Date:1977
Description:Socialist Challenge ‘Labour Special Patrol Group’ MS 1591 Paul Mackney Collection As the dispute proceeded, serious confrontations occurred between the police and pickets. This image cleverly links the Government with a body that was demonised by both ‘traditional’ and ‘new’ elements of the labour movement, reflecting the bitterness that surrounded this dispute. • The superimposed faces were [left to right]; Merlyn Rees [Home Secretary], James Callaghan [Prime Minister], Dennis Healey [Chancellor of the Exchequer] and Michael Foot [Leader of the House of Commons]. • The reference to the Special Patrol Group [SPG] reflects what many in the labour movement considered to be a suspect element within the Metropolitan Police. Distrusted by trades unionists for its deployment to counter mass picketing, the SPG was also closely associated with misuse of stop and search powers under the ‘sus law’ [Vagrancy Act 1824]. This was regarded by many as unfairly targeting black and Asian men.
Click on an item to view details for that resource
SETTING THE SCENE ‘Grunwick’ was an industrial dispute centred on Cricklewood, north London but which ...
Socialist Challenge ‘Labour Special Patrol Group’ MS 1591 Paul Mackney Collection As the dispute proceeded, ...
Samaj in’a Babylon MS 1591 Paul Mackney Collection As well as ‘traditional’ socialist newspapers ...
BIRMINGHAM’S SOLIDARITY Birmingham Broadside November 1977 MS 1591 Paul Mackney Collection This ...
Birmingham International Marxist Group [IMG] MS 1591 Paul Mackney Collection Despite advocating a mass ...
Share:
Donor ref:Birmingham City Archives: MS 1591 (35/675)
Copyright information: Copyrights to all resources are retained by the individual rights holders. They have kindly made their collections available for non-commercial private study & educational use. Re-distribution of resources in any form is only permitted subject to strict adherence to the usage guidelines.