1974 UK General Election

Election '74 was an odd affair. After Roy Jenkins' victory to become Labour Party leader (the right wing showing its willingness to combat the NUP), the central battle in the country was not the traditional Labour-Tory slagging match, but rather a bitter ideological fight between multiple factions who would briefly form odd alliances in order to accomplish specific goals.

Edward Heath, the Prime Minister, long a pro-European, finally saw to it that the UK joined the community in 1972, which he regarded as his proudest achievement. An odd alliance of Heath, Jenkins and Eric Lubbock, the Liberal leader, brought about plenty of votes to get UK entry passed in the House and later was accepted by the Continent. Now a full member of Europe, the results would eventually remain to be seen.

Though Heath and Jenkins were on friendly terms, the two opposition leaders found themselves at loggerheads over a number of issues. Particularly with regard to social policy and education. Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher had controversially cut the school budget (including free milk for students) drastically in 1973, which led to protests from the other parties that the Heath government didn't care about the next generation. Labour, by contrast under the policy oriented Jenkins, was cranking out new reforms. Smaller class sizes, reducing the voting age to get young people involved in politics, new curriculum's designed to play to individual student's strengths by allowing students more class selections, The lowering of tuition fees and better teacher training. The Conservatives decried Labour's plans as expensive and meaningless, especially with regard to lowering the voting age to 16. Heath also looked to roll back much of the social reforms that had taken place under Gaitskell and Callaghan. He was partially successful in instituting a partial abortion ban, but he didn't re-criminalize homosexuality (though Heath's government opposed any further rights extended to homosexuals).

The NUP organized by the most radical unions opposed the Tories in almost everything (except on Europe, though they found allies in eurosceptics such as Enoch Powell, who often made Heath miserable). In early '74, Tony Benn called on teachers to strike rather than let the Heath government drastically continue to cut the education budget, urging them to ignore Jenkins and shadow Education Secretary Shirley Williams' plans, which Benn called impractical and stated that Labour would never be able to implement such a radical policy. The NUP called a strike the best action to take and though the teachers union considered it, they ultimately continued to try negotiation with Heath, who called a general election 1 year before it was necessary to secure a mandate for negotiation.

Where the Parties Stand:

Conservatives: Edward Heath's term as Prime Minister has not been bad at all, really. In general the economy has been positive and many British businesses experienced positive growth thanks to British entry into Europe. However, Heath is a brusque man and he trusts very few subordinates. Enoch Powell and the eurosceptics remained a thorn in the government's side. Heath does have some very talented subordinates in William Whitelaw, Michael Heseltine and James Prior. The campaign also has put Margaret Thatcher in the forefront to counteract Labour's Shirley Williams. The Tories election slogan was Steady Leadership.

Labour: Roy Jenkins' primary concern once he took over as Leader of the Opposition was not his main opponent, the Prime Minister, but rather his opponent below the Gangway, Tony Benn, the NUP leader. Jenkins has modernized Labour's image to that of a "big tent", not just for trade unionists and workers, but for doctors, teachers and small business owners. Jenkins, being that he had a speech impediment and was well aware that he came off as a stuffy intellectual, instead trusted the major campaigning to Tony Crosland, Shirley Williams, David Owen and Denis Healey. Labour's election slogan was A Better Future.

New Union: The anti-federalist, hardline trade unionist party led by Tony Benn found itself with 44 MPs at the last election, a positive result as far as they were concerned. Because the party has such a young core of MPs, the campaign was almost a one man show with Benn visiting every constituency of the 200 that the NUP is competing in. The NUP does need a breakthrough in this election, however as putting up 200 candidates has stretched funds to their limit. The NUP slogan was Don't Let Them Fool You.

Liberal: Eric Lubbock and his contingency of merry mavericks found working with Labour and Roy Jenkins to be the easiest way to keep themselves from being lost in the shuffle. The Liberals continue to advocate for electoral reform and socially progressive policies. Young Liberals like David Steel and Graham Tope projected a dynamic image for the party when compared with the stuffy elder statesmen in the other parties. The Liberals have scraped together enough to compete in 268 constituencies and Lubbock is desperate to do well as Liberal funds are very low. The Liberal slogan was Real Change for Britain.

Well, there you have it. Have fun! Poll goes for 2 days!

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