ABSTRACT
Although often described as a traditional Labour figure, representing the interests of Old Labour and the trade unions, Callaghan was far from being so. He was a pragmatic politician who was prepared to move with the times and his speech to the Labour Party Conference in October 1976 almost anticipated the New Labour approach of Tony Blair. Indeed, he kept the Labour government together in the late 1970s in a very difficult situation. His one major mistake was to cling to power too long before going to the electorate.
