The British Tradition of Minority Government

Conservative plans for a coalition government, a snap general election, prime ministers considering resignation after an electoral or referendum defeat and the contemplation of both Labour and Conservative deals with the Liberals, SNP and Northern Ireland Unionist parties; these are all aspects readily identifiable in British politics since 2010. However, plans for all these scenarios were secretly drawn up by British political leaders and advisers in the 1970s. Documents from these meetings challenge the mythology that dominates historical accounts, documentary films and news programmes, in particular the view that the minority governments of this era were weak, unthinking aberrations alien to Britain’s otherwise strong majoritarian political traditions.

Using declassified internal party files, this book provides new perspectives of the strategic response to minority government during the Wilson and Callaghan Administrations of the 1970s. The author reveals a previously unrecognised distinct and longstanding British tradition of minority government that goes beyond established international practice, and shows how these antecedents might apply to future minority governments. Employing a new model which includes historical-political interparty comparison, this work examines how both Labour Governments and Conservative Oppositions confronted challenges ranging from legislative management and electoral timing to planning by both parties for future minority or coalition governments.