Is it just me or is anyone else aggrieved about how the memory of the 1970s is being comprehensively trashed and rewritten by Thatcher worshippers? Sadly, perhaps with the youth of the parliamentary Labour party we don’t have as many people around to challenge these Tory myths.

Well, I was there. This was the decade I became politically involved (and still here after 40 years’ membership), was part of the wave of bright working-class kids who went on to university (the first in our families) and started work (with Unilever) in what was then a significant manufacturing sector. Contrary to these Tory Jeremiahs this was not mainly a strike-ridden and miserable decade, and for many on the left it was a time of hope and progress.

It was the best decade for social mobility and in terms of social and economic equality it was the best decade since the 1940s. Unlike all the subsequent decades the fruits of economic progress were fairly shared and we had none of the excess and greed associated with the Thatcher era.

Above all else it was a decade of working class confidence and pride. The PLP didn’t need special measures to attract working-class MPs and trades unions ensured that those with real shop floor experience had the opportunity to serve their communities in parliament. The vast majority of Labour council leaders were local to their communities and had real powers to improve the lives and wellbeing of those they represented. Remember, this was the decade when London actually had a surplus of affordable housing. With all respect to Owen Jones and other journalists we didn’t need them to represent or defend working class interests in the 1970s.

Despite the attempts of the far-left to rewrite political history we had a radical Labour government that had to cope with the economic crisis caused by a Middle East war and the tripling of oil prices. Despite that, we introduced, among other initiatives, a raft of progressive legislation on race and sex equality and the introduction of an earnings-related pension that would have transformed the lives of pensioners if continued by successive governments including Labour ones (oh for someone with the guts and passion of Barbara Castle in a more recent cabinet …). Let’s not forget that the 1979 general election was a close run thing with lots of constituencies staying loyal to Labour especially in the north-west. If Labour hadn’t self destructed in the early 1980s and the SDP leaders had not been so arrogant the Thatcher could easily have been a one-term prime minister.

Nor were the 1970s the decade of lost economic opportunity that it is currently portrayed. This was the decade that North Sea oil and gas came on stream (I helped build the pipeline to the St Fergus gas field). If we hadn’t let Thatcher and her cronies blow it all on unemployment benefit we could now have had a sovereign wealth fund on a par with Norway. We had one of the most efficient coal industries in the world with an emerging technology to develop ‘clean coal’ before anyone else.  We also had a confident and creative regional media which at its best (Granada and Yorkshire TV) could compete with anything produced in London.

Of course it wasn’t plain sailing. Racism was prevalent and too easily tolerated (although Lewisham in 1977 showed the start of the fight back against the National Front). Yes towards the end far too many days were lost to strikes and the unions lost control. But why does no one ever compare the number of days currently lost to enforced unemployment (far more than ever lost to strikes in the 1970s and a huge continuing economic cost in terms of lost demand).

The 1970s were a tricky decade but for those of us who lived through it and were politically active it was a time of progress and optimism which could have led on to a very different 1980s had certain events followed different courses. The unions may have been too powerful in the late 1970s with a negative impact on the economy but the Banks are still far too powerful with a much worse impact on the economy and the lives of millions. We need people in the political world willing to really stand up to them in the near future.

—————————————————————————–

Paul Wheeler is founder of the Political Skills Forum and writes about local politics. He lived through the 1970s and remembers them fondly

—————————————————————————–

Photo: Christopher Ware