I had only been selected to fight Wallasey, the most marginal seat in the north-west, barely a month before the 1992 general election following local controversies about Trotskyist entryism and the earlier deselection and reinstatement of Frank Field in neighbouring Birkenhead by Labour’s ruling NEC. As if that wasn’t enough, I was up against Lynda Chalker one of the more competent and well-liked Conservative ministers in a seat that had never been Labour in its entire history. Though she was nursing a majority of only 279 we still had to win with a local party in open revolt about the selection process and no HQ to fight from on the day the general election was declared.
The local party’s entire voter ID mysteriously disappeared and we had to start from scratch. Without my fantastic agent I don’t know what I would have done (thanks Bill). The support given because I was fighting a marginal was crucial. I got a great response on the doorstep, especially when I went campaigning with Frank. The local party swallowed their outrage and all mucked in to try to snatch the seat from the Tories for the first time ever.
When you are involved in such a crucial and close battle you don’t get much chance to watch the ‘air war’ going on above your heads on our TV screens but all the feedback I got on the doorstep was that the campaign was professional. The war of Jennifer’s ear did show the dangers of not checking every last fact when you are facing a hostile and partisan press. As always Labour is held to a much higher standard than the Tories ever are. We were consistently, if narrowly, ahead in the polls. But the shadow budget provided too much detail on our spending plans which were ruthlessly misrepresented in a Tory tax scare. It proved highly effective. I noticed that we got little credit from the pensioners and families who stood to benefit from extra support under our plans and nothing but fear and hostility from many who assumed they would pay more. It quickly became obvious that this was the worst of both worlds. This scepticism about our leader and our credentials on the economy was ruthlessly exploited by the Tory incumbents and their media cheerleaders, most notably the Sun.
Everyone had assumed they couldn’t win a fourth term in office but I was not so sure. In ditching Margaret Thatcher following the poll tax riots and installing John Major the Tories were effectively telling the British people that they had made the necessary change themselves and so why risk an untried Labour party which had been in opposition for so long?
I wasn’t at the Sheffield rally – I was on the doorstep. I don’t think it made the difference. I felt it moving away from us in the last few days as people just felt they couldn’t take the risk of a change.
But I won in Wallasey by 3,809 on a swing on 3.8 per cent and a turnout of 82.6 per cent. While I danced a jig with my dad at the count Lynda Chalker told me I was just keeping the seat warm for the Tories. Twenty years on I still am.
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Angela Eagle is MP for Wallasey
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I can remember a freind of mine Campaigning for Angela, I was leafletting For Jo Richardson and Bryan gould, Don’t know Why I didn’t go to Thurrock where Andrew Mckinally took it from the Tories or Mike Gapes did the Same in Ilford South, Basildon was depressing, I recall going past Both Woolwich and Greenwich ,whcih we got back from the SDP. Mixed memories.
Neil Kinnock was right to deal with Trotsky entryism – but it is a pity we took our eyes off of the neoliberals in the Labour Party. I often wonder how much better off we would have been if Bryan Gould had managed to implement monetary reform (such a hot topic now, and relevant after the financial crisis). Gould’s renationalisation of the utilities would have prevented the monopoly capitalism and rentier behaviour that we have now.