Reassessing the 1970s

7.00-8.30pm, 23 SEPTEMBER 2009
10 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AH

Chair:  Professor Laurie Taylor, Birkbeck, University of London

Convenors:  Professor Pat Thane FBA, Institute of Historical Research, University of London, Dr Lawrence Black, University of Durham and Dr Hugh Pemberton, University of Bristol

Speakers:
Professor Frank Mort, University of Manchester
 Professor Pat Thane FBA, Institute of Historical Research, University of London
Professor Jim Tomlinson, University of Dundee
Dr Lawrence Black, University of Durham
Dr Hugh Pemberton, University of Bristol 

It is clear that the 1970s were a watershed in post-war British history, but why does that decade continue to resonate so strongly in contemporary British politics, and in debates about economic, social and cultural change?

An understanding of what happened in the 1970s is essential to understanding Britain as it developed in the 1980s and 1990s and how it continues to develop today. Thirty years on from the ‘winter of discontent’ and the election of Margaret Thatcher, and with the official papers virtually fully open, the time has come for contemporary historians to begin to reassess the 1970s and the decade’s place in post-war history as a whole.

This discussion will address a series of important questions about this crucial decade:

• Why did the decade see such a polarisation of British politics and such social and cultural discord?
• Was the ‘crisis’ in the 1970s as bad as it has been (and was at the time) painted?
• Was ‘the long march of labour’ halted in the 1970s, and did the decade mark the ‘end of social democracy in Britain’?

More generally, the panel will consider the significance of the 1970s in the broad sweep of post-war British history.

Contributors

More information about the contributors to this event are available from their web pages:

• Dr Lawrence Black, University of Durham
• Dr Hugh Pemberton, University of Bristol
• Professor Frank Mort, University of Manchester
• Professor Laurie Taylor, Birkbeck College, University of London, and presenter, Radio 4
• Professor Pat Thane, FBA, Centre for Contemporary British History and the Institute for Historical Research,
• Professor Jim Tomlinson, University of Dundee

Attendance

7.00-8.30pm Registration is not required for this event. Seats will be allocated on arrival.

Illustration: Garbage piling up in the street during a sanitation workers strike: Photograph by © Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images