Tony Benn beats Healey in 1981

MrHola

Banned
In 1981 Tony Benn almost defeated Denis Healey for the Deputy Leadership of the Labour Party. The vote was 50.43 percent to 49.57 percent. Let's say that Neal Kinnock and several other "soft left" MPs didn't abstain, and Benn was elected. Would that have resulted in so many defections of Labour moderates that the SDP and the Alliance really would have been able to "break the mould" of British politics?
 
Last edited:

Thande

Donor
It's certainly an interesting possibility, though I think first-past-the-post and the fossilised Labour vote will still count against the SDP-Liberal Alliance even if they had more high-profile defectors.
 
Top