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burgh and Prestwick. Ross thus pre- vented Scotland having the major international airport it deserved. ReviewsReviews He writes poignantly of the long campaign for European entry in the Labour Party, and his rough relations with Prime Minister Harold Wilson. I Last of the Gang … must admit that when he recalls the episode of his leaking in advance to the Bill Rodgers: Fourth Among Equals press a ‘showdown’ meeting with (Politico’s Publishing, 2000; 320pp) Wilson, my sympathies were wholly on the side of the cross Prime Minister. Reviewed by David Steel Other than that I found his account of events leading in to Roy Jenkins’ resignation as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and the Labour MPs he most irritating aspect of Bill and being part of a community. The voting against their whip very moving. TRodgers’ autobiography is its title. community politics strategy of the Equally, when later the same people Fourth Among Equals is a wholly unnec- Liberal Party was a key part of its make trooped through the lobbies against the essary self put-down. It is not even an up, not to be derided except where legislation ratifying entry, and Bill accurate description of his role in the badly practised as mere ‘pavement confessed that he was reduced to tears, Gang of Four’s founding of the SDP. politics’. The disadvantages of such a I realised why I was right to have For while the other three all had their life for me was that I was never able to resisted early blandishments to join the distinctive merits, there is no doubt that be part of the London/weekend Labour Party. Bill was the most clearly capable network, as the SDP quartet obviously The referendum campaign – organiser and strategist of the quartet. were. I do not claim universal superior- when we worked together for the first Having overcome my dislike of the ity for the Liberal position. On the time – is accurately described, espe- title, and before turning to assess this contrary, I recall being concerned that cially the material largesse (typewrit- history, let me say at the outset that it’s in a winnable by-election a few years ers, photocopiers, executive jets) a rattling good read. The early chap- ago a candidate who would have made which were available, and which ters are strikingly evocative of a a major contribution to the parliamen- opened both our sets of eyes to the Liverpool childhood, including some tary party did not even reach the short- fact that these were regularly available remarkably vivid descriptions of the list for selection because his tenuous to the Tory party. In all of these epi- blitz. His time at Oxford is passed local ties compared unfavourably with sodes he has some shrewd and critical over quickly in favour of his early the worthy local councillors who did. pen portraits of colleagues like Tony years in the Labour Party. But there were similarities for all Crosland, Roy Hattersely and David Two features of his life emerge that. ‘I saw too little of my children Owen. But he also has some cryptic which I believe were to colour the when they were growing up and now, one-liners which set me laughing differences between SDP culture and with families of their own they com- aloud in instant recognition: Merlyn Liberal culture (because his and my plain about my failure.’ Snap. I also now personal experiences illustrated them). recall – which I had forgotten, as, I The first was his almost cavalier ap- suspect, had Bill – that we served proach to constituency selection. From together briefly in the Assemblies of Bristol to Birmingham, Gloucester to the Council of Europe and Western Grimsby and eventually to Stockton, European Union around . Indeed the prevailing attitude was that these I wrote as rapporteur (aided by a were possible places to send you to knowledgeable clerk) a learned report Westminster. Second, Bill, like the other on Russian submarines in the Kola three, lived in London, with a second peninsula, about which I can recall house in what they would call ‘the nothing except a few words of ap- country’ – within a ½ hour drive of proval from the junior defence minis- London, not in their constituencies. ter, Bill Rodgers. Contrast this with my own – and As junior minister at the Board of most recent Liberal – experience, Trade he tried to promote a new living and working in our constituen- Central Scotland airport but was cies, often a full day’s travel from stymied by the Secretary of State for London, sending our children to local Scotland, Willie Ross, who wanted to schools, attending the parish church keep voters happy at Glasgow, Edin- Journal of Liberal Democrat History 28 Autumn 2000 29 Rees ‘radiating muddled concern and was politically naïve and they mistak- and a willingness to let that flourish goodwill’; Edward du Cann ‘adopted enly allowed him full exposure. I recall organically locally rather than by some his suavest manner (and that could be coming off the sleeper and breakfasting blueprint from the top down. very suave indeed)’. with Bill, trying to explain to him how With most of Bill’s judgements I His role in establishing and main- it was possible to run a by-election concur (including his reservations taining the Lib-Lab Pact of – is while only allowing the candidate a about the current joint cabinet com- soundly recorded in detail. In retro- few carefully scripted words very mittee which my ex-leader loyalty spect I was too easily wooed by the occasionally. Richard Holme had done prevented me from expressing!). He promise of a free vote on PR for this at Croydon with Bill Pitt, but such doesn’t quote Jo Grimond’s typically Europe, failing to foresee that the pro- techniques were unknown to the SDP mischievous remark about the Alliance PR Tory vote would not turn out for who truly blew it by coming third. – ‘the thing is bound to succeed something that was part of a Lib-Lab His version of the general because Jenkins is such a good Liberal agreement. The most interesting part election and its aftermath is both fair and Steel such a good Social Demo- of the chapter dealing with his time in and fascinating, as is the election of crat’ – but that it succeeded at all was cabinet is his account of the terrible David Owen as leader and the row on in no small measure due to Bill. Roy mistake Jim Callaghan made in not the joint commission on defence. The and I used to muse that his problem calling an election. as expected after disappointment of the election, was a name and image one. Was he Bill the end of the Lib-Lab Pact in autumn the fall-out with Owen and the subse- or William, Roger or Rodgers? It , and of the subsequent winter of quent unnecessarily long-drawn-out didn’t matter to us internally, because discontent and the strains and disagree- struggle for merger are also robustly he was very much the essential equal, ments within the cabinet. portrayed. He is right to trace the and deserves to enjoy his years as leader His own account of leaving the satisfying achievement of forty-seven of the party in the Upper House of Labour Party and helping to found the Liberal Democrat MPs and ten MEPs parliament. SDP is familiar to those who have read to the foundation laid by the Liberal- Roy Jenkins and David Owen. What is SDP Alliance. If we were able to rewrite David Steel (Lord Steel of Aikwood) led the more revealing is the level of tension at history, there should have much more Liberal Party from to . He is different times among the four of declared openness from the beginning currently MSP for South of Scotland, and them. It is to their credit that they about the partnership of the two parties Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament. concealed it well at the time. The famous by-elections come back to life through these pages and Bill’s mega- phone. He gives his side of the seat allocation problems, in which he is Nearly an Eminent Victorian quite critical of my part, leading to his public outburst at New Year , at which he records ‘David Steel put on Roland Hill: Lord Acton (Yale University Press, 2000; his disapproving son-of-the-manse 548pp) face and pretended the row had come Reviewed by Ian Machin as a surprise’. He is right. I did not want to inflame what I considered bad judgement on his part and simply he first Lord Acton (Sir John ancestral roots were in a Shropshire suggested he had eaten too many Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, estate and baronetcy. But as his father, mince pies for Christmas. But damage T –) was nearly an eminent grandfather, and great-grandfather in was done, and I still believe in retro- Victorian, who might have reached the the Acton line had all been born spect that the SDP wholly underesti- undoubtedly eminent rank if he had abroad, Englishness was deemed mated the scale of sacrifice being concentrated on one line of activity officially to have run out in his case, expected of entrenched Liberal instead of several. He was a diverse and a special Act of Naturalisation as a candidates and organisations such as being by birth, a cosmopolitan aristo- British citizen was passed for him, as a Dumfries (next door to me) where the crat with English, German, Italian and three-year-old, when his father died in young Jim Wallace loyally resigned as a French forebears, who was born in .

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