Additions to the John le Carré (David Cornwell) archive

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The Archive of John le Carré (David Cornwell) has been further expanded to include an extensive array of the author’s literary papers, personal and professional correspondence, photographs, interviews and articles, and an assortment of personal and family papers. The updated archive (see catalogue here: Collection: Archive of John le Carré (David Cornwell) | Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts), available now to readers at the Weston Library, contains over 1,200 boxes of material spanning Cornwell’s entire life and career, from childhood photographs and letters written during his time as a student at Lincoln College, Oxford, to correspondence and book drafts penned in the last few weeks of his life. The archive is a brilliant resource not only for fans of John le Carré and his internationally renowned novels and adaptations, but for researchers interested in British novelists, 20th and 21st century literature, or the spy genre in particular.

Portrait of David Cornwell, taken by his son Stephen, n.d. (MS. le Carré 1196, folder 3) © Stephen Cornwell

Supplementing the hundreds of boxes of Cornwell’s literary papers already in the archive, the newly released material offers an insight into Cornwell’s life as a whole, including and beyond his career as John le Carré. Key moments and experiences throughout his early adulthood, for instance, are represented in detailed correspondence with his first wife Ann and his tutor, mentor and friend Vivian Green (later cited as an important inspiration for the character of George Smiley). These letters provide a window into Cornwell’s student years, his complicated relationships with both his father and new wife, his early jobs as a teacher, aspiring illustrator and – of course – intelligence officer, as well as his first ventures into writing. The hundreds of letters Cornwell wrote to Ann during their relationship in the 1950s and 1960s were often highly personal and detailed, and frequently featured small sketches, as in this letter sent in April 1954 (MS. le Carré 929, folder 2). Further illustrations are scattered throughout the archive: in correspondence with friends and family, decorating novel drafts, and offered as donations to various charities.

Letter to Ann Sharp, later Cornwell, April 1954 (MS. le Carré 929, folder 2) © John le Carré Ltd

Cornwell’s correspondence makes up a significant portion of the archive: letters to and from family, friends, colleagues and fans offer a unique insight into his professional experiences, personal thoughts, and sometimes variable relationships. The vast majority of this correspondence is handwritten, a lifelong preference touched upon in this ‘User’s Manual’ written by Cornwell when joining Penguin in 2009 (MS. le Carré 973, folder 2). He explains, ‘I write all my books by hand. I barely type, but can do one-finger e-mail. Jane & no-one else retypes my handwriting endlessly for me, & is my companion in all literary & professional matters’. As well as reflecting the distinctive way in which Cornwell wrote, this document highlights the essential role played by his second wife Jane, former publicist and foreign rights manager for Hodder & Stoughton. Cornwell goes on to write ‘her word is my word, & usually she’s better at it than I am. So when you get Jane, you are not getting second best, you are getting The One.’ This vital influence is evident throughout the archive, whether in Jane’s annotations across countless novel and letter drafts, the endless manuscripts she was responsible for typing, or David’s notes on almost every document asking ‘Oy’ (her nickname) to make x amendment, contact y person, or decline z invitation. This valuable collaboration is further explored by Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, in his article reflecting on the acquisition of the archive.

‘User’s Manual’ draft sent to Johnny Geller of Curtis Brown, later to Penguin, 2009 (MS. le Carré 973, folder 2) © John le Carré Ltd

The archive includes correspondence with prominent authors, activists and politicians, as well as numerous actors, directors, producers and screenwriters involved in the many successful adaptations of Cornwell’s work. Perhaps most notable among these actors is Sir Alec Guinness, lauded for his portrayal of George Smiley in the 1979 and 1982 television adaptations of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley’s People. Amongst a box of correspondence sent between the two from 1978 until Guinness’s death in 2000 are some brilliant letters discussing the prospect of Guinness playing Smiley in the very first television adaptation of a le Carré novel. In response to several pages from Guinness listing concerns regarding his suitability for the role, Cornwell sent this reassuring letter dispelling each one in turn (MS. le Carré 925, folder 1). As well as writing ‘no, you are not rotund or double chinned, though I think I have seen you in rôles where you have, almost as an act of will, acquired a sort of cherubic look!’, he assures Guinness that ‘apart from plumpness, you have all the other physical qualities: a mildness of manner, stretched taut, when you wish it, by an unearthly stillness and an electrifying watchfulness. In the best sense, you are uncomfortable company, as I suspect Smiley is’. This letter evidently had the desired effect: Guinness’s Smiley was an instant success and is still celebrated today. The archive highlights Cornwell’s frequent such involvement in adaptations of his works, assisting casting, script writing, and even appearing in several on-screen cameos.

Letter to Sir Alec Guinness, March 1978 (MS. le Carré 925, folder 1) © John le Carré Ltd

Understandably, papers specifically relating to Cornwell’s literary works, including manuscript and typescript drafts, lists of edits and corrections, and correspondence with researchers and translators, comprise the majority of the collection. The character and timeline notes for A Perfect Spy pictured below are a classic example of the hundreds of novel notes and drafts in the archive: handwritten, with large chunks completely crossed out, and additions and edits, often in different coloured pens, dotted throughout (MS. le Carré 607, folder 2). Such notes and drafts would often be written in small notebooks, especially during Cornwell’s many research trips, or on pretty much any paper he had to hand, even the endpapers of whichever book he happened to be reading when inspiration struck. This particular example, written on standard A4 paper, sees Cornwell formulating the central characters in A Perfect Spy, father and son Rick and Magnus Pym, a duo based strongly upon the relationship between Cornwell and his own father, Ronnie. The notes refer to ‘Rick’s rachmannism [sic]’, showing obvious parallels even in the book’s early conception to Cornwell’s property dealer father, jailed for fraud and declared bankrupt multiple times.

A Perfect Spy early notes, n.d. (MS. le Carré 607, folder 2) © John le Carré Ltd

The archive also extends beyond paper documents, including a great collection of photographs and press cuttings. In addition to the photo at the top of this blog post (MS. le Carré 1196, folder 3), the archive contains portraits of Cornwell taken throughout his life, as well as black and white family photos reaching back generations and photos with his Foreign Office colleagues in the 1960s. The impressive collection of press cuttings, dating from Cornwell’s debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961, also helps to put his work into a wider context. The scrapbook pictured below is filled with press cuttings relating to Cornwell’s first three novels, providing a glimpse into the beginning of his literary career and especially the sudden global success brought by his third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (MS. le Carré 1203, folder 1). Quotes from these cuttings, including ‘the spies are not playing Bond-like games: they operate nastily, unspectacularly and with real determination’ and ‘if it is not the best spy yarn I have read, it is certainly the finest anti-spy story’, illustrate the excitement surrounding this completely new style of spy novel.

Press cuttings scrapbook, 1961-1964 (MS. le Carré 1203, folder 1) © John le Carré Ltd

To take a closer look at any of the material mentioned in this blog post, or to explore this substantial collection further, browse the catalogue here: Collection: Archive of John le Carré (David Cornwell) | Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts

We are also excited to announce that an exhibition celebrating Cornwell’s work and creative process, featuring many more fascinating items from the archive and beyond, Tradecraft: John le Carré, will be opening at the Weston Library in October 2025. Further information can be found here: Archive of John le Carré to go on display for the first time in major exhibition | Bodleian Libraries

The archive of the Greene Family now available

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The catalogue for the archive of the Greene family is now available, with material ready for consultation in the Weston Library. The archive largely comprises personal correspondence and photographs belonging to Graham Carleton Greene, CBE, publisher, and his mother, Helga Mary Connolly (née Guinness, other married name Greene), literary agent.

Helga Greene, c. 1930s. © Courtesy of Alexander Greene.
Helga Mary Connolly, 1916-1985

Helga Mary Connolly was born to Henry Samuel Howard Guinness and Alfhild Holter. She married her first husband Sir Hugh Carleton Greene in 1934, the couple had two sons, Graham C. and James C. Greene. Following their divorce in 1948, she opened the Helga Greene Literary Agency in 1952, which operated from Eaton Mews West in the house adjoining her own home. Her literary consultant, Kathrine Sorley Walker, later wrote in Remembering Helga, (1987) that Helga considered her agency ‘a small and very personal literary agency.’1 The agency represented authors including American mystery writer Raymond Chandler (from 1957), Austrian artist and poet Oskar Kokoschka, Richard Crossman M.P. and zoologist Lancelot Hogben (from 1953). Helga was engaged to Raymond Chandler upon his death in 1959, inheriting his literary estate and would become the authority on permissions for adaptations of his works.

Her personal papers primarily consist of correspondence with her first husband, the broadcaster Sir Hugh Carleton Greene, brother of the writer Graham Greene. The earliest letters derive from their engagement whilst living in Berlin in 1934. The letters also provide coverage of family life during a period of upheaval in Europe, after their expulsion from Berlin in 1939 (Hugh C. Greene was the Daily Telegraph’s Berlin Correspondent from 1938). The family was separated for periods of time, owing to Sir Hugh’s work in the RAF and as Head of the BBC German Service, MS. Greene family 1. A portion of the papers concern personal letters from members of the theatrical and literary community such as Tove Jansson, C.P. Snow, Mary Norton and Ivor Novello, MS. Greene family 3-4. The main business papers and correspondence of the Helga Greene Literary Agency are catalogued with the archive of Raymond Chandler.

Graham Carleton Greene CBE, 1936-2016

The bulk of the papers in the archive belong to Graham Carleton Greene, CBE who held the position of managing director of the publishing house Jonathan Cape from 1966-1988. Alongside an influential career in publishing, the papers and correspondence cover decades of involvement with numerous charitable organisations and cultural institutions. Graham was actively involved in shaping organisations including the Publishers Association (President, 1977-1979), Statesman and Nation Publishing Company (Chairman, 1981-1985), GB-China Centre, (Chairman, 1986-1997) and the British Museum (Chairman, 1996-2002). By this point, he had been a trustee of the museum for 24 years (from 1978-2002). During his tenure as chairman of the British Museum, he was involved with the redesign of the Great Court, with it opening in December 2000.

Outside of his professional life, Graham’s extensive personal correspondence spans six decades, and includes letters from a range of friends, particularly those who were extended hospitality at dinner parties arranged by him and his wife Sally. Literary dinners and parties were also thrown in celebration of new publications, including for a biography by Anthony Howard of his mother’s former client and friend, Richard Crossman M.P., MS. Greene family 39.

From left: Graham, Helga, Hugh and James Greene. © Courtesy of Alexander Greene.

Several boxes of family photographs provide a snapshot of the life of the Greene family over many decades, with Helga and Hugh’s life in 1930s Germany, family holidays in the 1940s and Graham and James’s Eton school days in the 1950s all featuring. Photographs of Graham’s later travels to China are also included, MS. Greene family photogr. 5. He would go on to visit the country on multiple occasions and work to establish copyright treaties whilst chairman of the GB-China Centre in 1991.

The Bodleian Libraries also hold the papers of Sir Hugh Carleton Greene and the archive of Vivien Greene.

Sources:

  1. Remembering Helga, (1987). MS. Chandler 39 ↩︎

Catalogue of the Dictionary of Medical Eponyms by Austin Seckersen is now available

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This collection comprises material collected by Seckersen for a dictionary of medical eponyms. The dictionary was never published. It also includes a set of glass negatives of portraits of those whose names have been used as an eponym.

Catalogue of the Dictionary of Medical Eponyms by Austin Seckersen

The catalogue of the archive of F.W. Hirst is now available

20th century, Archives and Modern Manuscripts, Humanities, Newly available (2025)

Francis Wrigley Hirst (1873-1953) was a journalist who wrote for numerous publications, including The Speaker, The Manchester Guardian, The Tribune, and The Nation. He was chief editor of The Economist from 1907 until 1916. Due to his outspoken campaigning during wartime, where he published numerous pieces against conscription, on irresponsible war finance, and on the threat the war posed to civil liberties, he was forced to resign. In 1916, he set up his own paper, Common Sense, which was devoted to a negotiated peace, retrenchment, and the economy. In 1921, Common Sense was discontinued, and as Hirst’s influence within liberalism waned, he drew his attention to giving lectures in South Africa, Austria, and widely in the United States. Hirst unsuccessfully stood for Parliament as a Liberal in 1910 and 1929, and in June 1936 he was elected to serve on the Liberal Party Council. Hirst wrote extensively about Adam Smith, William Ewart Gladstone, and John Morley. He died in 1953 of influenza, and a book titled F.W. Hirst By his Friends was published in his remembrance in 1958.

The archive comprises diaries, working and personal correspondence, literary and political papers, and press cuttings both by and of Francis W. Hirst.

Catalogue of the archive of Francis W. Hirst

The catalogue of the archive of Terence Ranger is now available

20th century, Archives and Modern Manuscripts, Humanities, Newly available (2025)

Terence Osborn Ranger (1929-2015) was a historian of African history. While working at the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia, he was horrified by the colour bar and, alongside his wife, became active in politics both inside and outside of the university. He was denied citizenship, possibly due to his political associations, and was declared a prohibited immigrant in 1963. He began working at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in the pioneering African history department. During his time at Dar es Salaam, he wrote several books, including Revolt in Southern Rhodesia, 1896–7 (1967) and Dance and Society in Eastern Africa, 1890–1970 (1975). In 1969 he moved to the University of California at Los Angeles as a professor and then in 1974 he moved to the University of Manchester as chair of modern history. During his time at Manchester, he began to introduce African history into the curriculum. Ranger was the Rhodes chair of race relations and a fellow at St Antony’s, Oxford, from 1987 until his retirement in 1997. He returned to Zimbabwe to teach at the University of Zimbabwe as a visiting professor (1998-2001) and spent time researching for his book Bulawayo Burning: The Social History of a Southern African City, 1893–1960 (2010).

The archive comprises working papers and correspondence, including material related to: academic appointments, research on African politics and history, and societies Ranger was associated with.

Catalogue of the archive of Terence Ranger

The catalogue of the archive of Thomas Lionel Hodgkin is now available

20th century, Archives and Modern Manuscripts, Humanities, Newly available (2025)

Thomas Lionel Hodgkin (1910-1982) was a historian of African history. He spent time in Palestine, in a cadetship in the Palestine civil service, which made him very aware of the nature of Western and British imperialism. After he resigned, he wanted to stay to observe the aftermath of the April 1936 Arab uprising but was made to leave by the British administration. He returned to Britain in 1936 and joined the London Library and the Communist Party. He met his wife, Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin, in 1937 when she was in London to photograph insulin at the Royal Institute.

He worked for the Workers’ Educational Association in north Staffordshire and, in September 1945, he became secretary of the Oxford University delegacy for extra-mural studies which took him to the Gold Coast and Nigeria in 1947. This began his interest in African history, and he wrote for West Africa on the background to African nationalism. After leaving the delegacy in 1952, he travelled extensively in Africa. He published his book Nationalism in Colonial Africa in 1956, before turning to the subject of Islam in Africa. He worked in several universities in America and Canada, and became director of the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana in 1962. He became a senior research fellow at Balliol College, Oxford, and lecturer in the government of new states in 1965, where he supervised students from many countries. He published several books during his life, including Perspectives (1960), African Political Parties (1961), and Vietnam: The Revolutionary Path (1981). He also wrote an unpublished novel titled ‘Qwert’.

The archive comprises: Academic papers, including lecture notes and papers on African history; correspondence, including from his family and wife, D.M.C. Hodgkin; literary papers including unpublished novels; and personal papers.

Catalogue of the archive of Thomas Lionel Hodgkin

The Peter Tatchell archive

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Peter Tatchell in front of an LGBTQ+ rainbow flag, carrying an A2-sized white sign that says Freedom, Justice, Peace, Equality
Photograph provided by the Peter Tatchell Foundation, © Peter Tatchell

The catalogue of the archive of human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell (b.1952) is now available.

Tatchell is best known for his LGBTQ rights advocacy. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, and emigrated to London in 1972, where he quickly became involved with the Gay Liberation Front (GLF). In 1973 he was the GLF’s delegate to the World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin, where he distributed leaflets in support of gay liberation inside the German Democratic Republic. In 1986 Tatchell published a pioneering self-help book, AIDS: A Guide to Survival [find in the SOLO catalogue] and was a founding member of the UK AIDS Vigil Organisation and the UK chapter of ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power).

In May 1990, Tatchell was one of the founding members of the campaign group OutRage! (founded in reaction to the homophobic murder of actor Michael Boothe). OutRage! became well-known for their non-violent, direct-action protests opposing discrimination against gays and lesbians in the United Kingdom. Activists were frequently arrested and prosecuted for their protests, with Tatchell notably fined under the obscure Ecclesiastical Courts Jurisdiction Act (1860) for interrupting the Archbishop of Canterbury during his 1997 Easter sermon. Tatchell also made multiple attempts to arrest Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, for human rights violations.

In 2011, OutRage! ceased operations and Tatchell founded The Peter Tatchell Foundation, a non-profit whose work seeks to promote and protect human rights in the UK and internationally.

In addition to his campaign work, Tatchell fought a number of parliamentary campaigns. In 1983 he ran as the Labour Party’s candidate in the Bermondsey constituency by-election, in 2000 he was an independent candidate for the Greater London Assembly, and in 2007 he was the Green Party’s candidate for Oxford East.

The archive mainly comprises Tatchell’s working papers for his protest and political campaigns, including research materials and protest ephemera (including a set of photographs of OutRage! protests by Steve Mayes), as well as papers relating to Tatchell’s journalism and travel writing. The catalogue is a first edition and additional protest ephemera and objects will be added following conservation work.

The catalogue of the archive of Colin Ford relating to his work on Julia Margaret Cameron is now available

20th century, 21st century, Archives and Modern Manuscripts, Humanities, Modern, Newly available (2024), Photography, Women

Colin Ford, born 13 May 1934, is a curator and historian of photography. He was Keeper of Film and Photography at the National Portrait Gallery (1972-1981), the first director of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (1982-1993), and Director of the National Museums and Galleries of Wales (1993-1998).

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) was a 19th century photographer, whose portraits include Charles Darwin, Sir John Herschel and Alice Liddell. She took up photography later in life, having been gifted a camera by her children in around 1863. Despite only creating works for 12 years, she produced over 900 photographs and is considered an important portraitist of the 19th century.

The archive comprises papers, correspondence and photographs mostly relating to Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs. The collection includes correspondence relating to Julia Margaret Cameron dating from 1974, and also includes sketchbooks of Herschel Hay Cameron, Adeline Cameron, Harding Hay Cameron, and an 1895 photo album.

Catalogue of the archive of Colin Ford and his work on Julia Margaret Cameron

Highlights and Takeaways from the Association of Internet Reseachers Annual Conference (AoIR) 2024

Algorithmic data, Social Media Archives, Web Archives, , ,

At the end of October, I had the opportunity to attend the 2024 Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) conference, which took place in the lovely city of Sheffield. This was my first time attending an AoIR conference and I was grateful to join such a vibrant meeting of Internet researchers from all over the world. As a Curatorial and Policy Research Officer for the Algorithmic Archive Project, currently exploring the ways in which social media and algorithmic data are being used across disciplines, this was a unique opportunity for me to engage with a diverse range of research on the web and social platforms.

This year’s AoIR conference was hosted by the University of Sheffield, with the Student Union building serving as the main venue. This impressive structure spans five floors and includes a cosy lounge area on the third floor, offering attendees a space to relax and network between sessions in a packed 4-day program. The main theme of this year’s AoIR2024 conference was “industry”, inviting the research community to reflect and discuss the relationship between the internet and industry. With over thirteen parallel sessions scheduled for each time block, choosing just one to attend proved to be rather challenging.

A view of the University of Sheffield, Student Union where some of the AoIR2024 conference sessions took place between 30 October – 2 November 2024. Photo taken by B. Cannelli

One aspect that really stood out to me from the conference was the diverse range of research involving information generated on social media platforms, spanning from creators’ economy dynamics, news polarization, AI applied in the context of online communities and content moderation, online pop culture and disinformation across various platforms. There were several panels discussing platform governance – the set of rules, policies and decision-making processes that shape how content is collected, accessed and used within a platform – shedding light on the power dynamics that influence user experience. From an archival perspective, understanding how platforms regulate access to data and the consumption of content is crucial, with significant implications for how this content can be archived by memory institutions.

Among the many sessions exploring virality phenomena and cultures on social media, it is worth mentioning the one reflecting on “mediated memory”. It examined how social platforms like TikTok serve, for instance, as spaces to remember displaced cultures, and how they facilitate the transmission of cultural aspects to younger generations, helping to perpetuate them through time and space. Additionally, the session titled “Times and Transformations” provided some excellent examples of research conducted with web-archived content from research libraries, along with insightful reflections on the epistemology of web archiving.

Firth Court, a Grade II listed Edwardian building that constitutes part of the Western Bank Campus of the University of Sheffield. Photo taken by B. Cannelli

Overall, the conference highlighted the crucial role social media data play in today’s communication landscape and underscored the value of platforms’ user-generated content as a key resource for researchers across a wide range of disciplines. The interplay of light and shadows explored in various panels on platform governance further emphasised the enormous power platforms hold over this user-generated data, as well as the pressing need for support to enable researchers to access and preserve these data over time. 

I left the AoIR2024 conference with so much food for thought! It has also been a fantastic opportunity for networking, which will be important for the scoping phase of the Algorithmic Archive project.

New Conservative Party Archive releases for 2025

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Each January, the Archive of the Conservative Party releases files which were previously closed under the 30-year rule. This year, files from 1994 are newly-available to access.

Despite continuing to make a steady economic recovery from the recession that ended in 1993, John Major’s fourth year as Prime Minister was partly overshadowed by internal party conflict over Europe and allegations of scandal following the launching of the Party’s ‘Back to Basics’ campaign. These issues are amongst those covered within the newly-released files, alongside monitoring of opposition parties, including a profile of Gordon Brown written by David Cameron, and an insight into the foundation and meetings of the Commission for the Greater Europe.

Following on from recent years, a large proportion of our new releases are from our collections of CRD files, including subject briefings, directors’ papers, letter books of desk officers, and Conservative Research Department (CRD) files covering topics such as environmental policy, public opinion research on the NHS, and election preparations. Alongside these CRD files we will also be releasing papers, correspondence and memoranda from the Organisation Department of Conservative Central Office (CCO), Conservatives in the European Parliament, and Conservative Party think tanks, amongst other material.

This blog post will explore a number of highlights of the newly-available files, demonstrating their value for researchers and historians interested in the Conservative Party and/or British political history in general.

Opposition Monitoring, 1991-1992

This year’s releases contain a number of files relating to opposition monitoring, including profiles of the Labour Party shadow cabinet in the early 1990s. Carried out by the political section of the CRD, opposition monitoring involved creating profiles on opposition candidates and monitoring their media statements to provide the Conservative Party with crucial information and ammunition. They should be a useful resource for researchers, providing examples of the inside workings of the Research Department in the lead up to a general election and the processes involved in dealing with the opposition.

Some of the profiles in this year’s releases include Tony Blair, Neil Kinnock, John Smith, Bryan Gould and Gordon Brown, all of who played a key role in the Labour Party’s 1992 General Election team, and several in the later 1997 General Election, indicating that the Conservative Party was beginning to look ahead to the 1997 General Election. Of particular interest, is the file CRD 5/11/1/19 which contains a profile on Gordon Brown by David Cameron from March 1991. Written in the lead up to the 1992 General Election and during Cameron’s early political career as the head of the Political Section of CRD, this file provides us with an interesting insight into two future Prime Ministers. Firstly, the file sheds light on Browns’ position as an emerging figure in the Labour Party in the early 1990s, when he held the position of Shadow Trade and Industry Spokesman (1989-1992), and an insight into the Conservative Party’s perception of him.  Furthermore, Cameron’s analysis demonstrates his abilities as a political strategist and researcher of opponents from his early career, setting the stage for the pairs battle for leadership at the 2010 General Election almost 20 years later.

A profile of Dr Gordon Brown MP – CPA CRD 5/11/1/19

Labour Party leadership election, 1994

In addition to the opposition profiles discussed above, an important part of the operations of CRD opposition monitoring was gathering information on the Labour Party leader. This was particularly important in 1994, as the death of the Labour Party leader John Smith triggered a Labour leadership contest. After a brief interregnum leadership by Margaret Beckett, Tony Blair won the leadership election on 21 July 1994, defeating John Prescott and Margaret Beckett.

Being released this year is CRD 5/11/1/34, which contains correspondence and research related to the leadership election, shedding light on the Research Department’s strategic approach to the change in Labour Leadership. One notable example is a memorandum from Rachel Whetstone titled ‘Ways of opening up Labours leadership contest’. In the memoranda, Whetstone highlights the minimum wage as a “weak point for Tony Blair”, stating that “Blair argues that youth unemployment is a major cause of crime”, yet he “supports policies that would increase unemployment among young people”. This provides insight into how the Research Department aimed to exploit perceived weaknesses in the candidate’s characters and their positioning on key policy areas, in order to undermine the change in leadership.

Ways of opening up Labour’s leadership contest – CPA CRD 5/11/1/34

Additionally, CRD 5/11/1/34 provides an interesting indication to broader trends in British political strategy, particularly in regards to the increasing emphasis on ‘spin’ in political communication. Throughout the 1990s, the use of spin by politicians and parties in the UK accelerated. The emergence of 24-hour news and the growing influence of the tabloids and television increased the pressure placed on journalists to provide non-stop content. This led to a marked decline in the quality of British media content, especially surrounding political commentary, prompting political parties to employ spin doctors to craft messaging, shape narrative, and manage crises. For example, the image below shows a memorandum from Andrew Lansley outlining the Conservative Party’s line toward the leadership election result. Lansley recognised the need to “brief independent spin doctors on our line to take” and specified a number of individuals to contact, such as Harvey Thomas, former Press and Public Relations Director, and Brendan Bruce, former communications director, to assist in shaping the party’s messaging on the leadership result, highlighting the growing emphasis on spin in the operations of CRD opposition strategy and political communication.

Labour leadership results: Lines to take – CPA CRD 5/11/1/34.

Commission for the Greater Europe, 1993-1996

Among this year’s releases from the papers of the Conservative Overseas Bureau, is COB 7/3/1, a file on the Commission for the Greater Europe. The Commission for the Greater Europe was an international, non-governmental organisation established on 28 May 1993, under the direction of Jacques Chirac. Formed in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Commission aimed to bring together members of the European Democratic Union and the Liberal International with members of the Russian reformist movement with a view to ‘seeking new ways towards a united Europe’.

COB 7/3/1 contains foundational material, meeting papers, general correspondence, and reports on the state of Russian politics, economy, and security in late 1993, providing insight into the sensitive situation in Russia following the Russian constitutional crisis of October 1993. COB 7/3/1 should be a useful resource for researchers, providing examples of how European Leaders made efforts to bridge the divide between Eastern and Western Europe in the aftermath of the Cold War.

Of particular interest in this file, is a letter from Geoffrey Pattie to Jacques Chirac from December 1993. In this letter, Pattie expressed anger at Chirac’s decision to cancel the Commissions planned meeting in Moscow due to Boris Yeltsin’s inability to attend, stating that he was “disappointed and upset that you [Chirac] could have taken a decision so far remove from your usual sound political judgement”. Patties frustration at Chirac reveals the differing perspectives within European Leadership on how to navigate the potential integration of Russia into Europe, and reflects British concern for the need to address the post-Cold War situation in Europe through diplomatic cooperation and dialogue.

Correspondence from Sir Geoffrey Pattie to Jacques Chirac – CPA COB 7/3/1, folder 1

Back to Basics campaign, 1993-1994

‘Back to Basics’ – CPA CRD 5/35/12

Lastly, among the significant portion of CRD files being released this year, are files that concern Conservative Party tactics and strategy. One example is CRD 5/35/12, which offers insight into the planning and strategy of the Conservative Party’s ‘Back to Basics’ campaign, a campaign which sought to “reassert traditional values, common sense and concern for the citizen”. The image below shows a page from the background briefing for the ‘Back to Basics’ campaign from January 1994, outlining what exactly John Major meant by back to basics in social policy, economic policy, in all policy, and in the country at large. In the document, Major justifies the campaign, arguing that “we need to foster and encourage some of the traditional British values- neighbourliness, self-discipline, courtesy and decency, and taking responsibility for yourself and not shuffling it off on others”.

However, the campaign became infamous when a succession of Conservative Party politicians became emmeshed in allegations of scandal. The contradiction between the campaign’s messaging and the actions of some of the Party’s MPs highlights the challenges the Conservative Party faced in maintaining credibility and public support during the 1990s.

All the material featured in this blog post will be made available from 2 Jan 2025.