In a new book about Northern Ireland historian Peter Rose argues that if Harold Wilson's government in the late sixties had pursued a different policy the province might have been spared The Troubles. Wilson had promised the Catholics that they would be granted their civil rights. However, new evidence suggests that Westminster was deliberately gagged to prevent MPs demanding that the Stormont administration ended discrimination in the province. Had the government acted on intelligence of growing Catholic unrest, it could have prevented the rise of the Provisional IRA without provoking an unmanageable Protestant backlash. The book draws upon recently released official documents and interviews with many key politicians and civil servants of the period to examine the failure of British policy to prevent the troubles.

About the Author
PETER ROSE is currently Visiting Lecturer at the University of Westminster. He was born in Harrogate and trained as a journalist on newspapers in Yorkshire. For 15 years he worked as a Parliamentary lobby correspondent at Westminster and in the Seventies was co-author with Robin Oakley, now the BBC's political editor, of two books about Parliament. In the mid-eighties he left journalism to become a full-time mature student at London University and graduated in Modern British History. From 1993-1996 he was a part-time teacher at QMW. Then in 1997 he was awarded a PhD by London University for a thesis on the Northern Ireland policy of the first Wilson government. He has contributed to several books including The Northern Ireland Question in British Politics and By-elections in British Politics.

Reviews

Pre-publication endorsements for the paperback edition

'This book should be required reading for every aspiring minister, administrator or political scientist...Anyone who seeks to understand how events have unfolded in Northern Ireland should start with Peter Rose...It is a fine work of scholarship...beautifully written...It does not shirk controversy nor leave any questions unanswered.' Kevin McNamara MP, Irish Post

'Here's a book title to have all students of the political scene...reaching out their hands.' Barry White, Belfast Telegraph

'Thirty and more years of death and destruction cannot be laid at Harold Wilson's door alone...Like so many British politicians, he could not see that the central problem is the fundamentally undemocratic concept of the Northern Ireland statelet. Read Rose and understand why.' Roy Greenslade, The Guardian

'[A] remarkably acute analysis of the reasons why Northern Ireland erupted into violence in 1969...This remorseless and salutary tale should be a core text for anyone engaged in teaching aspects of the British constitution or contemporary British Studies.' Alastair Niven, Director of Literature, The British Council

'Dr Rose's path-breaking account of the background to three decades of conflict in Ulster is as thought-provoking as it is timely. Well-written, meticulously researched, and based on a wide understanding of the issues...essential reading for scholars, policy-makers and all those with an interest in one of Europe's most intractable problems.' Professor Ben Pimlott, Goldsmiths, University of London

Pre-publication endorsements of the hardback edition

Dr Rose's path-breaking account of the background to three decades of conflict in Ulster is as thought-provoking as it is timely. Well-written, meticulously researched, and based on a wide understanding of the issues, it will be essential reading for scholars, policy-makers and all those with an interest in one of Europe's most intractable problems.' - Ben Pimlott, Goldsmiths University of London

'...an impressive study of a neglected topic. Too often discussions of Northern Ireland stress solely the Protestant-Catholic conflict in the province; we need also serious analysis of British and Irish policy. Dr. Rose's exemplary account - whilst it will be controversial in places - shows the way.' - Paul Bew, The Queen's University of Belfast

'In this book Peter Rose leads his readers with skill and scholarly care through a minefield of Northern Ireland might-have-beens scattered across that hugely important terrain - the five years before the troops went in 1969.' - Peter Hennessy, Queen Mary and Westfield College

'Peter Rose's superbly researched study...' - Roy Greenslade, The Times

'This book should be required reading for every aspiring minister, administrator or political scientist....Anyone who seeks to understand how events have unfolded in Northern Ireland should start with Peter Rose....It is a fine work of scholarship...beautifully written....It does not shirk controversy nor leave any questions unanswered.' - Kevin McNamara MP, Irish Post

'Here's a book title to have all students of the political scene...reaching out their hands.' - Barry White, Belfast Telegraph

'Thirty and more years of death and destruction cannot be laid at Harold Wilson's door alone....Like so many British politicians, he could not see that the central problem is the fundamentally undemocratic concept of the Northern Ireland statelet. Read Rose and understand why.' - Roy Greenslade, The Guardian

'[A] remarkably acute analysis of the reasons why Northern Ireland erupted into violence in 1969....This remorseless and salutary tale should be a core text for anyone engaged in teaching aspects of the British constitution or contemporary British Studies.' - Alastair Niven, Director of Literature, The British Council

'Dr Rose's path-breaking account of the background to three decades of conflict in Ulster is as thought-provoking as it is timely. Well-written, meticulously researched, and based on a wide understanding of the issues...essential reading for scholars, policy-makers and all those with an interest in one of Europe's most intractable problems.' - Professor Ben Pimlott, Goldsmiths, University of London

'...a good read and accessible.' - David A. Cowell, British Politics Newsletter

Book Information
ISBN 9780333753460
Author P. Rose
Format Hardback
Page Count 216
Imprint Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Palgrave Macmillan