Memories of British politics during The Winter of Discontent of 1978-79 came back to me as I watched The House, an amazingly good play about the fall of the Labour Government in a no-confidence vote in 1979. The play’s focus is on the backroom boys of British politics – the Whips.
The Whips were kept busy as Labour had a minority government and needed to win over the smaller parties – known as the “odds and sods” to their side. It was a fascinating look at politics from a time I remember. I was on strike for ages during the provincial newspaper strike of 78-79, standing on a picket line in the snow for hours.
The UK Telegraph reviewer liked it:
. . . an astonishingly assured account of the compromised mixture of ambition and idealism in politics
The government could have been saved, but the Labour deputy chief whip, Walter Harrison, took an honourable decision not to call in an MP from his deathbed. He also refused the offer of a “pair” from his opposite number, Bernard Weatherill, because it would have ended Weatherill’s political career. Weatherill went on to be Speaker of the House for nine years.
Labour fell, Maggie Thatcher stormed into power and things changed a lot!
We watched a matinee performance of the play on screen at the Dendy cinema on Circular Quay – one of the National Theatre Live productions. It’s a good way to see a play, but it would have been wonderful to be in the theatre to see it live. It was a big cast of some very assured and familiar British actors.
Afterwards, we (John, Jan, Viv, Eunice) had a bite to eat in one of the outdoor restaurants nearby with a splendid view to the Harbour Bridge. Vivid was on, and as the sun went down we were able to watch some of the light displays again. The crowds grew and grew until there was logjam! We escaped, but on the drive home noted lengthy traffic jams as more people headed in to the city for Vivid.
