A Political Opening: The NEC and Nigeria

Abstract

Transport House, for much of the twentieth century, was located in Smith Square, a short walk from the Houses of Parliament. It was the home of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU), the most powerful trade union in England, and the Labour Party had its offices in rented space on the upper floors of the building. It was there, on 26 March 1969, that the party’s governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), met as usual. But what happened at that meeting, in the fourth-floor committee room, surprised even the Home Secretary’s staunchest critics. Callaghan used the opportunity of that gathering, on the eve of Harold Wilson’s departure on an overseas trip, to cast a vote that delivered a bold challenge to his own government’s plan to radically overhaul the trade unions. He did this even though the Cabinet had, after several extended sessions and much debate, approved the plan to legislate two months earlier.