The Brink

Dented shield or no shield at all?

Published: 26 March 2020 at 16:19 UTC

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Episode notes

At a time when Liverpool was fragmenting in the early 1980s, the city found an unlikely ally in a Tory minister.

Michael Heseltine - nicknamed Tarzan - spent three weeks walking the streets, until he became something of a bizarre local attraction for the neighbourhood kids.

He listed the Albert Dock, organised the Garden Festival and stood up for the city in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet meetings when others were ready to condemn it to "managed decline".

But then Heseltine was moved to defence, just at the time when a Militant-dominated council pledged to resist Thatcher's cuts.

The result was a game of brinkmanship between the Iron Lady and a group of councillors who were prepared to risk everything - even personal ruin - for their ideals.

Julia Rampen speaks to key figures from the time, including Michael Heseltine, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, Militant's Derek Hatton, and more.

Presented and produced by Julia Rampen

Edited by Daniel J. McLaughlin