The British Labour Movement 1959–77

Abstract

In 1959 after 20 years of autarky the Spanish government launched a new stabilisation plan to liberalise and modernise the economy. In 1958 and 1959, Spain become part of international organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD/World Bank) and the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC). This openingup of the regime coincided with waves of arrests of Spanish Socialists and trade unionists in 1958. The conflictive situation inside Spain and international appeals by the PSOE and the UGT triggered, in 1959, the creation by the British Labour movement of a special Committee, the Spanish Democrats’ Defence Fund Committee (SDDC). The new Committee was created by the Labour Party and financially supported by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and its affiliates. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the impact that the activities carried out not only by the SDDC but also by the Labour Party and the TUC had on the PSOE/UGT, and to assess what they achieved during this period.