Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear Debate - 9781032174709

Taylor & Francis

Secrecy, Public Relations and the British Nuclear DebateHow the UK Government Learned to Talk about the Bomb, 1970-83\nAuthor(s): Daniel Salisbury\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9781032174709, 978-1032174709\nSynopsis\nThis book constitutes an original archival history of government secrecy, public relations and the debate surrounding nuclear weapons in Britain from 1970 to 1983.\n\nThe book contrasts the secrecy and near-silence of the Heath, Wilson and Callaghan governments on nuclear issues in the 1970s with the increasingly vocal case made for the possession of nuclear weapons by the first Thatcher government following a shift in approach in 1980. This shift occurred against a background of rising Cold War tensions and a growing public nuclear debate in the UK. The book seeks to contextualise and explain this transformation, considering the role of party politics, structures and personalities inside the govern.