New Age Travellers, the English Countryside and Thatcherism
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MEAN FIELDS: NEW AGE TRAVELLERS, THE ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE AND THATCHERISM by David Christopher Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) May 2003 1 UMI Number: U185615 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 U185615 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 101^473 Preface In this work my aim has been to consider the history and treatment of the new Travellers in the media and by the agents of social control from a perspective within the sociology of deviance. Most of the research for this study was conducted between 1996 and 1998, in a mix of interviews with Travellers and informants of all kinds, documentary research and some participant observation at sites and festivals in the south-west and north of England. There are many people I wish to thank and acknowledge. First, I wish to thank those new Travellers, members of their support group, and other specialists who agreed to talk to me. I hope they will find my account of their lives and the events I represent a fair and truthful one. I would like also like to thank Professor Terence Morris for getting me started on this long road, Professor Paul Rock for helping me along, and especially Professor David Downes, whose advice, assistance, patience and encouragement helped see this work through to a conclusion. Domestic support has also been invaluable, and I also wish to thank my father, and my late mother who was sadly unable to see this work through to fruition. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Nargis, who helped in the ways that only a loving partner can. 2 Abstract High crime rates and disorder are often thought typical of vagrant groups. But is this because of their greater criminal activity and propensity for anarchy, or is it because their marginal position makes them vulnerable to selective processing by the authorities? Differences which can be readily observed are important in the examination of a group's alleged deviance, and often lead to their being held responsible for social ills. Such folk devils are characteristic of many societies, and those who most effectively fill the role are often among most culturally remote from the ideals of the group holding power. This thesis is concerned with the so-called New Age Travellers, and examines how between 1984 andl 994 they filled the role of folk devils in Britain. Their differing behaviour, practices, appearance and mobility were in opposition to the ideals of the Thatcher government, and their high visibility and ease of identification assisted their processing and labelling as deviants. By publicly vilifying them, the government could justify harsh measures against them, and order was seen to be maintained. The locus of most Traveller incidents in the countryside of the southern England, a bedrock of conservative values, intensified pressure on the primary site of the ideals of Thatcherism and its conception of England. The type and extent of measures taken against the Travellers is shown to be related to the 'authoritarian populism' of the Thatcher government. The Travellers were a heterogeneous group, and their composition evolved steadily during the research period, yet they remained among the most marginal, powerless and least able to mobilise popular support in society. But despite the frequent hardships, being 'on the road' was found to provide a functional alternative to previously existing circumstances, and offered the potential for change in the lives of those concerned. 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction to the Field Page 1. Topic OutSne 6 2. Background, Origins and Context of the New Travellers 8 3. Occasions and Incidents 11 4. Writing on Vagrancy and the New Travellers 14 5. Theoretical Aspects of the Study 16 6. Aims and Methods 20 7. Plan of Study 28 8. Notes 29 Chapter 2: A Question of Legitimacy: Changing Views of Vagrancy 1. Introduction 31 2. The Medieval Period: Legitimacy and Respect 31 3. Tension, Vagrancy and Rebellion 32 4. The Tudors and Vagrancy 34 5. Enclosure and Movement 37 6. 19th Century Attitudes to Vagrancy 39 7. Sedentarism: The Settling of Society 41 8. The Disappearance of Marginal Space 44 9. Conducing Remarks 48 10. Notes 46 Chapter 3: The English Countryside: A Crisis of Identity 1. Introduction 51 2. Who Owns the Countryside? 51 3. The IdylficCountryside 52 4. Countryside Colonisation 57 5. Tory Countryside PoScy 59 6. The Tourist Imperative 63 7. Countryside Conservation 64 8. A Countryside of Two Nations 65 9. Corckrfrig Remarks 71 10. Notes 73 4 Chapter 4: Press Images of New Travellers 1. The Preparation of News 74 2. The Changing Culture, 1984-1994 77 3. Images of New Travellers 85 4. Redressing the Balance 92 5. Conducing Remarks 92 6. Notes 94 Chapter 5: The New Travellers: A Case of Mistaken Identities? 1. Introduction 95 2. Locations and Sites 96 3. The Traveller Economy 97 4. Heath 103 5. Education 106 6. Motivations 108 7. Conducing Remarks 119 8. Notes 120 Chapter 6: Official Perceptions, Surveillance and Control of the New Travellers 1. Introduction 121 2. Policing new Travellers in the 1980s 122 3. The View from Westminster 124 4. Policing New Travellers in the 1990s 127 5. From Pro-Active to Reactive Polidng 128 6. Parliamentary Debates on New Travellers in the 1990s 133 7. The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994 136 8. Conducing Remarks 138 9. Notes 140 Chapter 7: Moral Action or Moral Panic? 1. Introduction 141 2. The Making of a Moral Pane 141 3. HowdiditEnd? 145 4. Why dd it Happen? 148 5. Implications for Policy 153 6. Notes 156 Bibliography: 157 Appendices: 168 Tables: Table 1. Police Perception of New Travellers 133 Table 2. Public Anxieties and New Traveller Stereotypes 151 5 Chapter 1 Introduction to the Field 1. Topic Outline During the late 1970s there was a sudden and visible increase in the numbers of people taking up a nomadic lifestyle, as a new type of travelling community, popularly known as the 'New Age1 or 'hippy' travellers began to evolve1, making a living at the varied festivals and events held around the country. The new Travellers differed from the more established travelling communities such as Gypsies, show people and seasonal agricultural labourers in several ways: they had a much shorter history; they were not defined as a distinct ethnic group under the Race Relations Act; adult Travellers had not been born into a travelling lifestyle, but had freely adopted it, and they did not necessarily follow traditional routes of travel. Many were young, university educated and strongly politicised, and in spite of their mobility, they often retained extremely elastic ties with settled society, sometimes preferring to return for shorter or longer spells as the need arose. Their appearance also distinguished them from other traditional travellers, from the choice of transport such as old buses, ambulances and other large exotically painted vehicles, to their strange hippy clothes and ‘new age' beliefs. As with any group of nomads, numbers of new Travellers have been difficult to estimate.2 One problem is that the National Census, which helps central and local government, health authorities and other organisations to plan services such as future housing needs, does not specifically include the category of Travellers or Gypsies. It has therefore been left to interested parties to make informed guesses. Kenrick and Clark (2000:120) suggest that during the mid-1980s, anything from 5000 to as many as 50,000 were involved, not including those who spent the winter in houses. By 1994, there were an estimated 2000 live-in vehicles, together with around 8000 year-round new Travellers (The Guardian, 22.4.94). However, the Travellers' Itinerant Trust, and Friends and Families of Travellers estimated double this, while the Save the Children Fund estimated up to 50,000 on the road (Clark, 1997:129). Estimates of mobile populations have always varied, largely because of the difficulties of counting a population about whom little is known, as well as their mobility from area to area, and the elastic nature of some Travellers' relations with the settled community. Clearly there were substantial numbers involved, but a point which needs to be emphasised early in this study is that despite similar numbers being involved before 1984, there were only infrequent mentions of them to be found in the media, usually in local press accounts of drug offences and breaches of the peace at local fairs and festivals. In terms of the category and degree of seriousness, offences were usually small and complaints usually revolved around bad security and poor organisation, especially at the free festivals (Clarke, 1982). The Labour government of the time Was aware of the difficulties, and in one occasion in 1975 actually stepped in to sponsor and co-operate with the staging of a free festival at 6 Watchfield in southern England. However, by 1984 official official attitudes had radically altered, and police began to regularly evict, detain and arrest Travellers, despite the infrequent and relatively trivial nature of their offences.