WI Healey and Callaghan bought of public sector and avoided winter of discontent

In otl the "The Winter of discontent" persuaded people that unions were over powerful. Actually it was organized on behalf of low paid workes often with unpleasant jobs.

Suppose the government gave more money to local authorities and allowed the unions to avoid the strike

Inflation would be a bit worse. But Thatcherism might be avoided.


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UK Industry continues to fall behind in productivity, already lowest in Europe.

Labor was on an unsustainable path, even with Unions and Management both having major problems, ignoring the Union shenanigans isn't going to help. low output matched with low quality means the companies will not be able to compete on the world market. Strikes to try to keep the status quo is not a path for success
 
You are forgetting North Sea oil.

Labour was trying to muddle along until the North Sea oil came on line, and nearly succeeded. Thatcherism was far from inevitable. And Thatcherism would have failed without the North Sea oil. Add in the Falklands War not happening or going differently in whatever alternative timeline you are doing.
 
You are forgetting North Sea oil.

Labour was trying to muddle along until the North Sea oil came on line, and nearly succeeded. Thatcherism was far from inevitable. And Thatcherism would have failed without the North Sea oil. Add in the Falklands War not happening or going differently in whatever alternative timeline you are doing.

Oil drilling would not have reduced inflation, the driver for all the Strikes, official and unofficial
 
You are forgetting North Sea oil.

Labour was trying to muddle along until the North Sea oil came on line, and nearly succeeded. Thatcherism was far from inevitable. And Thatcherism would have failed without the North Sea oil. Add in the Falklands War not happening or going differently in whatever alternative timeline you are doing.

North Sea Oil was a mixed blessing - while offering a tax windfall to the government it also drove up the exchange rate to a level that severely undermined the competitiveness of British industry and accelerated the recession and mass unemployment of the early 1980s. The chairman of British Leyland said at the time that the Government would 'do better to leave the bloody stuff in the ground'.

It may have been better to curtail the withdrawal of North Sea Oil as Norway did (although Labour had also pledged the oil industry that they would not do this so I don't think this would change under a continued Callaghan government), although this may have been even less favourable as tax receipts fell after oil prices started falling in the mid 1980s.

I imagine a Labour government would spend more money supporting industry - although I think rising unemployment and wage inflation in this period is unavoidable and a Callaghan government would come under more and more pressure from the Left and trade unions. Voluntary wage agreements with the big trade unions were becoming untenable as the grassroots rebelled and a new generation of trade union leaders were less co-operative. If the Labour government avoided a clash in 1978-79 they surely would have faced a dispute in the next round of agreements.
 
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