The curious aspect of Callaghan was that he thought politically all the time — it had been his life — but he was not really much good at politics. Certainly he was reluctant to make political deals, for fear of appearing to be a conniving politician. Thus in April 1978, he decides to fix the wage limit at five per cent and the unions can go hang. In January 1979, in the depths of the crisis, he is talking about an election in March. Before that in the autumn, at the Brighton conference of the TUC, he wrapped up his decision not to have an election by attempting a rendition of ‘There was I waiting at the church’. Having risked a song, he consulted Donoughue about the number’s provenance. Donoughue asked his friend and former colleague, Joe Haines, by then returned to the Daily Mirror. Haines replied correctly: Vesta Victoria. His civil servants insisted on Marie Lloyd, not because they knew but because everybody had heard of her, while Vesta Victoria was obscure. So Marie Lloyd it had to be. It was certainly not Donoughue’s fault: quite the reverse. He had done everything he could do. It still illustrates the kind of wrong advice that prime ministers often get.

Blackwell Bookshop

Purchase your copy here, 10% off RRP