| Description | This cartoon shows [Harold Wilson] giving free cigarettes to a runner that possibly represents the steel industry, as his vest reads the word 'steel' down the side. The cigarette smoke has spelled out 'over-manning' into the sky, and the board that surrounds the race track reads 'light up "compassion"'.
This could reflect [Wilson]'s decisions in regards to the steel industry over the course of his Prime Ministership. He decided to re-nationalise a large proportion of the industry in 1967. This organisation increased its production levels despite there being a decrease in demand for steel from the United Kingdom. As this worsened over time, the problem of over-manning became an ever bigger issue. As the title of the cartoon suggest, many may have seen [Wilson] as the being the 'sponsor' of this problem. |