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In 1981 the deputy leader of the Labour Party was challenged by the famous left wing firebrand Tony Benn , despite having been elected unopposed the previous year. In OTL of course Healey won but the election was very close - Healey won by 50.4% to Benn's 49.6%. A slight change in the number of votes for Healey or a different proportion of votes allocated in Labour's electoral college could change the result.
So what would the effects of this be ? While I doubt it would lead to any earth shattering changes at first I think it could result in big changes to British politics . This would be another victory for the left at a time when there were already plenty of those. I suspect that the victory would also give Benn and the Bennites more influence over the party. That doesn't look good for Labour -might there be a wave of new defections to the SDP? Would Labour come into 1983 with a manifesto even further to the left, leading to an even greater defeat?
Any thoughts?