Prime Minister Peter Shore

[Marius Mazzini]

How could Peter Shore end up being elected leader of the Labour Party and eventually become Prime Minister of the UK? What would a Shore government look like in terms of Cabinet composition and policy?

 

[MickCz]

Shore is certainly one of the great "might have been's" of British politics. Getting him to leadership of the Labour Party can possibly be done, but I can't see him becoming PM.

 

[Mynock]

I think I remember Shore was initially going to be the left wing candidate for leadership in 1980, but Foot was persuaded to stand. Maybe Foot decides he's not interested.

 

[overoceans]

At what point did "Europe" as an issue start breaking down along left/right lines, ie. left = pro Europe, right = anti?

IOW until when would it still have made electoral sense for Labour to have had a left-wing leader who was vehemently and openly opposed to further continental integration?

 

[Mynock]

At what point did "Europe" as an issue start breaking down along left/right lines, ie. left = pro Europe, right = anti?

IOW until when would it still have made electoral sense for Labour to have had a left-wing leader who was vehemently and openly opposed to further continental integration?

I believe if you were pointing at an explicit moment where Labour as a whole shifted to a pro-Europe line you'd pick President of the European Commission Jacques Delors’ speech to the TUC in 1988. Foot was a Eurosceptic (1983 manifesto wanted to take Britain out) and Kinnock had campaigned for leave in the EEC referendum so Shore's views on Europe wouldn't be too far off from typical Labour in the 80s. It was in the 90s IMO that Labour became more pro-Europe than the Tories, even then Major was very pro-Europe.

 

[overoceans]

I believe if you were pointing at an explicit moment where Labour as a whole shifted to a pro-Europe line you'd pick President of the European Commission Jacques Delors’ speech to the TUC in 1988. Foot was a Eurosceptic (1983 manifesto wanted to take Britain out) and Kinnock had campaigned for leave in the EEC referendum so Shore's views on Europe wouldn't be too far off from typical Labour in the 80s. It was in the 90s IMO that Labour became more pro-Europe than the Tories, even then Major was very pro-Europe.

That was the big Frere Jacques speech?

My speculation would be that there was probably a bit of drift toward Europe before that exact point, and then Delors' speech just sort of cemented it, or got remembered as the dividing point. Rather than Delors just saying "Brussels is gonna have all these great policies for workers", and then all these hardened euroskeptics automatically got converted.

I do remember that, by the early 90s, the identification of the left with Europe and the right with Little England was pretty solid, even if the reality(as per your Major example) was sometimes more complicated.

 

[JDGiant]

That was the big Frere Jacques speech?

My speculation would be that there was probably a bit of drift toward Europe before that exact point, and then Delors' speech just sort of cemented it, or got remembered as the dividing point. Rather than Delors just saying "Brussels is gonna have all these great policies for workers", and then all these hardened euroskeptics automatically got converted.

I do remember that, by the early 90s, the identification of the left with Europe and the right with Little England was pretty solid, even if the reality(as per your Major example) was sometimes more complicated.

Sir James Goldsmith's Referendum Party generally did better in middle-class Tory areas and had little pull in the Labour North. Quite a distinction from UKIP.

 

[HelloThere]

At what point did "Europe" as an issue start breaking down along left/right lines, ie. left = pro Europe, right = anti?

IOW until when would it still have made electoral sense for Labour to have had a left-wing leader who was vehemently and openly opposed to further continental integration?

I think the change of the Labour majority endorsing the EC/EU game during the 80's because of Thatcher. Many moderate Labour members saw the EC as the last guardian of workers' rights and achievements against Thatcherism.

 

[Mynock]

Of course unless Shore can make a difference going into 1983/1984 election, the Europe business isn't too important. The question is would he be able to keep the party together better than Foot?