‘We’ve gone through a very silly period when we thought that man with his technology was all powerful and could save us from every kind of ill. ibid. Magnus Pike
Behind their curtains things weren’t as they seemed: this world of domestic bliss it turned out wasn’t quite real. In the ’70s the illusion began to disintegrate: social conventions were challenged, technology invaded the home, teenagers became surly, the divorce rate surged, the nuclear family exploded and all hell let lose. This is the story of a group of Britain who over the past three decades reshaped Games Britannia. It’s about pioneers who opened up a different world and invited us. Benjamin Woolley, Games Britannia III: Joystick Generation, BBC 2020
Heath was battling rocketing inflation at home and battling economic forces. Heath vs. Wilson: The 10 Year Duel, BBC 2011
By the early ’70s [David] Stirling had become a successful businessman. He arranged enormous arms deals, and his mercenaries kept many third-world leaders in power. Almost single-handedly Stirling had created the foundations of Britain’s modern privatised foreign policy. It is a hidden world of vicious guerrilla wars fought by British mercenaries, a world that occasionally surfaces in scandals like the Sandfire affair. It all began with Stirling selling Britain’s military power to countries he approved of. Adam Curtis, The Mayfair Set I: Who Pays Wins ***** Channel 4 1999
The price of oil had been massively increased as a result of the Arab/Israeli war. The oil-producing states led by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia were furious at American support for Israel. Their action had catastrophic effects for Western economies. ibid.
Government attempts to hold down wages led to violent strikes. To Sterling it seemed that the country he had fought to keep great was now collapsing from inside. ibid.
David Stirling returned to his traditional recruiting ground, the clubs of Mayfair. He formed an organisation called Great Britain 75. It was a group of military men, many of them ex-SAS. They planned to take over the running of Britain if the strikes led to the collapse of civil order. Stirling also formed a secret organisation within the trades unions itself; its job was to fight and undermine the leftwing union leaders. Much of the money to fund Stirling’s operations came from his friend at the Clermont Club – James Goldsmith. Like Sterling, Goldsmith believed that politicians no longer had the power to control Britain. ibid.
The clubs of Mayfair: he [Stirling] formed an organisation called Great Britain 75. It was a group of military men, many of them ex-SAS. The planned to take over the running of Britain if the strikes led to the collapse of civil order. ibid.
Much of the money to fund Stirling’s operations came from his friend at the Clermont Club: James Goldsmith. ibid.
Denis Healey began a series of savage cuts in public expenditure. ibid.