105-617: " Sunny Jim " may refer to: From shortly after the time of its use in advertising, the term gained general currency for cheerful man, and was particularly applied as a nickname to individuals named James, such as UK Prime Minister James Callaghan . Often with the spelling Sonny Jim , it was used as familiar term of address in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. James Callaghan [REDACTED] Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff ( / ˈ k æ l ə h æ n / KAL -ə-han ; 27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan ,
210-541: A parliamentary secretary in 1947, and began to move increasingly towards the right wing of the Labour Party, while maintaining his reputation as a "Keeper of the Cloth Cap" – that is, seen as maintaining close ties between Labour and the trade unions. Following Labour's defeat at the 1951 election , Callaghan increasingly became regarded as a leader of the right wing of the Labour Party, and stood for
315-580: A 'little budget' to the Commons and announced the historic decision that the UK would adopt decimal currency . (It was actually not until 1971, under a Conservative government, that the United Kingdom moved from the system of pounds, shillings and pence to a decimal system of 100 pence to the pound.) He also announced a short-term mortgage scheme which allowed low-wage earners to maintain mortgage schemes in
420-468: A 14.3% devaluation from the existing fixed exchange rate of $ 2.80 to the pound, to $ 2.40 to the pound. They intended to announce the decision publicly on the 18th. However, in the run up to the public announcement, Callaghan found himself in a tricky situation when answering questions in the House of Commons: One backbencher Robert Sheldon tabled a motion concerning a rumour that Britain would be receiving
525-412: A 15% surcharge on imports, with the exception of foodstuffs and raw materials. This measure was intended to tackle the balance of payments deficit; however, it caused an uproar amongst Britain's international trading partners. The outcry was so intense that it caused the government to announce that the surcharge was a temporary measure. Callaghan later admitted in his autobiography that he could have handled
630-767: A 50-year limit and thus expired in 2002; all its activities are now absorbed into the European Community. The EAEC had no such limit and thus continues to exist. Given that nuclear power is a very sensitive issue for the European electorate, the Euratom Treaty has gone without amendment since its signing, and was not even to be changed with the European Constitution intended to repeal all other treaties (the Constitution's replacement,
735-600: A European army. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Callaghan was given responsibility for deciding how the money allocated to the Royal Navy for rearmament was spent. After Labour lost power in the 1951 general election , Callaghan, who was popular with Labour MPs, was elected to the Shadow Cabinet, he would serve on the party's front bench for the next 29 years, either in opposition of in government. He
840-458: A balance of payments surplus in 1967. However, rumours that devaluation was on the cards led to heavy selling of Sterling on world markets. Wilson and Callaghan refused a contingency fund offered from the IMF because of several conditions attached which they believed would allow the IMF to interfere with economic policy. On Wednesday 15 November, the historic decision was taken to commit the government to
945-764: A brief time, the economy and British financial market stabilised, allowing in June for Callaghan to visit the United States and to discuss the state of the British economy with President Lyndon B. Johnson and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In July, the pound came under extreme pressure and Callaghan was forced to create harsh temporary measures to demonstrate control of the economy. These include delaying all current government building projects and postponing new pension plans. The alternative
1050-515: A disastrous effect on the balance of payments. Furthermore, the economy was hit in mid-September when a national dock strike lasted for eight weeks. The final straw, however, was an EEC report which suggested that the pound could not be sustained as a reserve currency and it was suggested again that the pound should be devalued. Callaghan responded by pointing out that, had it not been for the Middle East crisis, Britain would have been heading for
1155-436: A lead of up to five points, and the expectation grew that Callaghan would call an autumn election which would have given him a second term in office until autumn 1983. The economy had started to show signs of recovery by this time: 1978 was a year of economic recovery for Britain, with inflation falling to single digits, unemployment declining during the year from a peak of 1.5 million in the third quarter of 1977, to 1.3 million
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#17327940081541260-399: A loan from banks. Callaghan did not wish to lie to the Commons, but at the same time going public about the devaluation decision before the 18th would be financially disastrous for the country. He answered the initial question by stating that he did not comment on rumours. However a follow-up question was made by Stan Orme suggesting that devaluation was preferable to deflation , which caused
1365-404: A major problem. Callaghan replied that he had "nothing to add or subtract from, anything I have said on previous occasions on the subject of devaluation"... Speculators seized on the fact that he had not denied there would be a devaluation and started selling Sterling. Over the next 24 hours, the flight from Sterling cost the country £1,500 million. The situation was a great political controversy at
1470-557: A new system. In his memoirs Time and Chance , Callaghan wrote that introducing the Commonwealth Immigrants Bill had been an unwelcome task but that he did not regret it. He said the Asians had "discovered a loophole" and he told a BBC interviewer: "Public opinion in this country was extremely agitated, and the consideration that was in my mind was how we could preserve a proper sense of order in this country and, at
1575-490: A strong stance against devaluation of sterling, partly due to the perception that the devaluation carried out by the previous Labour government in 1949 had contributed to that government's downfall. The alternative to devaluation, however, was a series of austerity measures designed to reduce demand in the economy in order to reduce imports, and to stabilise the balance of payments and the value of sterling. Just ten days after taking up his post, Callaghan immediately introduced
1680-495: A strong supporter of the Labour–Trade Union link, led the successful opposition in a divided cabinet to Barbara Castle 's White Paper " In Place of Strife " which sought to modify trade union law. Amongst its numerous proposals were plans to force unions to call a ballot before a strike was held and the establishment of an Industrial Board to enforce settlements in industrial disputes. If the proposals had become law, many of
1785-479: A troubled time for the British economy, which was still recovering from the 1973–75 global recession , and was beset by double-digit inflation , and rising unemployment. Within months of entering office, his government was faced with a financial crisis , which caused the Chancellor Denis Healey to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a large loan of $ 3900 million in order to maintain
1890-529: A vehicle for rescuing failing companies. Despite its lack of Parliamentary majority, Callaghan's government was able to carry out a number of reforms in many areas (see Labour government, 1974–1979#Major contributions ), among these was the Race Relations Act 1976 , which established the Commission for Racial Equality to promote racial equality. In 1977 Callaghan's government nationalised
1995-540: A voluntary wage restraint agreement with the trade unions. Although the public spending cuts after 1976 made it more difficult for the government to deliver the increased benefits which had been promised as part of the package. Another policy continuation was the National Enterprise Board (NEB) which formed the centrepiece of the government's industrial policy . In practice however the NEB largely became
2100-581: A working-class family in Portsmouth , Callaghan left school early and began his career as a tax inspector, before becoming a trade union official in the 1930s. He served as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was elected to Parliament at the 1945 election , and was regarded as being on the left wing of the Labour Party. He was appointed to the Attlee government as
2205-414: A year later, and general living standards going up by more than 8%. Famously, he strung along the opposition and was expected to make his declaration of election in a broadcast on 7 September 1978. Instead he announced that the election would be delayed until the following year, which was met with almost universal surprise. His decision not to call an election was seen by many as a sign of his dominance of
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#17327940081542310-904: The European Communities (EC), which were founded in the 1950s in the spirit of the Schuman Declaration . By virtue of the Merger Treaty , all three Communities were governed by the same institutional framework. Prior to 1967, the Common Assembly/European Parliamentary Assembly and the Court of Justice , established by the ECSC, were already shared with the EEC and EAEC, but they had different executives. The 1967 treaty gave
2415-790: The Admiralty in Whitehall . He was assigned to the Japanese section, and wrote a service manual for the Royal Navy The Enemy: Japan . He then served in the East Indies Fleet on board the escort carrier HMS Activity , and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in April 1944. As of 2024, Callaghan remains the last British prime minister to be an armed forces veteran and the only one ever to have served in
2520-649: The Civil Service ; within a year of joining he became the office secretary of the union. In 1932 he passed a Civil Service exam which enabled him to become a senior tax officer, and that same year he became the Kent branch secretary of the AOT. The following year he was elected to the AOT's national executive council. In 1934, he was transferred to Inland Revenue offices in London. Following a merger of unions in 1936, Callaghan
2625-533: The Conservatives to pass a motion of no-confidence in Callaghan on 28 March 1979. Although remaining personally popular in opinion polls, Callaghan led Labour to defeat at the 1979 election and was replaced by Conservative Margaret Thatcher . The 1979 defeat marked the beginning of 18 years in opposition for the Labour Party, the longest in its history. Callaghan served as Labour leader and Leader of
2730-590: The First World War on board the battleship HMS Agincourt . After he was demobbed in 1919, he joined the Coastguard and the family moved to the town of Brixham in Devon , but he died only two years later of a heart attack in 1921 at the age of 44, leaving the family without an income and forced to rely on charity to survive. Their financial situation was improved in 1924 when the first Labour government
2835-540: The Government of Northern Ireland little choice but to ask the British government to intervene directly and send in troops, and it was as home secretary that Callaghan took the decision to deploy British Army troops in the province. In return Callaghan and Wilson demanded that various reforms be implemented in the province, such as the phasing out of the Protestant paramilitary B-Specials , and their replacement by
2940-683: The Lib–Lab pact , lasted until August the following year. Deals were then forged with various small parties including the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru , prolonging the life of the government. The nationalist parties, in turn, demanded devolution to their respective constituent countries in return for their supporting the government. When referendums for Scottish and Welsh devolution were held in March 1979
3045-694: The Netherlands , and West Germany came together to sign the Treaty of Paris in 1951 which established the Community. The success of this Community led to the desire to create more, but attempts at creating a European Defence Community and a European Political Community failed leading to a return to economic matters. In 1957, the EAEC and EEC were created by the Treaties of Rome . They were to share some of
3150-457: The Treaty of Lisbon , likewise makes no attempt at amendment). As the EAEC has a low profile, and the profile of the European Community is dwarfed by that of the EU, the term "European Communities" sees little usage. However, when the EU was established the institutions that dealt solely or mainly with the European Community (as opposed to all three pillars) retained their original names, for example
3255-615: The Ulster Defence Regiment , and various reforms to reduce discrimination against Catholics , such as reforms to the voting franchise, and a reform of local government boundaries and housing allocations. Although the troops were initially welcomed by Northern Ireland's Catholics, by early 1970 this had soured, and the Provisional IRA emerged, and embarked on what became a decades long violent campaign during what became known as The Troubles . In 1969, Callaghan,
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3360-621: The Welsh devolution referendum saw a large majority vote against, while the Scottish referendum returned a narrow majority in favour, but failed to reach the required threshold of 40% of the electorate in support. When the Labour government duly refused to push ahead with setting up the proposed Scottish Assembly, the SNP withdrew its support for the government: this finally brought the government down as
3465-600: The leadership contest , which was won by Harold Wilson . In October 1964, Conservative Prime Minister Alec Douglas-Home (who had only been in power for twelve months since the resignation of Harold Macmillan ) was forced to call a general election , the parliament being about to expire. Labour won a narrow majority, gaining 56 seats for a total of 317 to the Conservatives' 304. The new Labour government under Harold Wilson immediately faced economic problems; Wilson acted within his first hours to appoint Callaghan as
3570-750: The police in Northern Ireland , following a request from the Northern Ireland government . Callaghan remained in the Shadow Cabinet during Labour's period in Opposition from 1970 to 1974; upon Labour's victory at the 1974 election , Wilson appointed Callaghan as Foreign Secretary. Callaghan was responsible for renegotiating the terms of Britain's membership of the European Communities (EC), and strongly supported
3675-591: The pound sterling , with its exchange rate to other currencies being fixed by the Bretton Woods system . On 18 November 1967, having initially denied that it would do so, the Government devalued the pound sterling . In the wake of the decision, Wilson moved Callaghan to the role of Home Secretary. During this time, Callaghan was responsible for overseeing the operations of the British Army to support
3780-552: The " Inner Six " (the "outer seven" were those countries who formed the European Free Trade Association ). The six founding countries were France , West Germany , Italy and the three Benelux countries: Belgium , the Netherlands and Luxembourg . The first enlargement was in 1973, with the accession of Denmark , Ireland and the United Kingdom . Greece , Spain and Portugal joined in
3885-594: The 1980s. Following the creation of the EU in November 1993, it has enlarged to include a further sixteen countries by July 2013. Member states are represented in some form in each institution. The Council is also composed of one national minister who represents their national government. Each state also has a right to one European Commissioner each, although in the European Commission they are not supposed to represent their national interest but that of
3990-570: The Bill to Parliament, Callaghan said: "The House has rarely faced an issue of greater social significance for our country and our children." Callaghan's tenure as home secretary was marked by the emerging conflict in Northern Ireland : Like all British governments since the partition of Ireland in 1921, Harold Wilson's Labour government preferred not to intervene in the affairs of Northern Ireland. However in August 1969, escalating sectarian riots gave
4095-572: The Cabinet in declaring the new terms acceptable and he supported a "Yes" vote in the 1975 referendum . He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Cardiff on 16 March 1975. In 1975, Callaghan flew out to Uganda in order to bring home the British lecturer Denis Hills , who had been sentenced to death by Uganda's dictator Idi Amin for writing a book critical of him. Amin agreed to release Hills on
4200-557: The Cabinet: Anthony Crosland was given Callaghan's previous job as Foreign Secretary, while Merlyn Rees became Home Seretary, replacing Roy Jenkins who Callaghan nominated to become President of the European Commission . Callaghan removed Barbara Castle , with whom he had a poor relationship from the Cabinet, and gave her job at social security to David Ennals . Callaghan came to office at
4305-643: The Chairman of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee and an academic at the London School of Economics . Laski encouraged him to stand for Parliament, although later he requested several times that Callaghan study and lecture at the LSE. Following the outbreak of World War II , in 1940, Callaghan applied to join the Royal Navy, but was initially turned down on the basis that a Trade Union official
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4410-506: The Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar . In popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities. The European Coal and Steel Community ceased to exist in 2002 when its founding treaty expired. The European Community
4515-668: The Community. Prior to 2004, the larger members (France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom) had two Commissioners. In the European Parliament , members are allocated a set number seats related to their population, however these ( since 1979 ) have been directly elected and they sit according to political allegiance, not national origin. Most other institutions, including the European Court of Justice , have some form of national division of its members. At
4620-416: The Conservatives triggered a vote of no confidence in Callaghan's government that was lost by a single vote on 28 March 1979, necessitating a general election . Callaghan's time as prime minister saw broad continuation of the policies which Labour had adopted since it had been elected in 1974 under Wilson. Callaghan continued the policies of the " social contract " which sought to control inflation through
4725-770: The Council and Commission of the EEC responsibility over ECSC and EAEC affairs, abolishing the Councils of the ECSC and EAEC, the Commission of the EAEC and the High Authority of the ECSC . These governed the three Communities until the establishment of the European Union in 1993. The three Communities shared the same membership, the six states that signed the Treaty of Paris and subsequent treaties were known as
4830-427: The EU by the common set of institutions, has been retained as an entity distinct from the EU, along with a number of other international entities, such as the European Investment Bank , the European University Institute , the European Stability Mechanism , and the Unified Patent Court . The ECSC was created first. Following its proposal in 1950 in the Schuman Declaration , Belgium , France , Italy , Luxembourg ,
4935-484: The EU. What were formerly the competencies of the EEC fell within the European Communities pillar. Justice and Home Affairs was introduced as a new pillar while European Political Cooperation became the second pillar (the Common Foreign and Security Policy ). The Communities institutions became the institutions of the EU but the roles of the institutions between the pillars are different. The commission, Parliament and Court of Justice are largely cut out of activities in
5040-425: The Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) pillar to the European Community (JHA was renamed Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (PJCC) as a result). Both Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice also extended codecision procedure to nearly all policy areas, giving Parliament equal power to the Council in the Community. In 2002, the Treaty of Paris which established the European Coal and Steel Community (one of
5145-551: The Labour movement saw him through the ballot of Labour MPs to win the leadership vote. On 5 April 1976, at the age of 64 years and 9 days, Callaghan became prime minister – the oldest prime minister at time of appointment since Winston Churchill . Callaghan was the only prime minister to have held all three leading Cabinet positions – chancellor of the exchequer, home secretary and foreign secretary – prior to becoming prime minister. On becoming Prime Minister, Callaghan immediately reshuffled
5250-468: The Opposition until November 1980. He attempted to reform the process by which Labour elected its leader. After leaving the leadership, he returned to the backbench, and between 1983 and 1987 was Father of the House of Commons . On retiring from the Commons in 1987, he was elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Callaghan of Cardiff. He died in 2005 at the age of 92, and remains to date the UK's longest-lived former prime minister . Leonard James Callaghan
5355-418: The Royal Navy. While on leave from the Navy, Callaghan was selected as a Parliamentary candidate for Cardiff South : he narrowly won the local party ballot with twelve votes, against the next highest candidate George Thomas , who received eleven. Callaghan had been encouraged to put his name forward for the Cardiff South seat by his friend Dai Kneath, a member of the IRSF National executive from Swansea , who
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#17327940081545460-417: The Senior Oxford Certificate in 1929, but could not afford entrance to university and instead sat the Civil Service entrance exam. At the age of 17, Callaghan left to work as a clerk for the Inland Revenue at Maidstone in Kent . While working at the Inland Revenue, Callaghan joined the Maidstone branch of the Labour Party and the Association of the Officers of Taxes (AOT), a trade union for this branch of
5565-559: The Treaty of Maastricht, Parliament gained a much bigger role. Maastricht brought in the codecision procedure , which gave it equal legislative power with the Council on Community matters. Hence, with the greater powers of the supranational institutions and the operation of Qualified Majority Voting in the council, the Communities pillar could be described as a far more federal method of decision making. The Amsterdam Treaty transferred rule making powers for border controls, immigration, asylum and cooperation in civil and commercial law from
5670-430: The activities of the trades unions during the Winter of Discontent a decade later would have been illegal. Wilson's government went on to be unexpectedly defeated by Edward Heath at the 1970 general election . Callaghan initially became Shadow Home Secretary, later becoming Shadow Foreign Secretary . In 1973 after an approach from the Conservative Chancellor Anthony Barber he agreed to have his name go forward for
5775-437: The budget also contained social measures to increase the state pension and the widows pension; measures which were disliked by the City and speculators, causing a run on the pound. On 23 November, it was decided to increase the bank rate from 2% to 7%, which generated a large amount of criticism. Handling the situation was made more difficult by the attitude of Lord Cromer , the Governor of the Bank of England , who argued against
5880-422: The condition that Callaghan appeared in person to take him back to the UK. Also in 1975, Argentina made territorial claims on the Falkland Islands . In response, Callaghan sent HMS Endurance to the islands, in order to send a message to Argentina that Britain would defend them. Seven years later, in 1982, Callaghan criticised the government of Margaret Thatcher for its decision to withdraw Endurance from
5985-451: The creation of the EU was Jacques Delors , who briefly continued his previous EEC tenure before handing over to Jacques Santer in 1994. The first pillar was the only one established according to then-innovative principles of supranationalism . The pillar structure of the EU allowed the areas of European co-operation to be increased without leaders handing a large amount of power to supranational institutions. The pillar system segregated
6090-494: The end of World War II , sovereign European countries have entered into treaties and thereby co-operated and harmonised policies (or pooled sovereignty ) in an increasing number of areas, in the European integration project or the construction of Europe ( French : la construction européenne ). The following timeline outlines the legal inception of the European Union (EU)—the principal framework for this unification. The EU inherited many of its present responsibilities from
6195-432: The face of economic difficulties. Soon afterwards, at the 1966 general election , Labour won 363 seats compared to 252 seats against the Conservatives, giving the Labour government an increased majority of 97 seats. Callaghan introduced his next Budget on 4 May. He had informed the house that he would bring a full Budget to the House when he made his 'little budget' speech prior to the election. The main point of his budget
6300-418: The first-ever majority Labour government. Callaghan won his Cardiff South seat at the 1945 general election (and would hold a Cardiff-area seat continuously until his retirement in 1987). He defeated the sitting Conservative MP, Sir Arthur Evans , by 17,489 votes to 11,545. He campaigned on such issues as the rapid demobilisation of the armed forces and for a new housing construction programme. He stood on
6405-421: The fiscal policies of the new Labour government. When Callaghan and Wilson threatened to call a new general election, the governor soon raised a £3,000,000,000 loan to stabilise the reserves and the deficit. His second budget came on 6 April 1965, in which he announced efforts to deflate the economy and reduce home import demand by £250,000,000. Shortly afterwards, the bank rate was reduced from 7% down to 6%. For
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#17327940081546510-412: The formal name of the European Court of Justice was the "Court of Justice of the European Communities" until 2009. In 1967, the Merger Treaty combined these separate executives. The Commission and Council of the EEC were to take over the responsibilities of its counterparts in the other organisations. From then on they became known collectively as the "European Communities", for example the commission
6615-405: The government was able to negotiate a reduction in the proposed public spending cuts from £5000 million to £1,500 million in the first year, and then £1000 million a year over the next two years. In the event, it turned out that the loan had not been necessary, as it was based on an overestimation of the Public Sector Borrowing Requirement : The government only had to draw on half of the loan, and it
6720-448: The government's use of emergency powers to break dockers strikes in both 1948 and 1949, however he sympathised with the feelings of ordinary dockers and wrote to Attlee to protest over how the Dock Labour Scheme was operated. He moved to be Parliamentary and Financial Secretary to the Admiralty from February 1950, where he was a delegate to the Council of Europe , where he supported plans for economic co-operation but resisted plans for
6825-403: The government, through its ministries, in the curriculum and administration of state education, leading to the eventual introduction of the National curriculum some ten years later. Early in his premiership he caused controversy with the appointment of Peter Jay , his then son-in-law as the British Ambassador to the United States . Over the summer of 1978 most opinion polls showed Labour with
6930-472: The home secretary, to be chancellor; Callaghan became the new home secretary on 30 November 1967. Callaghan was responsible for the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 , a controversial piece of legislation prompted by Conservative assertions that an influx of Kenyan Asians would soon inundate the country. It passed through the Commons in a week and placed entry controls on holders of British passports who had "no substantial connection" with Britain by setting up
7035-407: The institutions of the ECSC but have separate executive structures. The ECSC's aim was to combine the coal and steel industries of its members to create a single market in those resources. It was intended that this would increase prosperity and decrease the risk of these countries going to war through the process of European integration . The EAEC was working on nuclear energy co-operation between
7140-449: The islands; a decision which contributed to the Argentine invasion that year. Barely two years after beginning his second spell as prime minister, Wilson announced his surprise resignation on 16 March 1976, and unofficially endorsed Callaghan as his successor. Callaghan was the favourite to win the leadership election ; although he was the oldest candidate, he was also the most experienced and least divisive. Popularity with all parts of
7245-416: The job of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), however this was vetoed by the French government. When Wilson won the next general election and returned as prime minister in March 1974, he appointed Callaghan as Foreign Secretary which gave him responsibility for renegotiating the terms of the United Kingdom's membership of the Common Market. When the talks concluded, Callaghan led
7350-414: The left wing of the Party, and was a vocal critic of the United States in 1945, joining 22 other rebels in voting against accepting the Anglo-American loan . Callaghan did not join the Keep Left group of left-wing Labour MPs, but he did sign a letter in 1947 with 20 other MPs from the group calling for a 'socialist foreign policy' which would create an alternative to the capitalism of the United States and
7455-423: The matter better, and in his haste to tackle the balance of payments problem, had failed to consult foreign governments. On 11 November, Callaghan gave his first budget and announced increases in income tax, petrol tax and the introduction of a new capital gains tax , actions which most economists deemed necessary to take the heat out of the balance and sterling deficit. In line with Labour's manifesto commitments,
7560-404: The members. The EEC was to create a customs union and general economic co-operation. It later led to the creation of a European single market . The EEC became the European Community pillar of the EU , with the ECSC and EAEC continuing in a similar subordinate position, existing separately in a legal sense but governed by the institutions of the EU as if they were its own. The ECSC's treaty had
7665-544: The new chancellor of the Exchequer . The previous chancellor, Reginald Maudling , had initiated fiscally expansionary measures which had helped create a pre-election economic boom; by greatly increasing domestic demand this had caused imports to grow much faster than exports, thus when Labour entered government they faced a balance of payments deficit of £800,000,000 (equivalent to £20,477,320,000 in 2023), and an immediate sterling crisis . Both Wilson and Callaghan took
7770-584: The political scene and he ridiculed his opponents by singing old-time music hall star Vesta Victoria 's song " Waiting at the Church " at that month's Trades Union Congress meeting. This was celebrated by the TUC but has since been interpreted as a moment of hubris . Callaghan intended to convey the message that he had not promised an election, European Communities The European Communities ( EC ) were three international organizations that were governed by
7875-459: The positions of deputy leader in 1960 and for leader in 1963 , but was defeated by George Brown for the former and Harold Wilson for the latter. Following Labour's victory at the 1964 election , Wilson appointed Callaghan as Chancellor of the Exchequer; this appointment coincided with a turbulent period for the British economy, during which Callaghan had to tackle both a chronic balance of payments deficit and various speculative attacks on
7980-470: The rate of Chief Petty Officer . His mother was Charlotte Callaghan ( née Cundy, 1879–1961) an English Baptist . As the Catholic Church at the time refused to marry Catholics to members of other denominations, James Callaghan senior abandoned Catholicism and married Charlotte in a Baptist chapel. Their first child was Dorothy Gertrude Callaghan (1904–82). James Callaghan senior served in
8085-847: The same set of institutions . These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom), and the European Economic Community (EEC), the last of which was renamed the European Community ( EC ) in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union . The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while
8190-464: The same time, do justice to these people – I had to balance both considerations". An opponent of the Act, Conservative MP Ian Gilmour , said that it was "brought in to keep the blacks out. If it had been the case that it was 5,000 white settlers who were coming in, the newspapers and politicians, Callaghan included, who were making all the fuss would have been quite pleased". Also significant
8295-484: The second and third pillars, with the Council dominating proceedings. This is reflected in the names of the institutions, the council is formally the "Council of the European Union " while the commission is formally the "Commission of the European Communities ". This allowed the new areas to be based on intergovernmentalism (unanimous agreement between governments) rather than majority voting and independent institutions according to supranational democracy. However, after
8400-482: The shipbuilding industry, creating British Shipbuilders , and the aircraft industry, creating British Aerospace . During his first year in office, Callaghan started what has since become known as 'The Great Debate', when he spoke at Ruskin College , Oxford , about the 'legitimate concerns' of the public about the quality of education in the nation's maintained schools . This discussion led to greater involvement of
8505-456: The successful "Yes" vote campaign in the 1975 referendum , which confirmed the UK's membership of the EC. When Wilson suddenly announced his retirement in March 1976, Callaghan defeated five other candidates to be elected Leader of the Labour Party; he was appointed prime minister on 5 April 1976. Despite winning a narrow majority in the House of Commons at the 1974 election, Labour had lost this by
8610-476: The three communities which comprised the European Communities) expired, having reached its 50-year limit (as the first treaty, it was the only one with a limit). No attempt was made to renew its mandate; instead, the Treaty of Nice transferred certain of its elements to the Treaty of Rome and hence its work continued as part of the EC area of the Communities remit. The Treaty of Lisbon merged
8715-403: The three pillars and abolished the European Community, with the European Union becoming the Community's legal successor. Only one of the three European Communities still exists, thus making the designation of "European Communities" obsolete. The abolition of the pillar structure was proposed already under the European Constitution which ultimately failed to pass the ratification process. Since
8820-498: The time Callaghan became prime minister, and several by-election defeats and defections in his early months forced Callaghan to strike a confidence and supply agreement with the Liberal Party . While this initially proved stable, in the wake of significant industrial disputes and widespread strikes in the 1978–79 " Winter of Discontent ", and the defeat of the referendum on devolution for Scotland , led to minor parties joining
8925-474: The time of its abolition, the Community pillar covered the following areas: The Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities grants the European Communities and their institutions certain privileges and immunities such as to allow them to perform their tasks. The International Organizations Immunities Act (22 USC § 288h) of the United States has also been extended to
9030-445: The time. As Denis Healey in his autobiography notes: Nowadays exchange rates can swing to and fro continually by amount greater than that, without attracting much attention outside the City columns of the newspapers. It may be difficult to understand how great a political humiliation this devaluation appeared at the time—above all to Wilson and his Chancellor, Jim Callaghan, who felt he must resign over it. Callaghan's personal distress
9135-524: The totalitarianism of the USSR . In October 1947 Callaghan got his first junior government job, when he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Transport under Alfred Barnes . Callaghan was given responsibility for improving road safety, and most notably he persuaded the government to introduce zebra crossings , and to extend the use of cat's eyes on trunk roads. Callaghan did not oppose
9240-414: The value of sterling . The IMF demanded large cuts in public spending in return for the loan, which caused consternation among Labour's supporters. The Cabinet was split on the issue, and the left of the party led by Tony Benn put forward an Alternative Economic Strategy as a proposed alternative to the loan, which involved protectionism , but this option was ultimately rejected. After tough negotiations
9345-465: The year. On 14 July, the bank rate was increased again to seven percent, and on 20 July Callaghan announced a ten-point emergency package to deal with the crisis which included further tax rises and a six-month freeze on wage increases. By early 1967, the economy had begun to stabilise once again with the balance of payments moving into equilibrium, the bank rate was reduced to 6% in March and 5.5% in May. It
9450-456: Was a British statesman and politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is the only person to have held all four Great Offices of State , having also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1964 to 1967, Home Secretary from 1967 to 1970 and Foreign Secretary from 1974 to 1976. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1987. Born into
9555-676: Was appointed a full-time union official and to the post of assistant secretary of the Inland Revenue Staff Federation (IRSF), and resigned from his Civil Service duties. During his time working in the Inland Revenue in the early 1930s, Callaghan met his future wife Audrey Moulton , and they were married in July 1938 at Maidstone. His union position at the IRSF brought Callaghan into contact with Harold Laski ,
9660-588: Was born at 38 Funtington Road, Copnor , Portsmouth , England, on 27 March 1912. He took his middle name from his father, James (1877–1921), who was the son of an Irish Catholic father who had fled to England during the Great Irish Famine , and a Jewish mother. Callaghan's father ran away from home in the 1890s to join the Royal Navy ; as he was a year too young to enlist, he gave a false date of birth and changed his surname from Garogher to Callaghan so that his true identity could not be traced. He rose to
9765-618: Was deemed to be a reserved occupation . He was finally allowed to join the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as an Ordinary Seaman in 1942. While he trained for his promotion, his medical examination revealed that he was suffering from tuberculosis , so he was admitted to the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar in Gosport near Portsmouth. After he recovered, he was discharged and assigned to duties with
9870-647: Was dominated by the troubles in running a government with a minority in the House of Commons : Labour had won a narrow majority of three seats at the October 1974 election , however by April 1976, their overall majority had disappeared, due to by-election losses and the defection of two MPs to the breakaway Scottish Labour Party , which left Callaghan heading a minority government , forced to do deals with smaller parties in order to govern. An arrangement negotiated in March 1977 with Liberal Party leader David Steel , known as
9975-460: Was elected, and introduced changes allowing Mrs Callaghan to be granted a widow's pension of ten shillings a week, on the basis that her husband's death was partly due to his war service. In his early years, Callaghan was known by his first name Leonard. When he entered politics in 1945 he decided to be known by his middle name James, and from then on he was referred to as James or Jim. He attended Portsmouth Northern Secondary School . He gained
10080-495: Was in turn an associate and friend of the local Labour Party secretary, Bill Headon. By 1945, he was serving on HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Indian Ocean . After VE Day , he returned, along with other prospective candidates, to the United Kingdom to stand in the general election. The Labour Party won the overdue general election in a landslide victory on 26 July 1945, bringing Clement Attlee to power, in charge of
10185-627: Was increased by a careless answer he gave to a backbencher's question two days before the formal devaluation. This cost Britain several hundred million pounds. Before the devaluation, Jim Callaghan had announced publicly to the Press and the House of Commons that he would not devalue, something he later said was necessary to maintain confidence in the pound and avoid creating jitters in the financial markets. Callaghan immediately offered his resignation as chancellor, and increasing political opposition forced Wilson to accept it. Wilson then moved Roy Jenkins ,
10290-655: Was known as the "Commission of the European Communities", although the communities themselves remained separate in legal terms. The Maastricht Treaty built upon the Single European Act and the Solemn Declaration on European Union in the creation of the European Union . The treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1 November 1993. The emerging Union integrated the European Communities as its institutional core and one of its three pillars . The first Commission President following
10395-409: Was merged with the second and third EU pillars by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, finally allowing the European Union to move beyond being only a concept and to assume the shape of a legally incorporated international organization with juridical personality, designated as the legal successor to the Community. However, the reformed EU has not become entirely unified, because Euratom, though governed with
10500-614: Was now associated with the Gaitskellite wing of the party on the Labour right, although he avoided joining any faction. He served as the Labour spokesman on Transport (1951–53); Fuel and Power (1953–55); Colonial Affairs (1956–61) and Shadow Chancellor (1961–64). He ran unsuccessfully for the Deputy Leadership of the party in 1960 . When Hugh Gaitskell died in January 1963, Callaghan ran to succeed him, but came third in
10605-457: Was paid back in full by 1979. By 1978, the economic situation showed signs of improvement, with unemployment falling, and inflation falling to single digits. Healey was able to introduce an expansionary budget in April 1978. Callaghan was widely judged to have handled the IMF crisis skilfully, avoiding any resignations from the Cabinet, and negotiating much lower spending cuts than had been originally demanded. Callaghan's time as prime minister
10710-469: Was the introduction of a Selective Employment Tax , penalising the service industry and favouring the manufacturing industry. Twelve days after the budget, the National Union of Seamen called a national strike and the problems facing Sterling were multiplied. Additional strikes caused the balance of payments deficit to increase. However, a £3,300,000,000 loan from Swiss banks was due by the end of
10815-580: Was the passing of the Race Relations Act in the same year, making it illegal to refuse employment, housing or education on the basis of ethnic background. The Act extended the powers of the Race Relations Board at the time, to deal with complaints of discrimination and unfair attitudes. It also set up a new supervisory body, the Community Relations Commission, to promote "harmonious community relations". Presenting
10920-465: Was to allow the pound to float or to devalue it. Callaghan and Wilson, however, were again adamant that a devaluation of the pound would create new social and economic problems and continued to take a firm stance against it. The government continued to struggle both with the economy and with the slender majority which, by 1966, had been reduced to one. On 28 February, Harold Wilson formally announced an election for 31 March 1966. On 1 March, Callaghan gave
11025-525: Was under these conditions that Callaghan beat Michael Foot in a vote to become Treasurer of the Labour Party . The economy was soon in turmoil again by June, with the Six-Day War in the Middle East. Several Arab countries, such as Kuwait and Iraq , announced an oil embargo against Britain, accusing it of intervening on the Israeli side in the conflict, resulting in a rise in oil prices which had
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