In a usually stable country like Britain, how periods of crisis are portrayed and remembered is a very powerful political weapon. For nearly half a century, the turmoil of the 1970s and the sense that the decade’s governments couldn’t cope have been used by the Conservatives to argue that Labour is never truly fit for office. Despite the relative competence of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s premierships – a competence that Keir Starmer aspires to now – the association between Labour governments and chaos has never been completely broken.
This picture of the 1970s is highly selective. The decade also brought many Britons greater freedom and equality, and the Conservatives were in power for almost half of it. But these realities have not lessened the influence of the Tory narrative. Constantly presented by rightwing newspapers, politicians and historians, it has a powerful simplicity. For the many voters who have seen post-imperial Britain as a country in decline, Labour’s struggling 1970s prime ministers have been perfect scapegoats.
