Bermondsey thirty years later

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the Bermondsey by-election. It's a useful anniversary to reflect on a couple of things, I think...

[MaxQue]

On the rebirth of the Liberals, or on the hypocrisy of some politicians?

[afleitch]

44.2% swing, the highest in by-election history.

It's a complicated election. I looked through the literature a while back after a Lib Dem friend claimed that the worst smearing probably came from John O'Grady the 'Real Bermondsey Labour' candidate. His literature is fairly mild mostly making inferences to Tatchell's 'militant' tendency so it doesn't compare the Simon Hughes' 'Straight Choice' or a cartoon of him punching Tatchell in a boxing ring.

O'Grady was apparently doing well until the end of the campaign which was around the time the Liberals upped the anti. However Tatchell was an awful candidate and ran an awful campaign and tried to retreat back into the closet. In terms of British elections, it's no Miranda Grell. The campaign even pales in comparison to the openly homophobic campaigns you still find in the States today.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

A brief summary of the background to the campaign, which is less known than what happened next:

The Bermondsey constituency¹ covered the northern third of the London borough of Southwark and was a Labour stronghold; it had been held since 1974 by Bob Mellish² who had represented seats in the area since 1946,² and had often been a base for leading London Labour figures of the old Morrisonian school. Mellish had a majority of 38.6% in 1979 and that was unusually low for him. Half of the seat was a picture of classic inner city decay, the other half (traditionally dependent on the docks; all closed or closing by this point) listed in more post-industrial direction. Mellish had been appointed Vice Chairman of the Thatcher government's controversial London Docklands Development Corporation⁴ and was pretty obviously going to retire.

As the area had depopulated and deindustrialised, the foundations of the locally dominant T&G based Labour machine had started to fall apart. New people, middle class New Left activists (some Trots) with university degrees, had moved into the area and had taken control of Bermondsey CLP from the old hands. The factional infighting was bitter and resulted in the deselection of Sir Reg Goodwin⁵ (who held the parallel GLC constituency) in 1981. Mellish called it a day hoping that an old mate of his, John O'Grady the leader of Southwark council, would be selected. Bermondsey CLP instead selected Peter Tatchell (yes that one) and Mellish threw a hissy fit of volcanic proportions.⁶

Tatchell's politics were hard-left and then some (this is sometimes glossed over a little bit in coverage of the by-election). And Mellish threw very impressive hissy fits, apparently. The result was that Michael Foot publicly declared that Tatchell would not be endorsed as an official candidate by Labour. But this state of affairs didn't last, and it soon became clear that Tatchell would be endorsed by the NEC if he were selected by Bermondsey CLP again. Mellish threw another hissy fit, was ignored, left the Party he'd devoted his life to⁷, and quit the Commons, triggering a by-election...

<sub>1. Which still exists, comparatively unaltered, as 'Bermondsey & Old Southwark.'
2. An old-fashioned Labour right-winger and T&GWU man who had served as Chief Whip under Wilson.
3. One of which had exactly the same name ('Bermondsey') but which covered a significantly smaller area.
4. Supposedly a bold attempt to regenerate a depressed area; in reality an agent for enforced gentrification at the point of a compulsory purchase order and for the expansion of London's financial district into historically working class territory along the lower Thames. The area had been the site of the great London Dock Strike of 1889 and the birth of trade union power in London's politics.
5. Leader of Greater London Council 1973-1977. He had held a seat in Bermondsey since the 1940s on first the LCC than then the GLC and had previously led the borough council.
6. Tatchell has claimed that Mellish was bisexual and tried to proposition him once. It's not certain how true this is.
7. Eventually joining the SDP and finding it less than entirely congenial for the same reasons that other working class right-wingers who ended up in it did. He was apparently a rather sad figure at the end of his life, deeply regretting the cutting of his ties to the political culture that he belonged to at an emotional level. He would presumably have rejoined (as almost all ex-Labour SDP MPs of his type did) had he not been in the Lords by that point.</sub>

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's a complicated election. I looked through the literature a while back after a Lib Dem friend claimed that the worst smearing probably came from John O'Grady the 'Real Bermondsey Labour' candidate. His literature is fairly mild mostly making inferences to Tatchell's 'militant' tendency so it doesn't compare the Simon Hughes' 'Straight Choice' or a cartoon of him punching Tatchell in a boxing ring.

One issue is that the seriously nasty stuff didn't make it into leaflets (quite an old fashioned dirty dirty campaign in that respect). O'Grady apparently spent some of the campaign singing homophobic ditties on the back of a beer cart.

[Leftbehind]

I think the real nastiness of it was born by the Tory press more than anything, with the national spotlight on it - churning out endless caricatures of a militant coupled with blatant homophobia. I do think the disowning of Tatchell was one of the few things I'd criticise Foot for. Tatchell was on Newnight the other night (with Simon Hughes in recognition of its anniversary) and he said most of the positions he was most lambasted for are now the norm.

[stepney]

O'Grady apparently spent some of the campaign singing homophobic ditties on the back of a beer cart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rIxqSNgKmU

(From three minutes in to six minutes in) Featuring part of said ditty, Peter Tatchell’s 1983 comedy cockney accent, and “TATCHELL IS A COMMUNIST POOF” painted in four-foot high letters up a dock wall.

[joevsimp]

Tatchell was on Newnight the other night (with Simon Hughes in recognition of its anniversary) and he said most of the positions he was most lambasted for are now the norm.

*toddles over to iPlayer*

[Kitteh]

What I've never quite understood is why the by-election was such a long-term shift in the area's politics. Hughes was reelected easily in the next general election, and nowadays the area is pretty strong for Lib Dems in local government elections and such. Could someone explain this?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What I've never quite understood is why the by-election was such a long-term shift in the area's politics. Hughes was reelected easily in the next general election, and nowadays the area is pretty strong for Lib Dems in local government elections and such. Could someone explain this?

A certain type of Liberal has always been able to establish a certain type of local personality cult, given the right circumstances. Circumstances for Hughes (once elected) were absolutely ideal; my long post upthread more or less explains why. Since then the area has changed a lot, and in ways very favourable for a LibDem of the clean-up-this-dog-sh!t-now stripe.

Still, re-election is going to be tricky for him next time round.

[YL]

It's a complicated election. I looked through the literature a while back after a Lib Dem friend claimed that the worst smearing probably came from John O'Grady the 'Real Bermondsey Labour' candidate. His literature is fairly mild mostly making inferences to Tatchell's 'militant' tendency so it doesn't compare the Simon Hughes' 'Straight Choice' or a cartoon of him punching Tatchell in a boxing ring.

One issue is that the seriously nasty stuff didn't make it into leaflets (quite an old fashioned dirty dirty campaign in that respect). O'Grady apparently spent some of the campaign singing homophobic ditties on the back of a beer cart.

... and at least one of the worst leaflets ("Which Queen Will You Vote For?") was anonymous.