People's Republic of South Yorkshire
- People's Republic of South Yorkshire
The People's Republic of South Yorkshire or The Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire, is a satirical reference to Sheffield. It refers to the left-wing Labour administration of Sheffield City Council during the 1980s, under the leadership of David Blunkett.
The expression is said to have been coined by Irvine Patnick, a Conservative MP who represented Sheffield Hallam, an unusually wealthy area of South Yorkshire [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo970519/debtext/70519-17.htm] (somewhat ironically, Sheffield Hallam experienced something of a shift to the left, albeit in a different form, and has been a Liberal Democrat stronghold since 1997, turning on Patnick). However it was sometimes used by supporters of the council's left-wing policies.
Examples of policies introduced by the council during this period are:
* Sheffield council twinning itself with Donetsk, Ukraine, which was then in the Soviet Union.
* The introduction of Peace Studies into schools.
* Sheffield declaring itself a nuclear-free zone.
* Cheap public transport.
* Flying the red flag on Sheffield Town Hall on May Day [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/pip/mseyw/]
The policies of the council contrasted sharply with the national government of the day, that of Margaret Thatcher.
The Miner's Strike also took place during this period.
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