? power in the end than any of- unions (fine when the unions Or in the heart. Or in fice-holder, and Roy was one of are in the control of the right, Tthe head?’ these. Though he may have been poison when controlled by the ‘ Shakespeare’s question has cu- the most successful post-war left – as Tony Blair may shortly riously been answered by mod- Chancellor of the Exchequer, find out). In addition, the Benn ern science and the answer is in that, by comparison, was a minor reforms on reselection emascu- the head. One may ask the same achievement. lated the Parliamentary Party so question about political power. It underestimates Roy Jenkins that most of them opted for the Is it bred in the heart of govern- even to describe him as a great ‘quiet life’ option of Michael ment, in 10 Downing Street political thinker. When candi- Foot when Jim Callaghan belat- – and perhaps in No. 11 – or is dates are nominated for election edly stood down. it bred in the ideas that are the to the British Academy they Politics is about great issues. petrol such people take from the may be proposed on honor- But it is also about personalities pumps to put in their engines? ary grounds for their service to and how their weaknesses and Politics is Roy Jenkins was perhaps scholarship through public life. strengths play on the great issues. the first major politician since Roy, defender of literary merit, Radice does not allow his ad- about great Gladstone to pursue both sorts Chancellor of Oxford University, miration for his subjects to blind issues. But of political power at once. That drafter of the academic freedom him to their flaws. Tony Crosland is why, though great it is, the amendment of 1988, deserved could be cavalier and peevish, it is also sequence of Home Secretary such a nomination. Yet the biog- Roy Jenkins pompous, and – Chancellor of the Exchequer rapher of Gladstone, Dilke and Denis Healey, in Roy Jenkins’ about per- – President of the European Asquith as a historian of standing memorable phrase, carried light Commission grossly underesti- in his own right also deserved a ideological baggage on a heavy sonalities mates his importance. Plenty of nomination. I know of no-one gun carriage. In the end all that and how twentieth century prime minis- since John Morley who deserved this tells us is that politicians, like ters – Home, Major, Callaghan consideration on both grounds the rest of humanity, have human their weak- even Wilson – did less to shape at once. failings and weaknesses. Whether twentieth century politics than What has not been remarked a politician gets to the top or not nesses and he did. If one calls a man a Calla- upon is the extent to which his depends as much on time and ghanite it has no meaning. If one academic and his political work chance as on personal qualities. strengths calls him Jenkinsite this instantly concentrated on the same issue. Yet what led to Crosland, Jenkins play on tells us what we can say to him The link is perhaps made most and Healey all failing to reach and what we cannot. Those who clear in the Dimbleby Lecture. Number 10 – although at vari- the great prepare the language politicians He said that the British political ous times all three had both their feed into their brains have more system had not changed much time and the chance – was Radi- issues. Journal of Liberal History 39 Summer 2003 53 REVIEWS since 1868, but Britain had death wish, it was indeed eclipsed his own was small and notewor- changed very much in those four years later. thy. Among my contemporaries, years, so that stability risked turn- Once it had collapsed it stayed Bob Maclennan was one of its ing into ‘stultifying political ri- collapsed. It is characteristic of recognisably distinguished figures gidity’. He was interested in two ‘first past the post’ that once a from the early sixties onwards. moments when such pressure party becomes a clearly estab- On the other hand the frequent for change ran into conflict with lished second it is very hard to pairing together during the sev- the political system. One was the dislodge. As Machiavelli said: enties of Shirley Williams and rise of the Labour Party and the ‘there is great difficulty in seizing Reg Prentice – of which there other its fall. The big question of the estate of the Turk but once it is a good deal in A Life at the twentieth-century politics that is taken, great ease in holding it’. Centre – is sheer illusion. They Roy did not become conscious It is that great ease which has were united in certain negative of until around 1975, but which kept a Labour Party recognised propositions aimed at Tony Benn may have haunted him since as obsolescent by 1959 firmly and Michael Foot but we can 1959, was whether the rise of the in its place in spite of all inward see now that they were united Labour Party was a blind alley decay. It is almost impossible in very little else. Reg Prentice and a wrong turning. Did it have now for people who learnt their in his final Conservative years any continuing use or should it politics after the beginning of in the House of Lords showed be marked ‘Return to Sender’? the Cold War to understand himself an unadulterated right- Both the rise and the decline the extent to which the Labour winger of a sort who sometimes of the Labour Party force us to Party of those whose beliefs made me prefer Enoch Powell. consider the electoral system. It were formed before 1939 was He reminded me of Donne’s line is not clear whether Roy noticed in hock both to Moscow and to ‘busy old fool, unruly sun, go the relevance of the electoral sys- Marx. Roy Jenkins in A Life at choose sour prentices’. Not even tem to Labour’s rise. The key evi- the Centre complains that he and her worst enemy in the grip of a dence is printed only by Colin Tony Crosland were two of only nightmare could have said any of Matthew in his Gladstone Diaries. three members of the Labour this of Shirley Williams. The Liberal Party of the 1890s Club committee at Oxford who With these came a tradi- needed to attract the growing were not on the Moscow line tion that I identified under the group of working-class politi- on questions such as the Russian name of Comrade Blimp, which cians. It was doing well enough invasion of Finland. The result was Labour only because it for a while, but the near abolition was that they decided to split was working class, while being of the two-member constituency the Club and won a comfortable thoroughly reactionary on eve- in 1885, struck it a near-fatal victory among the membership. rything else. Bob Mellish was a blow. In 1891 Stuart Rendel of Roy was Treasurer of the demo- prime example of this tradition. that ilk submitted a memo to cratic socialists and Iris Murdoch Gladstone in which he pointed of the Moscow traditionalists. out that Liberals in a two-mem- The resulting correspondence ber constituency were prepared between ‘Dear Miss Murdoch’ to choose a working-class can- and ‘Dear Comrade Jenkins’ is didate for the second seat, just as the beatification of incongruity. they are often prepared now to Perhaps the importance of this choose a woman for the second Marxist presence is the extent place on a list. Given single- to which it created a confusion member constituencies they of identity on the Labour right.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • 'Opposition-Craft': an Evaluative Framework for Official Opposition Parties in the United Kingdom Edward Henry Lack Submitte
    ‘Opposition-Craft’: An Evaluative Framework for Official Opposition Parties in the United Kingdom Edward Henry Lack Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of PhD The University of Leeds, School of Politics and International Studies May, 2020 1 Intellectual Property and Publications Statements The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. ©2020 The University of Leeds and Edward Henry Lack The right of Edward Henry Lack to be identified as Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 2 Acknowledgements Page I would like to thank Dr Victoria Honeyman and Dr Timothy Heppell of the School of Politics and International Studies, The University of Leeds, for their support and guidance in the production of this work. I would also like to thank my partner, Dr Ben Ramm and my parents, David and Linden Lack, for their encouragement and belief in my efforts to undertake this project. Finally, I would like to acknowledge those who took part in the research for this PhD thesis: Lord David Steel, Lord David Owen, Lord Chris Smith, Lord Andrew Adonis, Lord David Blunkett and Dame Caroline Spelman. 3 Abstract This thesis offers a distinctive and innovative framework for the study of effective official opposition politics in the United Kingdom.
    [Show full text]
  • The Attlee Governments
    Vic07 10/15/03 2:11 PM Page 159 Chapter 7 The Attlee governments The election of a majority Labour government in 1945 generated great excitement on the left. Hugh Dalton described how ‘That first sensa- tion, tingling and triumphant, was of a new society to be built. There was exhilaration among us, joy and hope, determination and confi- dence. We felt exalted, dedication, walking on air, walking with destiny.’1 Dalton followed this by aiding Herbert Morrison in an attempt to replace Attlee as leader of the PLP.2 This was foiled by the bulky protection of Bevin, outraged at their plotting and disloyalty. Bevin apparently hated Morrison, and thought of him as ‘a scheming little bastard’.3 Certainly he thought Morrison’s conduct in the past had been ‘devious and unreliable’.4 It was to be particularly irksome for Bevin that it was Morrison who eventually replaced him as Foreign Secretary in 1951. The Attlee government not only generated great excitement on the left at the time, but since has also attracted more attention from academics than any other period of Labour history. Foreign policy is a case in point. The foreign policy of the Attlee government is attractive to study because it spans so many politically and historically significant issues. To start with, this period was unique in that it was the first time that there was a majority Labour government in British political history, with a clear mandate and programme of reform. Whereas the two minority Labour governments of the inter-war period had had to rely on support from the Liberals to pass legislation, this time Labour had power as well as office.
    [Show full text]
  • Crossing the Floor Roy Douglas a Failure of Leadership Liberal Defections 1918–29 Senator Jerry Grafstein Winston Churchill As a Liberal J
    Journal of Issue 25 / Winter 1999–2000 / £5.00 Liberal DemocratHISTORY Crossing the Floor Roy Douglas A Failure of Leadership Liberal Defections 1918–29 Senator Jerry Grafstein Winston Churchill as a Liberal J. Graham Jones A Breach in the Family Megan and Gwilym Lloyd George Nick Cott The Case of the Liberal Nationals A re-evaluation Robert Maclennan MP Breaking the Mould? The SDP Liberal Democrat History Group Issue 25: Winter 1999–2000 Journal of Liberal Democrat History Political Defections Special issue: Political Defections The Journal of Liberal Democrat History is published quarterly by the Liberal Democrat History Group 3 Crossing the floor ISSN 1463-6557 Graham Lippiatt Liberal Democrat History Group Editorial The Liberal Democrat History Group promotes the discussion and research of 5 Out from under the umbrella historical topics, particularly those relating to the histories of the Liberal Democrats, Liberal Tony Little Party and the SDP. The Group organises The defection of the Liberal Unionists discussion meetings and publishes the Journal and other occasional publications. 15 Winston Churchill as a Liberal For more information, including details of publications, back issues of the Journal, tape Senator Jerry S. Grafstein records of meetings and archive and other Churchill’s career in the Liberal Party research sources, see our web site: www.dbrack.dircon.co.uk/ldhg. 18 A failure of leadership Hon President: Earl Russell. Chair: Graham Lippiatt. Roy Douglas Liberal defections 1918–29 Editorial/Correspondence Contributions to the Journal – letters, 24 Tory cuckoos in the Liberal nest? articles, and book reviews – are invited. The Journal is a refereed publication; all articles Nick Cott submitted will be reviewed.
    [Show full text]
  • The British Labour Party and Zionism, 1917-1947 / by Fred Lennis Lepkin
    THE BRITISH LABOUR PARTY AND ZIONISM: 1917 - 1947 FRED LENNIS LEPKIN BA., University of British Columbia, 196 1 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of History @ Fred Lepkin 1986 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY July 1986 All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. Name : Fred Lennis Lepkin Degree: M. A. Title of thesis: The British Labour Party and Zionism, - Examining Committee: J. I. Little, Chairman Allan B. CudhgK&n, ior Supervisor . 5- - John Spagnolo, ~upervis&y6mmittee Willig Cleveland, Supepiso$y Committee -Lenard J. Cohen, External Examiner, Associate Professor, Political Science Dept.,' Simon Fraser University Date Approved: August 11, 1986 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis, project or extended essay (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay The British Labour Party and Zionism, 1917 - 1947.
    [Show full text]
  • 'The Left's Views on Israel: from the Establishment of the Jewish State To
    ‘The Left’s Views on Israel: From the establishment of the Jewish state to the intifada’ Thesis submitted by June Edmunds for PhD examination at the London School of Economics and Political Science 1 UMI Number: U615796 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615796 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 F 7377 POLITI 58^S8i ABSTRACT The British left has confronted a dilemma in forming its attitude towards Israel in the postwar period. The establishment of the Jewish state seemed to force people on the left to choose between competing nationalisms - Israeli, Arab and later, Palestinian. Over time, a number of key developments sharpened the dilemma. My central focus is the evolution of thinking about Israel and the Middle East in the British Labour Party. I examine four critical periods: the creation of Israel in 1948; the Suez war in 1956; the Arab-Israeli war of 1967 and the 1980s, covering mainly the Israeli invasion of Lebanon but also the intifada. In each case, entrenched attitudes were called into question and longer-term shifts were triggered in the aftermath.
    [Show full text]
  • Harold Wilson Obituary
    Make a contribution News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle UK World Business Football UK politics Environment Education Society Science Tech More Harold Wilson obituary Leading Labour beyond pipe dreams Geoffrey Goodman Thu 25 May 1995 09.59 EDT 18 Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, as he came improbably to be called - will not go down in the history books as one of Britain's greatest prime ministers. But, increasingly, he will be seen as a far bigger political figure than contemporary sceptics have allowed far more representative of that uniquely ambivalent mood of Britain in the 1960s and a far more rounded and caring, if unfulfilled, person. It is my view that he was a remarkable prime minister and, indeed, a quite remarkable man. Cynics had a field day ridiculing him at the time of his decline. Perhaps that was inevitable given his irresistible tendency to behave like the master of the Big Trick in the circus ring of politics - for whom there is nothing so humiliating as to have it demonstrated, often by fellow tricksters, that the Big Trick hasn't worked. James Harold Wilson happened to be prime minister leading a left wing party at a time when the mores of post-war political and economic change in Britain (and elsewhere) were just beginning to be perceived. Arguably it was the period of the greatest social and industrial change this century, even if the people - let alone the Wilson governments - were never fully aware of the nature of that change. Social relationships across the entire class spectrum were being transformed.
    [Show full text]
  • Welfare Reform and Political Theory
    WELFARE REFORM AND POLITICAL THEORY WELFARE REFORM AND POLITICAL THEORY LAWRENCE M. MEAD AND CHRISTOPHER BEEM EDITORS Russell Sage Foundation • New York The Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation, one of the oldest of America’s general purpose foundations, was established in 1907 by Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” The Founda- tion seeks to fulfill this mandate by fostering the development and dissemina- tion of knowledge about the country’s political, social, and economic problems. While the Foundation endeavors to assure the accuracy and objectivity of each book it publishes, the conclusions and interpretations in Russell Sage Founda- tion publications are those of the authors and not of the Foundation, its Trustees, or its staff. Publication by Russell Sage, therefore, does not imply Foundation endorsement. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Robert E. Denham, Chair Alan S. Blinder Larry V. Hedges Alan B. Krueger Christine K. Cassel Jennifer L. Hochschild Cora B. Marrett Thomas D. Cook Timothy A. Hultquist Eric Wanner Christopher Edley Jr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson Mary C. Waters John A. Ferejohn Melvin J. Konner Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Welfare reform and political theory / Lawrence M. Mead and Christopher Beem, editors. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-87154-595-0 1. Public welfare—United States. 2. Public welfare—Great Britain. 3. Welfare recipients—Employment—United States. 4. Welfare recipients—Employment— Great Britain. 5. United States—Social policy—1993- 6. Great Britain—Social policy—1979- 7. Public welfare—Political aspects. 8. Citizenship. I. Mead, Lawrence M. II.
    [Show full text]
  • 39 Mcnally Radice Friends and Rivals Review
    REVIEWS the result is a refreshing mix Dr Tim Benson is Director of the that makes fascinating reading Political Cartoon Society, an organi- for anyone interested in cur- sation for those interested in history rent affairs, one which will also and politics through the medium of be appreciated by students of cartoons. politics, history, journalism and Visit www.politicalcartoon.co.uk cartoon art. When personal ambitions collide, mutual co-operation is precluded Giles Radice: Friends and Rivals: Crosland, Jenkins and Healey (Little, Brown & Co., 2002), 382 pp. Reviewed by Tom McNally et us start with the con- narrative parallels Dangerfield’s clusion. Giles Radice has The Strange Death of Liberal Eng- Lwritten an important land in seeking to explain how book, a very readable book and both a political establishment and one that entirely justifies the a political philosophy lost its way. many favourable reviews it has I watched this story unfold received since its publication in first of all as a Labour Party re- September 2002. By the device searcher in the mid- and late them. In that respect Tony Blair of interweaving the careers and sixties, then as International Sec- and Gordon Brown did learn the ambitions of Anthony Crosland, retary of the Labour Party from lessons of history by cementing Roy Jenkins and Denis Healey, 1969–74 (the youngest since their own non-aggression pact, Radice is able to tell the tale of Denis Healey, who served in the and reaped their full reward for the rise and fall of social democ- post from 1945–52), followed by so doing.
    [Show full text]
  • 49Er1950no050
    -L'MBER SO 1850 nary, 1950 THE FORTY-NINER Important Services OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS A new arm of the Government, the Department of Economic Affairs, was established at the regular session of the Legislature in 1945. Functions of the Department, according: to the authorizing Act, were to "further and encourage orderly, economic, cultural and social de- velopment for the betterment of the people of the Province in accord- ance with the principles and requirements of a democracy, and to assist in and advance the proper rehabilitation of men and women returning to the Province from the Armed Services of Canada and from war industries. @ Cultural Activities Branch to stimu- @ Agent General in London whose par- late interest in the fine arts in par- ticular concern is immigration and ticular and recreation generally. makes final selection of applicants for immigration to the Province. @ Industrial Development and Economic Research Branch for the purpose of solving technical problems relating to @ Film and Photographic Branch @ industries coming to Alberta, etc. Supplying pictorial matter to illus- trate newspaper and magazine arti- @ Public Relations Office to establish cles publicizing Alberta. and maintain good will between the public and various departments of the @ Southern Alberta Branch @ Situated Government. in Calgary. Handling all business of @ Publicity Bureau handling advertis- the department and its branches in ing, news and features publicizing Southern Alberta. Alberta. @ Alberta Travel Bureau promoting in- @ Iimmigr.ation Branch to look after the terest in Alberta's Tourist attractions screening of applicants, welfare of in the local, national and internation- immigrants, etc. al fields.
    [Show full text]
  • The Labour Party and the Idea of Citizenship, C. 193 1-1951
    The Labour Party and the Idea of Citizenship, c. 193 1-1951 ABIGAIL LOUISA BEACH University College London Thesis presented for the degree of PhD University of London June 1996 I. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the development and articulation of ideas of citizenship by the Labour Party and its sympathizers in academia and the professions. Setting this analysis within the context of key policy debates the study explores how ideas of citizenship shaped critiques of the relationships between central government and local government, voluntary groups and the individual. Present historiographical orthodoxy has skewed our understanding of Labour's attitude to society and the state, overemphasising the collectivist nature and centralising intentions of the Labour party, while underplaying other important ideological trends within the party. In particular, historical analyses which stress the party's commitment from the 1930s to achieving the transition to socialism through a strategy of planning, (of industrial development, production, investment, and so on), have generally concluded that the party based its programme on a centralised, expert-driven state, with control removed from the grasp of the ordinary people. The re-evaluation developed here questions this analysis and, fundamentally, seeks to loosen the almost overwhelming concentration on the mechanisms chosen by the Labour for the implementation of policy. It focuses instead on the discussion of ideas that lay behind these policies and points to the variety of opinions on the meaning and implications of social and economic planning that surfaced in the mid-twentieth century Labour party. In particular, it reveals considerable interest in the development of an active and participatory citizenship among socialist thinkers and politicians, themes which have hitherto largely been seen as missing elements in the ideas of the interwar and immediate postwar Labour party.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rhodesian Crisis in British and International Politics, 1964
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository THE RHODESIAN CRISIS IN BRITISH AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS, 1964-1965 by CARL PETER WATTS A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Historical Studies The University of Birmingham April 2006 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This thesis uses evidence from British and international archives to examine the events leading up to Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on 11 November 1965 from the perspectives of Britain, the Old Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, and New Zealand), and the United States. Two underlying themes run throughout the thesis. First, it argues that although the problem of Rhodesian independence was highly complex, a UDI was by no means inevitable. There were courses of action that were dismissed or remained under explored (especially in Britain, but also in the Old Commonwealth, and the United States), which could have been pursued further and may have prevented a UDI.
    [Show full text]
  • Enoch Powell: the Lonesome Leader
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Huddersfield Repository University of Huddersfield Repository Wellings, Ben Enoch Powell: The lonesome leader Original Citation Wellings, Ben (2013) Enoch Powell: The lonesome leader. Humanities Research Journal, 19 (1). pp. 45-59. ISSN 1834-8491 This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/18914/ The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of the University, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the items on this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners. Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided: • The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy; • A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and • The content is not changed in any way. For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, please contact the Repository Team at: [email protected]. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/ Enoch Powell: The lonesome leader Ben Wellings Introduction By all accounts Enoch Powell was not someone you would warm to, but his personal awkwardness was offset by his enduring popular appeal—a charisma that enabled support for his political causes to cross class boundaries and party affiliations. Despite his education and erudition—or perhaps because of it— he appealed to the working classes and Labour voters, and appeared as a man speaking truth unto power, unafraid to break the political taboos of the day and thereby appealing to individuals who similarly felt silenced by political developments.
    [Show full text]