The Benn Diaries: 1940-1990 (59 page)

He quoted Benjamin Franklin:’ “When I first looked at the terms for this Constitution I was not persuaded of it. As wisdom came, I came to see that I was wrong.”’

In the end, it was sixteen to seven for staying in. Harold then said, ‘I hope that nobody will think the result has anything to do with the way I composed the Cabinet because when I formed it a year ago, there were eight for Europe, ten against and five wobblies. Now, of those who have expressed their view, who intends to take advantage of the agreement to differ?’

Six of us said Yes – myself, Barbara, Michael, Willie, Peter and Eric.

Thus it was that the Cabinet reached its view to stay in the Common Market.

We finished and at 1.30 I walked through Downing Street, back to the office. After that, I just needed to unwind.

Thursday 20 March

Cabinet at 10.30 – and it turned out to be most acrimonious and dramatic. Peter had told me that there had been a tremendous scene last night and when we got into Cabinet, Harold began to speak.

‘I’ve pulled you in without officials because a very dangerous situation has developed. When I gave permission for an agreement to differ, I assumed that the anti-Market people would appoint a spokesman to speak for them. Instead I find that there has been a press conference; a statement by dissenting Ministers, an Early Day Motion, and an NEC resolution in
circulation asking the special conference to fight against a government decision. I know one or two pro-Market MPs may be campaigning but this is an attempt to bounce the NEC and it’s dangerous.

‘I cannot lead a Cabinet when its members mobilise outside agencies including the NEC. It is impossible for me to keep the Cabinet together on this basis. One Minister offered to resign last night, but I don’t want to lead a rump. It has been a field day for the Tories and I have got to face Parliamentary Questions today. We must face it, it could be 1931 all over again. If we get disorganised, there are members of the Party who would put the Common Market before the Party. What I’m afraid of from this polarisation is a pro-Market coalition, a Tory-dominated coalition with perhaps a titular Labour leader – and it would have much worse relations with the trade union movement than even Heath. Indeed, I doubt if democracy could survive, and I’m not going to play it this way. The Cabinet should discuss it and find a solution by 12.30 today.’

Shirley Williams said, ‘I will never join a coalition. I had hoped that the Party would show the same charity towards dissenters as the Cabinet.’

Michael Foot, who had spoken to Harold about this last night, thought the problem was not insoluble but we couldn’t have a cut-and-dried solution by 12.30. He said to Harold, ‘It’s no good saying you can’t tolerate members of the Cabinet heading a campaign against the Market We are entitled to head a campaign. We’re not prepared to engage in a charade. We are going to make our view effective like you. It is the only dignified basis on which to proceed.’

‘The most intolerable thing was the Early Day Motion, and the National Executive resolution,’ Tony Crosland chipped in.

Denis tried to lower the temperature of the debate. ‘The solidarity of the Cabinet is what matters and the Party must be as tolerant The bulk of the activists don’t even think the Common Market is important. Ministers on the NEC must not establish a collective decision, it would be damaging, it would go to the Party Conference, and therefore I want to ask those Ministers concerned to withhold their support for anti-Market campaigns. It would split us deeply, worse than it did when we were in opposition.’

Willie Ross added, ‘We are all collectively responsible for the well-being of the Labour Movement. I opposed the Referendum but the Leader is now being tied. We have no one else to rely on but Harold Wilson. We must limit the damage and drop the campaign against the Leader because the logic of it is only too clear. Ministers ought to be a bit busier in their own offices.’

Barbara said, ‘The accusation then is about the press conference and that it is intolerable to campaign against the Cabinet.’

‘I never said that,’ Harold interrupted. ‘I shall apply for legal aid if this sort of thing is said.’

‘Well,’ said Barbara, ‘if it had gone the other way, I’m sure the pro-Marketeers would have campaigned for the Market I have followed the
guidelines, I refused to debate with Shirley Williams on television. But you’re also saying we shouldn’t embroil the Party. That’s naïve, and the guidelines didn’t cover the Party anyway.’

‘I sent
instructions
, not guidelines, to Ministers when they were appointed last year, that they were always Ministers first.’

During coffee break, Harold slipped away up to his study. We met again at noon, without Harold, and with Ted in the chair.

Bob Mellish began by saying, ‘We have underestimated the strength of the anti-Market vote. There are about 160 pro- and about 140 anti-Market MPs, and a split would damage the Movement. The London CLPs are broadly anti-Market but they don’t really care. We could make the Prime Minister look a laughing stock. I plead with the Ministers on the NEC not to use their power. And as for Harold, I hope he will not overreact because this is a test of his leadership.’

Crosland thought we’d got off to a bad start. ‘The people in Grimsby don’t worry and I shall persuade them not to take a view.’

Roy Jenkins said this situation was endemic in a referendum, which is why he was against it, but he didn’t want to make too much of that. He didn’t think the press conference or the Early Day Motion were important, but freedom for campaigning must be absolute. Ministers on the NEC had not considered these matters. The Leader’s position would be impossible and we must have symmetry all round.

Roy Mason argued that the PLP was bitter because of the acts of a minority. It was all planned before Tuesday – the Motion, the blackmailing of MPs to sign, and the NEC round robin. As for television, Michael, Peter and Tony Benn had all been on, and it was a devious and clever conspiracy.

‘We’re on the brink,’ said Elwyn, ‘the Prime Minister’s near to resignation. It could be a disaster for social democracy if he went. The NEC resolution will tear the Party apart. Other Ministers might resign.’

‘Well, if the Prime Minister resigns, we’d all be out anyway,’ said Jim.

‘Withdraw the motion then,’ said Elwyn.

Michael suggested that the matter be deferred. The talks should go on for the next day or two, maybe Ron should put up a statement to supersede the NEC resolution.

Jim endorsed Michael’s proposal for more time, and Ted said that it looked as if we were going to have to rely on Harold to get us off the hook once again.

It was, without doubt, the most extraordinary Cabinet meeting I have ever attended.

Friday 21 March

To Meriden in the West Midlands. There was no one to meet us at first because they were all so busy, which was good. There are about 170 people working there now, at a flat-rate pay of £50 a week – a dream for them after
eighteen months of privation. They have 2,000 applicants to work at what is £20 below the going rate in Coventry. No supervision, and no clocking in. They have elected organisers in each shop and they’ve managed to cut out a lot of the paperwork.

Thursday 27 March

I had a runaround on the
Scottish Daily News
. I had told my colleagues that the Action Committee were £40,000 short and recommended that the Government put in the difference, but I had had no favourable response at all. I asked Roy Williams to ring the Prime Minister to fix for me to see him this afternoon to discuss the NEB appointments and the
Scottish Daily News
. Roy set that up but Harold later cancelled the meeting. So I was just about to send a bitter minute around to the Prime Minister and everybody else saying, ‘You have now killed the
Scottish Daily News
’ when I thought I had better ring Allister Mackie first. I apologised for not succeeding and he said, ‘I never thought you would. Maxwell is going to put up the extra money.’ I literally leapt for joy.

At 3.30 Bob Wright of the AUEW and Jack Service came to discuss Ferranti. They said the Ferranti brothers, or Basil at least, had tried to persuade the unions to agree to just a 25 per cent government holding so that the family interests in the firm could be preserved. In fact, we are going to have to go up to 75 per cent or 85 per cent holding as a result of the need to put in large sums of money and to value the shares correctly.

Sunday 20 April

Willie Whitelaw has made a statement that the Tories would not feel bound by a negative referendum vote and Frances advised me to involve Mrs Thatcher over this. So at 1.30 I rang the Press Association and dictated this letter, embargoed until 5 am.

Tuesday 22 April

The papers this morning reported Mrs Thatcher’s reply to my letter, saying that the Tories would not be bound by the Referendum, basing herself on what Harold Wilson had said about a referendum not being binding on Parliament.

After Cabinet I sat and talked to Joe Ashton. He told me that Dennis Skinner and others had asked when I was going to make my bid against Harold. Right-wingers were saying that I was so active that it must mean that I was going to challenge Harold.

‘For God’s sake, Joe, damp that down. I’m doing a marvellously interesting job and I’ve got the Referendum on my plate.’

‘Well, don’t forget that if you lose the Referendum and we stay in Europe and have a million unemployed in November, Harold will have some questions to answer.’

I said I knew that.’

Friday 25 April

I learned from Ron Vaughan that Harold Wilson had arranged that in future all former Prime Ministers were to have their own car and chauffeur for life. That’s never happened before and indeed until 1970 even the Leader of the Opposition didn’t have a car and a chauffeur. It was Heath who agreed that for Harold. Of course now Harold has returned the favour, but he has also given a car and driver for life to Home and Macmillan. The drivers in the car pool are saying, ‘The crafty bugger must be preparing to get out, and then
he’ll
have a car for life.’ That’s the conclusion to be drawn, because when he does go, he’ll never be made Leader of the Opposition again.

Wednesday 30 April

A journalist from the
Daily Mail
turned up at home and asked Caroline how Joshua was in hospital. She said, ‘Joshua is not in hospital’ – thank God, he was home at the time, so she knew nothing had happened to him at school.

Then the reporters went to the school and asked the same question. They went to Hilary’s house, and even tried to get in touch with Stephen at Keele University. It was hysterical harassment.

Monday 19 May

At 9.45 pm there was a bombshell. It was announced that Monty Finniston had dropped the redundancies and that the BSC and TUC had reached an agreement on other ways of tackling the steel industry’s problems. It was a complete victory and I don’t think I’ve gone to bed happier for a very long time. It was the workers who had done it, not me.

Thursday 22 May

In the
Socialist Worker
today was a piece saying that what really terrified the
Establishment was that I was fighting for jobs, while they were trying to sack people and this was the real offence, together with workers’ participation and public ownership.

So for the first time, the ultras have had to take on board my strategy and to identify the divisions between Healey and Thatcher, who are the monetarists, Heath and Shirley Williams, who are corporatist coalitionists, and myself.

Friday 23 May

Harold was on television tonight. He was questioned about the economic situation and the Common Market He just waffled Then they asked him about me and he said, ‘Oh well, Mr Benn is a bogeyman like Lloyd George and Churchill and Bevan.’

Robin Day said, ‘But you’ve attacked him yourself, called him an Old Testament prophet.’

‘Well, he dreams about the future but what he says isn’t government policy,’ Harold said.

‘Are you going to dismiss him?’

‘When I make my ministerial dispositions, I shall see you get a copy.’

That was a clear indication that he intends to get rid of me; actually it gives me a marvellous feeling of liberation.

Tuesday 3 June

Neil Kinnock picked me up and drove me to Cardiff. He thought it was essential to keep together all the people who had come to work in the Labour Movement against the Market. Two thousand people were waiting, an enormous meeting. Michael Foot turned up, the first time I’d seen him since he had come back from Venice and he looked pretty old and tired.

There were a few ‘Keep Britain In Europe’ people waving their banners, which helped to make it interesting.

Thursday 5 June – Common Market Referendum

Up at 6 o’clock and back to London. Melissa and I walked to St Peter’s Church Hall, Portobello Road, where we cast our votes – the first time Melissa had voted.

Back to Bristol, where Caroline met me and we drove around in a lorry for four hours with the loudspeaker simply shouting, ‘No to the Common Market.’

The ITN 10 o’clock news predicted a 69 per cent Yes vote and a 29 per cent No vote, so it looks like an enormous majority for staying in.

I rang Frances. She’s realistic about it. ‘Oh well, people are sick of elections, they are glad it is settled. Harold has scored a tremendous triumph, but it’s over and done with now. The Left has played its trump card
and been soundly defeated. This is the moment really to fade out.’ If that is the case my inclination is to get out and work on the sidelines.