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Galteri is talked out of the Falklands war.

The Thatcher government is deeply unpopular in 1983-4.

Labour remains a shambles.

Jenkins weakensses as a candidate for Prime Minister start io show.

There is a problem of how the Alliance can deal with the leadership issue.

A 1 member one vote election for members of both parties is agreed.

There is fear that Liberals would not tolerate an Owen leadership or Social Democrats a Steel one.

Shirley Williams is persuaded to run.

On stage 1 she Owen and Steel each get similar numbers of votes (with the difference being that Wiliams gets lots of votes from both parties. Like many Liberal activites Shirley Williasms was and is to Steel's left.

Roy Jankins gets 20% respectable but 4th

Jenkins 2nd preferences go in all three directions but Steel is still third.

Steel's 2nd preference overwhelmingly favour Williams over Owen.

A big part of the Alliance campaign is to remind people of what the tories said in 79

Show their "labour isn't working ads" and remind voters that unemployment is three million plus

General election

Alliance 40% 350 apro

Toreis 31% 110 aprx

Labour 23 % 150 aprox


I expect some tensions within such a government, The Owen worshiping right wing SDP factin would be difficult and there would be a significant contingent of radical Liberals but it would not have promoted the greed is good ideology of Thatcherism
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