
The Pact
The Inside Story of the Lib–Lab Government, 1977-1978
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
In 1977 Prime Minister James Callaghan and Liberal leader David Steel struck a constitutional deal, by which the Labour government could survive a vote of no confidence and get its business through Parliament, while the Liberals gained access to the anterooms of power.
The Pact, a contemporaneous account of the hatching and workings of the 'Lib-Lab' deal of 1977-8, is an invaluable time-capsule of British politics but also a pointer to its future. Coalition government has oft been scorned in Britain, since - as Alistair Michie and Simon Hoggart note - the main parties regard their opponents chiefly as 'targets off which points may be scored'. But hung parliaments and inter-party deals, as revived in May of 2010, may be back to stay.
This new edition of
The Pact, in memory of its co-author Simon Hoggart (1946-2014), includes new prefaces by David Steel, Roy Hattersley, and the journalist Stephen Bush.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Landing Page
- Title Page
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword by Lord Steel of Aikenwood
- Foreword by Lord Hattersley
- Introduction
- 1: The Rug Technique
- 2: The Shopping Lists
- 3: The Religious Disputations
- 4: The Boy David
- 5: The Conservative Socialist
- 6: The Spanner in the Tank
- 7: The Douce Debaters
- 8: The Second Act
- 9: The Wispy Beards Strike Back
- 10: The Budget and the Bullies
- 11: The Marriage of Convenience
- About the Authors
- Copyright