For students of political history or indeed the occasional reader interested in one of the most turbulent decades of the twentieth century, Jones and Gibbard The Forgotten Decade is a very readable, if long, read. It covers a wide range of events that happened in that decade
Subtitled Political Upheaval and Industrial Strife in 1980s Wales, it is ultimately a history of the SDP, its growth and failure set against the economic and political confusion and disorder of that unsettled decade.
The book begins with birth of the SDP. The need for a third force in UK politics, the optimism and excitement, the experience and status of its founders and early growth are all dealt with clear enthusiasm. However, despite early successes and anticipation of further success, the party became in turn a victim of the political fallout that followed the Falklands war and ultimately Westminster’s first past the post voting system with the failure to retain the Commons seats of those who had left their former political parties.
As
the decade wore on the cracks began to appear. It soon became clear that this
was a party without a guiding philosophy and even in the very early days,
differences in opinion and approach between the founding leaders. Of the four
founders, Roy Jenkins was the thinker and political leader but lacked an
outgoing, public charm; David Owen was the opposite, charismatic, determined
and very much a public figure. As David Owen eventually became the leader and
“face” of the party, another characteristic came to the fore – his overbearing
personality and the need to have his own way in all matters. Although to a
great extent “forced” to collaborate with the Liberal leader David Steel, he
did not like the Liberals, regarding them as soft on the fundamental issues. It
was this view that led to his implacable opposition to the (eventual) merger of
the SDP and Liberals and his decision, unsuccessfully, to maintain a separate
SDP. Differences in approach also underpinned a different problem that helped
to undermine the SDP. The media constantly raised the issue of coalition and
the potential role of the SDP and Liberals as potential coalition partners. The
question was not addressed but gave the impression that whatever transpired,
neither party – nor especially the SDP – were strong enough to form a
government and thus in the public mind questioned the value in voting for
either party.
The
lack of guiding philosophy meant that the SDP never really knew why it existed
and where it was going. This comes through strongly in the book, throughout the
entire decade there were endless meetings about rules, structure and policy,
endlessly discussing the same issues. The impression given is one of not
knowing what to do or say, so just keep talking; policy such as it was appears
to have been at best flexible, at worst irrelevant.
Dealing with Wales during this decade is where the book comes into its own. Set against the background of Thatcherism and the disappointment of the 1979 referendum, the SDP emerged very much as Wales “nationalist” party. Not surprisingly it attracted members from across the Welsh political landscape. What is truly notable is the success of Welsh members in successfully maintaining a separate Welsh party and insisting that the establishment of an Assembly was central to policy. Reflecting David Owen’s centralist view, the SDP in London was clearly unsure of this separate organisation but significantly was totally opposed to an Assembly being central to policy. It is to the major credit of the members at this time that this policy was maintained throughout the decade and certainly contributed to the referendum result less than a decade after the SDP’s demise.
Although
not central to the narrative, the failure of the 1979 referendum, the loss of
dozens of councillors and the dismal performance in the general election of
that year, resulted in Plaid Cymru all but disappearing during the decade. This
was not helped by Dafydd Elis Thomas’ unsuccessful attempt to turn the party
into a left-wing socialist movement. The irony of politics is that as the
decade ended, the SDP and its glorious hopes had disappeared and Plaid Cymru
began to re-emerge as a political force.
Written from Gwynoro Jones’s extensive archive, who was central in the activities of the SDP in Wales. The book sometimes reads as an autobiography. However, his commitment both to the need for a new force in politics within the UK, coupled with his determination that there should be a national voice for Wales, clearly shines through and makes this book highly readable.
Overall,
for those reading this book today, it provides a fascinating picture of what
might have been and how things have changed. Indeed, this was in some ways the
forgotten decade and yet also one of upheaval and strife. The eighties did
change the political landscape and informs life in Wales today – and Gwynoro
Jones was there.