British Public Opinion on the Rhodesian Issue, 1963-1980

Abstract

From 1965 to 1980 the rebel colony of Rhodesia was rarely out of the news. It formed one of the most significant issues in British politics, and multiple governments were unable to resolve the dispute. Yet, despite the extensive work done so far on the Rhodesian issue, little has been said about the views of the British public. This article uses the many opinion polls taken on the subject to explore the topic during the period just before and during Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence. It considers the interest that the British public took in Rhodesia, as well as their level of knowledge about the topic, and how they viewed the racial struggle that took place there. It shows how the crisis of the 1960s captured the public imagination, before interest declined in the early 1970s, only to be renewed at the end of the war. It also explains how it would be simplistic to say that people in Britain were necessarily wholly against the use of force in 1965, but that they turned against it more firmly as time went on. Again, on the subject of sanctions views were divided throughout the period. It further demonstrates that there the British public had complicated views about a majority rule state, even if they believed that it was an inevitable, and justified outcome of the situation. Ultimately, however, it argues that people in Britain felt that Rhodesia was a complex and distant problem for which any expedient solution was generally perceived as satisfactory. Finally, it suggests that public attitudes to Rhodesia and UDI are indicative of significant developments in how the British viewed the Empire and their post-Imperial obligations during the period 1965–80.