The British Labour Government and the Development of Chevaline, 1976–1979

Abstract

By the time James Callaghan replaced Harold Wilson as Prime Minister in April 1976 Labour was still operating as a minority government, meaning it required the support of other political parties to pass legislation leading to a pact with the Liberal Party from 1977–1978.¹ Britain was still facing major economic problems with double-digit inflation and rising unemployment with nuclear weapons a divisive issue within the Party. Despite longstanding support from many Labour ministers and within the Parliamentary Labour Party for nuclear weapons, their 1974 General Election manifesto stated that: ‘Starting from the basis of the multilateral disarmament negotiations, we will seek the removal of American Polaris bases from Britain. We have renounced any intention of moving towards a new generation of strategic nuclear weapons’.² For these reasons Callaghan and his inner- Cabinet imposed an extremely high level of secrecy on British nuclear weapons policy, especially in regards to the strategic deterrent, and deliberately excluded the full Cabinet from the policy process whilst actively minimising parliamentary debate.