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User:Jttw/New Hope for Britain

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This text was derived from the article The longest suicide note in history in this revision (see [1] for authors). It was written by Jttw (talk · contribs) (deleted revision [admins only]).

New Hope for Britain was a policy document issued by the United Kingdom Labour Party in March 1983, shortly before the 1983 general election.[1] It was over 700 pages long, and called for an end to the sales of council houses, unilateral nuclear disarmament, withdrawal from the European Economic Community, abolition of the House of Lords, and the re-nationalisation of recently de-nationalised industries like British Telecom, British Aerospace and the British Shipbuilding Corporation.

The same title was adopted for the party's 1983 general election manifesto, which had only 39 page.[2][3] As a statement on internal democracy, party leader Michael Foot passed the edict that the manifesto would consist of all resolutions arrived at the previous party conference.[4] Its foreword opened:

Here you can read Labour's plan to do the things crying out to be done in our country today. To get Britain back to work. To rebuild our shattered industries. To get rid of the ever-growing dole queues. To protect and enlarge our National Health Service and our other great social services. To help stop the nuclear arms race. Here you can see what Labour is determined to do, and how we shall set about it.

The far-left policies espoused by the manifesto, along with the popularity gained by the current Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher over the Falklands War, contributed to a victory with a substantial majority in Parliament for the incumbent Conservative party. This led to a turning point in the history of the party, which thereafter adopted more free market principles.[4]

The manifesto was later memorably described by Labour MP Gerald Kaufman as "The longest suicide note in history".[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Britain in transition: the twentieth century, Alfred F. Havighurst, University of Chicago Press, 1985, ISBN 0226319717
  2. ^ The new hope for Britain: Labour's manifesto 1983, Labour Party, 1983, ISBN 0861171047
  3. ^ "The New Hope for Britain: British Labour Party election manifesto, 1983". Keele University Political Science Resources. 1983. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  4. ^ a b Michael Foot: Labour's 1983 general election manifesto and 'the longest suicide in history', Daily Telegraph, 3 March 2010
  5. ^ Mann, Nyta (2003-07-14). "Foot's message of hope to left". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
[edit]
Some more references
To add
  • Background - 1979, Foot replaces Callaghan, poll lead until 1981, Militant, Benn vs Healey, SDP, Falklands, inflation, unemployment
  • summary of policy doc and manifesto - Alternative Economic Strategy, more social welfare, withdrawal from the EEC, and nuclear disarmament
  • 12 point plan
  • policy smorgasbord
  • 70 items on the contents page
  • nationalisation (particular the companies privatised by the Conservatives), more influence for the unions, cancel Trident and eject US cruise missiles, industry and government to decide economic priorities together, more public investment in industry, leave the EEC, 50% increase in spending on housing, buy back sold council houses, abolish House of Lords. Reduce unemployment to 1 million in 5 years.
  • Shirley Williams: "promises billions to everyone ... [with] no idea how to pay for those promises"
  • "a mixture of incoherence and blank cheques"
  • 39 page, shorter than the manifesto of the Conservative Party
  • Callaghan: said publicly than Polaris was an effective deterrent
  • Aftermath: Conservative landslide; Foot replaced by Kinnock
  • Healey: the election campaign was "worse organised than any I had known".
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