What’s the first political memory you have?

[ThisPlumShark]

Tony blair

I think the miners strike of the early 80s. Remember the footage of the picket lines on the news, plus my grandparents lived in an affected area so I remember mobile soup kitchens for the miner's families driving around their estate.

Arthur Scargill shouting on the news on the telly when I was really young. I thought he was a baddie as he was so angry and shouty.

The short-lived "I'm Backing Britain" campaign 1968.

JFK assassination, I was very small but we had American neighbours who were beyond upset. I was also annoyed that they suspended childrens tv that day.

Maggie Thatcher ending our free school milk.

The Falklands, and a couple of years later the miners' strike. I'd never taken much interest in politics but those were the first two events as a young adult that interested me.

Arthur Scargill being all shouty on the TV. He was on all the time, I was only v young and thought he was the PM!

Arthur scargill miners strikes
I was at primary school and I have memories of us cutting newspaper articles up about it
Want to say for a scrap book

After that it was Tony Blair, ira bombshell in Warrington and Manchester, Lockerbie so events

At primary school. Our young student teacher, Mr Triggs, was elated and fist pumped when he heard that Maggie Thatcher had resigned.

Yes I remember that!
I knew it was historical but not really why it was so important

Also end of the Cold War, thatcher Reagan Gorbachev

I'm remembering more than I thought now

Margaret Thatcher winning the election in 1979.

The resignation of Richard Nixon, watched on a tiny TV in a caravan as we were on holiday. Just checked the date, August 1974, so it was just before my 11th birthday.

These were my first memories, too. I remember a candle shortage in the shops because of all the power cuts and I remember the shocking racist violence of the Special Patrol Group (of police).

But the first time I really engaged with political news in detail was the momentous 1979 (1980?) Labour Party conference, at which Tony Benn tried to assert grassroots party democracy and an authentically left-wing agenda.

Miners strikes in 1972. I was aged 10.

Falklands war

Joining the EU but I can't remember why as it made no difference to us as children.

House being filled with rolled up posters and strangers coming to collect them and lots of talking. Father was an election agent ( Labour) for an unwinnable seat in a general election. He left political activism with the rise of Harold Wilson

Our music teacher played the death March in assembly at her being voted in in '79...

I guess the first would be the Silver Jubilee.

After that it was probably the Falklands war, but I was already aware of Thatcher so I must have known she won an election.

Next it was the miners strikes and the teachers strikes.

Hong Kong being returned to China. It was the same day as my Rainbow promise and i knew about Hong Kong as I'd lived there. So it was a place I had an affinity with.

Jim Callaghan becoming PM. I have zero memory of Harold Wilson being PM before.

1997 general election. Our school was a polling station so we got a long weekend by the seaside. My parents and grandparents are life long tories so they weren't pleased I remember!

My sister and I spent all afternoon painting A4 sized inaccurate Union Jacks to wave when Callaghan arrived home in Sussex after his defeat to Thatcher.

Our family were the only ones waiting for him apart from two chatty policemen
It was either raining or the paint wasn't dry but I remember it running down my wrist.

A little odd now I look back but my father was not a fan of Thatcher so maybe it was due to his disappointment.

I do remember the petrol shortages and power cuts around 1977 very fondly being only 7 or 8.