Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Shirley Williams remembered for other reasons.

Shirley Williams: A founding member of the Gang of Four 





Also remember that she was a member of APEX (as I was at that time) along with several Labour cabinet ministers and the union’s “sponsored” MPs, Denis Howell, a former Apex president, and Fred Mulley. All, including Roy Grantham APEX General Secretary, were critical of the massed picket and the solidarity shown by the NUM, TGW and other unions with the Grunwick strikers and the involvement of Labour party activists in the escalating dispute. Continuing criticism of the Labour party and its leadership, together with the growing democratisation within the party not least of all with the compulsory, reselection of MP's Williams went on to to create the Social Democratic Party following the Limehouse Declaration, with the other three members of the so called "Gang of Four" Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers. The creation of the SDP and their increasingly rancorous denigration of the Labour party was a major contributory factor in the Labour General Election defeat if 1983 and the consequent Conservative government under the damaging Margert Thatcher with its 144 seat majority.

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Shirley Williams remembered for other reasons.

Shirley Williams: A founding member of the Gang of Four  Also remember that she was a member of APEX (as I was at that time) along with seve...