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Chapter Nine:
Chapter Nine:
On the 18th of June Westminster fought the Croydon Northwest by-election, following the death of its sitting Tory MP. Much to the surprise of all, the seat was won from the Conservative Party by the Democratic Socialist Party, with their candidate, John Tilley, triumphantly winning by a few hundred votes. The massive shift in policy was remarkable and met with surprise by most.
View attachment 573070
John Tilley was the first DSP member to be elected to Parliament under the DSP banner. 13 other Labour MPs and 2 Liberal MPs would defect within the next four months, including Dennis Skinner and Tony Benn.
In August 1982 Parliament denied the General Elections Act 1982, which fell short of being signed into law on the provision that General Elections must be held every four years at least, rather than the previous five. With Healey having a slim majority, most traditional Labour MPs refused to sign it.
In September the Falklands war would result in British victory, however with Foreign Secretary, John Silkin pledging to begin a peaceful handover by the end of the century, the victory felt like a compromise. The reaction from the British public was one of outrage, with Silkin becoming a scapegoat for the government’s failings. Denis Healey’s government had evidently beginning to fall apart after a relatively successful 3 years in office. Whilst Healey would insist that his government was in a fine state and would not be resigning, Healey would only be able to slog out another year or two if he stayed on.
However there were few more credible faces in the Labour Party that could possibly take over. Roy Hattersley was decided upon by Healey and other close cabinet members to be his successor, with a young face decided to be the best option to win in 1986. On 21st January 1983, Dennis Healey reluctantly resigned the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Roy Hattersley easily won the leadership election against Neil Kinnock, who refused to let Hattersley become Prime Minister without a leadership election. Her Majesty was reported to have felt sad to see Healey go.
View attachment 573071
With an underwhelming bounce up in the polls, Hattersley announced that there would be no early general election before 1986.
February 1983 Poll for 1986 Election:
Conservative Party: 309 Seats
Labour Party: 285 Seats
Liberal Party: 31 Seats
Democratic Socialist Party: 9 Seats
Other Parties: 16 Seats
On the 18th of June Westminster fought the Croydon Northwest by-election, following the death of its sitting Tory MP. Much to the surprise of all, the seat was won from the Conservative Party by the Democratic Socialist Party, with their candidate, John Tilley, triumphantly winning by a few hundred votes. The massive shift in policy was remarkable and met with surprise by most.
View attachment 573070
John Tilley was the first DSP member to be elected to Parliament under the DSP banner. 13 other Labour MPs and 2 Liberal MPs would defect within the next four months, including Dennis Skinner and Tony Benn.
In August 1982 Parliament denied the General Elections Act 1982, which fell short of being signed into law on the provision that General Elections must be held every four years at least, rather than the previous five. With Healey having a slim majority, most traditional Labour MPs refused to sign it.
In September the Falklands war would result in British victory, however with Foreign Secretary, John Silkin pledging to begin a peaceful handover by the end of the century, the victory felt like a compromise. The reaction from the British public was one of outrage, with Silkin becoming a scapegoat for the government’s failings. Denis Healey’s government had evidently beginning to fall apart after a relatively successful 3 years in office. Whilst Healey would insist that his government was in a fine state and would not be resigning, Healey would only be able to slog out another year or two if he stayed on.
However there were few more credible faces in the Labour Party that could possibly take over. Roy Hattersley was decided upon by Healey and other close cabinet members to be his successor, with a young face decided to be the best option to win in 1986. On 21st January 1983, Dennis Healey reluctantly resigned the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Roy Hattersley easily won the leadership election against Neil Kinnock, who refused to let Hattersley become Prime Minister without a leadership election. Her Majesty was reported to have felt sad to see Healey go.
View attachment 573071
With an underwhelming bounce up in the polls, Hattersley announced that there would be no early general election before 1986.
February 1983 Poll for 1986 Election:
Conservative Party: 309 Seats
Labour Party: 285 Seats
Liberal Party: 31 Seats
Democratic Socialist Party: 9 Seats
Other Parties: 16 Seats
- Britannia238
- Word Count: 400