Secret History: Winter of Discontent 

Nobody ever gives Harold Wilson credit for his incredible sense of timing. He knew when to be somewhere and when not to be.

I feel so honoured that I now get to repeat what my parents lived through.

I was 4 years old that year, I almost died of a seizure as the there were hardly any ambulances, luckily a nurse lived across the street and helped. My dad said the roads were slippery because no one was putting salt on them.

West Germany had it better than Britain in that management and labor had a tradition of closer cooperation, so there was more mutual trust and willingness to make compromises on both sides. As for Britain in the late 1970s, I can see two main villains: (1) the management of Ford, which greedily took an 8% raise for themselves, not realizing or caring how much this would undermine the 5% deal the government needed in order to be able to fight inflation; and (2) the union leadership, which didn't care a fig for the government's desperate need to fight inflation, a fight that would have ultimately benefited the workers themselves.

Thank you for posting this, more people should know the real history.

love the adverts from 1999. Brings back a lot of good memories

The Union movement brought all upon itself and the overall vote of the people decided Labour can no longer rule. Thatcher came to power and the Unions had the biggest thrashing of their lives, from which they have never recovered.

I was a schoolboy age 13 in 1978-9, and it is a measure of the impact of that time - the Winter of Discontent - that I can still name every major trade union leader of the period and the union they ran! Trade unions have slipped so far from the public consciousness and news coverage today that I can't now name a single major union leader or the person who heads up the T.U.C.!

Came for the warnings about Unions having too much power, stayed for the 90’s adverts.

It wasn't just 1978-9. These issues had been going on all through the early to mid 70's. I remember the Fireman's strike 77-79. Old oil drums blazing red hot outside every fire station while the sleet fell. The stink of uncollected rubbish bags. Picket lines we were forever dodging to get to a job on time. The threat of fuel rationing. Not being allowed on a site because of strikes. The sense of disbelief at some of the pay settlements. A common joke at the time was; "I see the daffodils are out." The reply being "Yeah, I heard British Leyland just came out in sympathy."

Union workers understood that inflation was eating into their standard of living. Unfortunately they could never figure out or accept that they were also the major cause of that inflation by continuing to demand a standard of living which the country could no longer afford following the end of the post-war boom. Not only did they insist on higher wages but also on subsidies to prop up completely moribund industries which were starving more viable future technologies of capital.

The words of the Union Rep near the end of the program, "... it's better to have a bad Tory government than a bad Labour government." Exactly.

Callaghan should have called an election in the autumn of 1978. He was ahead in the polls and would have probably won with a modest majority. Gordon Brown made the same mistake in 2007, the polls were on his side and he would have won. Even 37 years after 1970, Labour was still haunted by the one election where the result went against the opinion polls.

The unions in the seventies. Made their own bed, lay in it - and then were given a goodnight kiss by Margaret Thatcher. Have they woken up yet ?

Really fascinating, brought back memories from 40 years ago such as the gentleman who complained at the 'communists' in the trade union movement - I remember laughing about that at school. Also I now know where the line 'Crisis - what crisis?' comes from. Twenty years later as a publisher of a business magazine I used it myself - I must have heard it on the television and remembered it!

Classic, all the strikers blaming the gov't... All about the 'self', the 'individual' not what might be good for all. Happy now? Divided we fall...

Lord McNally's comments at the end really summed it up. Labor had basically turned the economy and domestic politics over to the unions, the unions were unable or unwilling to act in the public good and they got what they deserved. Lord Shore with a great summary, too.

If only we could have a 5 per cent pay rise today

Coming back here, 24 Sep 2021, it feels as though there'll be another winter of discontent - gas prices coming up, high unemployment, long nhs waiting list.

Well done and thank you for posting this David.

I am old enough to remember that winter. It was ghastly. The stupidity of those ever escalating wage demands reminds me of the old saying: "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The Labour party went down to FOUR general election defeats in a row thanks to the genius of Len Murray. I assume Len was being directed by Conservative Central Office.

The unions held the country to ransom and the country won. They didn’t care about the misery they caused, even sounding quite proud of it, and as a consequence the unions were eliminated. They did this too themselves. Here in Sweden where I now live after having lived in England more than half my life, I can say the unions are quite influential but they are not crazy, they saw what happens when you push to hard.

This is one of the most one sided documentaries I've ever seen, but the delicious irony of these dinosaurs still trying to blame it all on Thatcher while moaning about not getting paid enough is hilarious to watch.

Video a good summary of many reasons why I would never ever vote Labour.

The irony of the Audi advert on the first break. Wonder where all the Ford jobs went in Europe? Always remember that the guy who works for the union still has a job long after he has lost you yours.

We are farther in time from this documentary, than this documentary was from the Winter of Discontent

Thanks for the subtitles, you are so kind! 😊

I was 5 when this happened...in Liverpool. The grave digger is right when he says that it caused ill-feeling towards grave diggers for years afterwards

I was Ten when this happened, Seven year's later, manufacturing was well on it's way abroad.

It’s amazing how arrogant and foolish the trade unions were during this time. They got no one to blame but themselves for Thatcher waltzing in to 10 Downing Street.

How is it possible that almost all of these cabinet members and advisers (of a weak government that let irresponsible trade unionists blackmail and harm an entire country) ended up with a peerage?

Most of the Ford plant at Dagenham now gone to be replaced by Tower blocks.

Thank goodness for Maggie who came along and put this all right.

Channel 4 used to be so cool

Had a lousy. horrible job in a textile factory at the time, like a bloody ice box it was that winter, and a sauna it was in the summer Missed the last bus from Derby one night after going to a concert and trying to hitch a ride in far below zero temperatures

I'm reading a book called the rise and fall of the working class 1910 - 2010 It puts many things in to perspective

27:00 "The Crisis What Crisis?" phrase comes from the film Day of the Jackal (1973). And then also the Supertramp album title (1975).

Here is something that is never spoken about: ALL the economic problems of the late 1970s were caused by right-wing incompetence and military adventurism in the early 1970s. In 1972 the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Anthony Barber initiated what became known as The Barber Boom, in which he basically "liberalised" the banking and credit sectors. If you were from a nice, upper-middle class background, you could now quite easily get a loan or mortgage to buy a run-down property in Islington. This was great for them, but for everyone else, it sent a shock-wave of inflation and house price increases throughout the economy. The long-suffering and hard working coal miners were forced to go on strike as they saw their wages fall below those given to new secretaries. Then in late 1973, the Egyptians and Syrians launched an attack at Israel. Nixon, influenced by Kissinger, supplied the Israelis with vital military intelligence, enabling them to defeat their attackers. All well and good, you may say, but all actions have consequences: the Arab nations got together and decided that the west could now pay through the nose for oil - sparking what became known as The Oil Crisis. Overnight, oil prices went through the roof, causing a domino-effect which raised production costs and led to yet another wave of disastrous inflation which lasted years. Workers scrambled to make wage claims to compensate for their rapidly shrinking purchasing power. ALL this happened under Edward Heath's Conservative government. It was the Wilson / Callaghan government that had to deal with the fallout.

Where is Ford in the UK now? where is British Leyland, where are the unions now? where are pay rises for workers? The reason you can't get a payrise now is because the Unions were unreasonable arseholes then. employers and the government have been rubbing workers noses in it since. Very annoying to watch unions asking for 20 to 30% pay rises, our kids are suffering for it now!

Did anyone else notice the error (perhaps they'd call it poetic licence) when discussing the strikes in Hull (28:57 onwards)? The camera shot is seen crossing a Humber Bridge that wasn't to be opened for another two years.

They talk about Hull being 'siege city' as nothing went in and nothing came out - and they show film of the Humber bridge. The bridge wasn't there in 1979, it only opened in 1981 - two years later.

Great video, thanks for the upload

If Jim Callaghan had courage, he should have called the general election for June 1978. Thatcher was not prepared, and the economy was going through a brief surge, and Labour probably would have become the government once again, with a majority of around 35. Workable, and useful for them, and it would have caused Thatcher probably to have been forced to resign as leader of the Conservative party. Callaghan's weakness and lack of courage cost him and Labour 19 years of turmoil.

Another comment then 75,000 worked for Ford in the UK, now I think its sub 20,000

The pay negotiations at Ford during the Winter of Discontent were a big test, with the challenge of keeping workers to a 5% increase despite the company's £258 million profit and 80% rise for the Managing Director.

Is it just me or this very apt for the current period? (September 2021 fuel delivery issues)

I came to the UK April 1976 was two months and it was not a migration , it was a diplomatic post of the late paternal parent . Meant to be two years glad it was longer . It was James Callahan , the ONLY thing I remember of Labour was the Winter of Discontent of 78 and 79 was two and three years old , and all I remember were the garbage piled in the streets ,because of the strikes and the blackouts , etc . I also remember the famous Sacchi and Sacchi billboard of a long que of people with the famous caption "LABOUR ISN'T WORKING '. May 97 election time thought being an unregistered Tory vote Labour to really experience a Labour Government . They won sadly two months later left the UK to come back to the US . December 2004 came back to the UK Blair was still in , and then came Gordon Brown. Under Brown was not so bad , what was bad I stupidly left November 2009 .

42:50 now that is the British gentleman we will listen to on these matters

I was in haulage in 78/79 and I was never involved in a strike or recall pickets anywhere, even in the north.

The time when the inmates took over the asylum and proved that they had no greater grasp of moral decency than the Management that they so despised. Blackmail is blackmail however you dress it up.

48:46 "while it's a *grave* affront" Dear me, heh.. He does seem to have a talent for putting his foot in it

Love the ads on this memory lane

Their selfishness has had disastrous consequences for generations since them, anyone who took part should be ashamed of themselves.

How they could take a huge bonus and pay rise and then expect the workers to take 5% says a lot about the quality of management in the UK at that time. The German model of union representatives on the board has a lot going for it. But then the shop stewards just looked after their members without looking at the big picture and that played a big part in bringing in Thatcherism. That was a disaster for their members. Interesting Roy Hattersley talks about how multinational companies do what they want - nothing changes.

then all the workers who wanted +30% saw their jobs go to continental europe/asia and went on the dole. really, they were totally clueless about the political climate. too bad though bc in the end only the country's top 1% "won" - and in a big way. for the rest it's much more work for less money and no benefits. 43:22 jamie morris' actions = why the unions fell. "i took my orders from my members - not the union officials." i guess, mr. morris, it wasn't a "union" after all. (56:38 he's still a fool.)

Ford Germany workers said "thank you for that" in those days. Daaaanke hahahaha

thank you for letting us see this programme again; most apt at the moment.....but for other reasons [2022 and Liz Truss]

Out of around 8 billion working days in 1979 there were about 29 million lost to strikes, or around 3%. While that is a high figure historically it is nowhere near the level of chaos being depicted in these documentaries or by the media generally.

Did anyone work in the seventies, they certainly did in the eighties, thanks Maggie lights on again

As 9 Year old at the time i remember being sent out searching for a loaf of because of bread strike April 1979 and when i found one they would not sell it to me because of my age and feed me the line i would give it to the ducks? So it was my Mom tried to make bread which failed miserably. When the Conservatives gained power as a child Television programmes became watchable because they were not repeats and i could get hold of skin tight Jean`s.

Most working class workers in 2018 could only DREAM of 5% ... This is what caused the rot from within ....GREED

Just seen this program about the sort of Britain Corbyn and McDonald created as young men.

Good reminder for industrial Relations students who were born from the year 2000 onwards and would be 24years and doing Masters and PhD

Organized Labor is a wonderful thing, and should be a protected right... but safeguards should be in place when labor goes too far, and a few people destroy everything. So, when that happens you get 12 or 13 years of Margaret Thatcher and we got 12 years of Reagan and Bush

The biggest mistake Jim Callaghan ever made, not to have an early general election in the autumn of 1978.

The old saying 'Things can always get worse' was so correct. They got Thatcher.

Wages have flatlined since, people can't afford their own homes, millions on food banks, zero contract hour jobs, wealth inequality out of control etc.

So they basicaly in the end priced themselves out of there jobs by asking for more and more wage increases,not a very intelligent thing to do realy is it.

Im a conservative but Mrs. Thatcher took it to a whole new level. However, the UK is an entirely different type of country.

Just like the British auto industry, unions and poor leadership/management caused the demise of Britain's global leadership as a manufacturing power in the late 1970s. This phenomenon seems more global, because I can remember the same discontent in NYC in the late 1970s. Mrs. Thatcher was needed to rebalance the system.

What's the name of the song at 13:32?

Jesus these ads are so stereotypically 90s Britain.

Always good to hear Sparks (in one of the adverts). Perhaps the song describes Callaghan and Thatcher at the May 1979 Election.

The actions of the unions led to the Tories gaining power and the Tory govt annihilated the unions. Such a stupid move! Its like committing hara kiri.

Please, is it possible to upload this with subtitles? I remember watching this when it first aired but, since then I’ve become profoundly deaf but would love to watch it again. If someone knows how to do this, I’d be really grateful if they would tell me how. Thanks 🙏

Really interesting, thanks for sharing this. 👍

Quite apt to see an ad for the Rover 200, a Honda Civic in all but name :-/

At least we werent dropping chemical weapons on Vietnam,Cambodia or Laos... Unlike some.

There was a time when it was said that Labour was run by the TUC. Nothings changed. I can remember getting a pay rise that just enabled us to stand still. Overtime was pretty much knocked on the head, since Government took it all in taxes.

Sadly for big Jim, he had been a trade unionist all his life but he hadn't realised a sad truth that everyone else in Britain during the 70's HAD realised - and that was that these strikers and unionists on the street were now bloody-minded and arrogant as fuck and not interested IN THE SLIGHTEST with any cause going beyond their own pay packet. They had become since his day, literally that disgusting.

Rampant inflation Within months of joining the EEC. 2+2= 4. Some people need a mallet to drive in sense.

Parallels between Labour today and then are very apparent.

I had just finished my apprenticeship at Ford Dunton as was almost immediately out on strike for 6 weeks, a complete waste of time worse for the married guys with families, that and the rest of the then Labour government policies made Maggies Essex man vote her in never again! now Corbin wants to repeat it all again

Hello. This being an awesome and interesting document highlighted one event in past history, but i have a question though. Was it the winter of discontent being the only one event that had changed the face of British politics forever? Thank you for loading and sharing this priceless documentary. 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Before watching season 4 of The Crown I wondered if there will be anything about Callaghan or the WoD. If I remember correctly, there wasn't. Thatcher came out of the blue, stole power and put people out of jobs. And though I like the series, I kind of expected that, unfortunately. In Poland everyone knows something about Thatcher but almost nobody knows why she came to power and stayed for so long. We had a sentiment for her because she had her share in the fall of the Soviet Union, but now we mainly hear how bad she was for the working men. And in Poland in the 80s we had the Communist Party still in power, so, ironically, the trade unions were also unnecessary because the government WAS the working class! Ha, ha...

britan looked like a very depressing place back in the day..

8 minutes 40 seconds shows pics of ford sierras which were not produced till 1983,

I’m afraid this next Labour government will be catastrophic for our workers.Starmer is focused on immigration,not to halt it but to attempt the voters to accept it.The economy will crash if immigration rises as the Training standards in Technology will be cast aside in order to accommodate cheap immigrants unskilled but willing to work for a pittance.

How terribly depressing Britain was in the 1970s!

People got fed up with strikes. Some people were happy to plod on. Try living without any money for a few weeks, bills have to be paid, rent or mortgage has to be paid, food has to be bought.

Thatcher and the Unions ended up being allies against Labour and ushered in the unions own demise. Ron Todd, Moss evans and Len Murray were terrible news for the working class to this day.

Jim Callaghan was the British version of Jimmy Carter.

The unions lost the plot and with a inept labour government it was the perfect storm

Thank God for Maggie

Hey workers, just fyi, if you get a pay increase, that money has to come from somewhere. So don't be surprised that once you get that 25% pay increase, your employer goes out of business and you find yourself without a job.

At the 2011 census, London had a population of 8,173,941. Of this number 44.9% were White British. 37% of the population were born outside the UK, including 24.5% born outside of Europe.

💥A W E S O M E💥 To use an overused (and misused) adjective - Thatcher was ........

And the trade unionists are still in denial.

Roy Hattersley, more than anyone else in these documentaries, suggests that things should have gone Labour’s (read: his) way, but without explaning why they should have done so.