This episode of Calendar Commentary covers the confusion occurring in the Nottinghamshire mines, the moving of politicians from the Labour Party to the Social Democratic Party, and hypothetical legislation introductions of which certain politicians would approve. This episode starts with Richard Whiteley and Geoff Druett introducing the topics that will be discussed over the next thirty minutes. Richard Whiteley notes the legal confusions in the Nottinghamshire coal field as well as the...

This episode of Calendar Commentary covers the confusion occurring in the Nottinghamshire mines, the moving of politicians from the Labour Party to the Social Democratic Party, and hypothetical legislation introductions of which certain politicians would approve. This episode starts with Richard Whiteley and Geoff Druett introducing the topics that will be discussed over the next thirty minutes. Richard Whiteley notes the legal confusions in the Nottinghamshire coal field as well as the impact this is happening in the House of commons (mentioning that James Naughtie will be on later in the show to discuss this). Geoff Druett notes that two Labour MPs from the Yorkshire area have joined the SDP as well as mentioning that a Tory MP will be on later in the show to discuss his hypothetical legislative bill. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: The show returns back to Richard Whiteley to discuss the turmoil in Nottinghamshire, he remarks that the strikes have been ongoing for ten months now with little progress. Throughout the Strike Nottingham has been the key to the success or failure of the dispute, as there was no ballot the majority of miners from this area chose to continue working and have for the most part kept the power stations running/helped Britain to function more or less normally. Whilst this segment is taking place aerial videos of a power station is being shown. Whiteley then introduces president of the Nottinghamshire NUM Ray Chadburn for an in-person studio interview to discuss these issues, Chadburn's personal aims are to get the mine settled and retain the unity of the National Union of Mine Workers. They also discuss the talks of Nottinghamshire miners breaking away and creating a new union. THE SDP: The show then pans back to Geoff Druett to zone in on the growth of the Social Democratic Party. Druett notes the sympathy that Edmund Marshall (previously Goole's Labour MP) recieved when his constituency totally disappeared and come the election of 1983 he failed to find another, many were sympathetic until they learned he was joining the SDP (something which Labour MP Ben Ford also did). These two provided a positive boost for the SDP leading to a well-received party conference and increasing stature for party leader David Owen. There is then an interview conducted by Geoff Druett containing Ben Ford, Edward Lyons (a founding member of SDP), and Richard Caborn (Labour MP for Sheffield Central) to discuss Ford's reasoning for joining and Caborn's thoughts on the latest defections from the Labour party. They talk through these things in a heated debate between the SDP members and the Labour MP who doesn't sympathize with them. HYPOTHETICAL LEGISLATION: We then return to a segment with Richard Whiteley where he presents a section of the show that gives one MP a chance to explain what legislation they would introduce if they had a chance. This week's guest is Richard Hickmet (Tory MP for Glanford and Scunthorpe), a pre-recorded video is shown then highlighting his plan. Hickmet expresses his distaste for the excessive and uncontrolled dog population, he notes statistics that state there will be 14 million dogs in the country within the next 15 years and 250,000 tons of dog defecation are deposited throughout the streets and parks of Britain each year which is causing parasites that lead to damage of vital organs. Hickmet hypothesizes a bill to ensure responsible dog ownership by everyone, he proposes dog wardens being introduces entirely financed by an increased dog license fee. Richard Hickmet is then introduced in the studio where he declares his bill would never be something to legitimize but it may help to raise the issue. Geoff Druett then begins the last segment of this episode by presenting James Naughtie of the Guardian Newspaper over a video interview, they discuss the coal miners talks, the need for direct action with the strikes, and Neil Kinnocks opinion on the fundamental issue of this lack of action/disputes in the Labour party. Richard Whiteley closes the episode. The outro scene of Westminster plays with the theme tune as the credits roll. Presented RICHARD WHITELEY & GEOFF DRUETT Featuring RAY CHADBURN, RICHARD CABORN, BEN FORD, RICHARD HICKMET, EDWARD LYONS, JAMES NAUGHTIE Editorial Assistant ALI RASHID Director DEREK GOODALL Executive Producer GRAHAM IRONSIDE YORKSHIRE TELEVISION LTD 1985 YORKSHIRE TELEVISION PRODUCTION