Rogers, 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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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
Date:	August 2011
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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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/4283

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