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Economic policy and the problem of sterling under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan

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Rogers, Chris (Christopher James). (2011) Economic policy and the problem of sterling under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. Contemporary British History, Vol.25 (No.3). pp. 339-363. ISSN 1361-9462

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2011.597548

Abstract

Sterling’s status in the world economy has often been conceived as a problem for British economic policy making because of its sensitivity to fluctuations in market confidence. In contrast, this paper demonstrates how the appearance of sterling weakness conveyed political advantages for the Wilson/Callaghan government. It shows how the fall in the value of the pound in 1975 and 1976—typically viewed as symptomatic of the ‘problem’ of sterling—actually allowed the core-executive to justify the implementation of deflationary policies while minimising political dissent until the resolution of the IMF crisis, at which point sterling’s recovery removed this buttress, and laid the foundations of the Winter of Discontent.

Item Type:

Journal Article

Subjects:

D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
H Social Sciences > HG Finance

Divisions:

Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):

Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1964-1979, Great Britain -- Economic policy -- 1964-1979, Pound, British -- History -- 20th century, Social contract

Journal or Publication Title:

Contemporary British History

Publisher:

Routledge

ISSN:

1361-9462

Official Date:

August 2011

Dates:

Date	Event
August 2011	Published

Volume:

Vol.25

Number:

No.3

Page Range:

pp. 339-363

Identification Number:

10.1080/13619462.2011.597548

Status:

Peer Reviewed

Publication Status:

Published

Access rights to Published version:

Restricted or Subscription Access

Funder:

Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)

Grant number:

PTA-026-27-2503 (ESRC)

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