What with the thirtieth anniversary of the Miners' Strike, and what with the exposure of Shirley Williams's barefaced lies about the NHS privatisation that has as good as brought David Owen back into the Labour fold, how was there never any link between the UDM and the SDP?
Especially in its early days, the SDP very much wanted to bring over a union or two. In terms of its own idea of itself, it could have done with council and possibly even parliamentary seats in an area as solidly working-class as the Nottinghamshire coalfield. It could certainly have done with the UDM's money.
Most obviously, in 1987, a UDM-sponsored SDP candidate, perhaps the Neil Greatrex who is now enjoying Her Majesty's hospitality, could more than conceivably have kept the future Sir Alan Meale out of the Mansfield seat that was being vacated by Don Concannon, who openly did not vote for Meale.
The erstwhile deputy to Roy Mason and right hand man of Bob Mellish was exactly the sort of Labour man whom the SDP always wanted to attract, but almost never did. A deal with the UDM could have delivered his seat, and with it probably him. (Although seriously ill, he did not die until 2003.)
Was that never considered? How very, very odd. Just as well, of course. But all the same, how very, very odd.
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