Epilogue
The General Election that was held on Thursday the 18th of June 1970 resulted in a shock defeat for Prime Minister Sangeeta Gandhi’s Labour Party. Anjali Gurung’s Conservative Party, along with its Unionist allies in Northern Ireland, won a majority of 31 seats in the House of Commons. There were many factors involved in the Conservative victory, or rather the Labour defeat. Unemployment had jumped to its highest level since 1940. Partly as a result, there was much unrest among the working population, with labour unions constantly threatening, or carrying out, strike action. Prices were rising at an ever-increasing rate. There was talk of a devaluation of the pound. Crime and safety in Britain’s larger cities were also issues.
Less talked about, but possibly still a factor in the election result was Labour’s unsuccessful bid to join the European Economic Community, after France vetoed Britain’s application. There was equally push back against race relations legislation introduced by the Labour government in 1968. One prominent Conservative figure, Aïcha Sy, who had been silent for a number of years following a scandal involving her adopted daughter, whilst she was a student at Silbury College, came out of the woodwork to deliver a number of incendiary speeches. These were said to have swayed some Labour voters, scared about the supposed impact of immigration on their jobs, to vote Conservative instead.
And then England, winners of the football world cup in 1966, were defeated by West Germany in the quarter finals of the 1970 version of the tournament, just four days prior to polling day.
Whatever the reasons for this election result, it entailed many changes for the country. There was, of course, a new government. One of the more controversial ministerial appointments was the aforementioned Aïcha Sy as Home Secretary. Her Minister of State responsible, among other things, for police affairs was none other than Lady Kenza Zidane, newly re-elected Member of Parliament for Shoatshire Northeast, the constituency within which was situated the town of Silbury. Another early decision made by the new Prime Minister was the disbandment of the small intelligence unit established by her predecessor and the forced retirement of its commanding officer, Brigadier Bintou Konté. This did not seem to generate any interest in the press, possibly because it was done in secret.
Interestingly, despite strong opposition from many of her own political allies, even those appointed to her Cabinet, Anjali Gurung pursued membership of the Common Market with the same vigour as did her predecessor. Both were convinced that this was key to the longer-term health of the British economy. In the shorter term she tried to take on the labour movement with a series of draconian measures. These backfired spectacularly, leading indeed to greater pain for the people of Britain.
Two months after the election, in the small town of Silbury in the English West Country, Inspector Fatima Dieng and her family - her husband, Adama, and her daughter, Hadidjatou - were digesting both their breakfast and two pieces of news that had just arrived in the post.
“You read yours first, Hadi,” said Fatima referring to the plain brown envelope addressed to her.
She opened it, pulling out a single small white sheet of paper with a few lines printed onto it. Then she let out a whoop of joy.
“Dad, Mum, I got an A and two Bs in my ‘A’ levels. That means I’m in at Fenland. Remember they offered me a place provided I got a B and two Cs.”
“And you’re happy with that?” her father asked. “You’re not disappointed that you didn’t get into Camford?”
“No, Dad. I don’t care about that anymore. Yes, it did appeal to me to be able to go to one of the two most prestigious universities in the world. But they decided not to make me an offer, for whatever reason, and no doubt it had something to do with class and the fact that I’m only in a state school. Well it’s not my loss. It’s theirs. And this way I can do a degree in European Studies, which I find much more interesting.
“What have you got, Mum?”
Fatima was about to open the equally plain envelope that she had just received, when the telephone rang. She went over to answer it, and was silent during a number of minutes. Then she said: “Yes, Ma’am. I understand. I’ll think about it and get back to you. Thank you, Ma’am.”
And she hung up the receiver.
“What was that, Mum?” asked Hadi.
Fatima sat back down and opened her own envelope. It contained one sheet of A4 paper that began with the letterhead of the Shoatshire County Constabulary.
“The telephone call and this letter are both about the same thing. You’re not the only one who is moving, Hadi. At the request of the new Home Secretary, our Chief Constable has agreed to my transfer to the Shechester and Pepford Police in northwest England. I’m going to be head of the Criminal Investigation Department, at Ryssham police station. Apparently, it’s situated close to Shechester University. It also covers the rather notorious Lichenside district of the city, so I’ll likely be rather busy.”
“Isn’t that a bit sudden?” asked her husband. “How is it that no one discussed this with you beforehand? Don’t you get any say in this yourself, like you did when we came here to Silbury?”
“Adama, I can guess why it was done this way, but there’s little point in trying to dissect it. I’m a police officer, and I’m bound to follow orders. My only other option would be to leave the force, and I don’t want to do that. Let’s also remember that politicians come and go. Those that have made this decision will be gone soon enough.”
“But what of our friends?” Adama continued. “I thought this was going to be such a happy day, after we got Hadi’s great news, but now I’m not so sure.”
“We’ll get used to it,” said Fatima, “and, if our friendships are as strong as I think they are, they’ll endure, and we’ll stay in touch. It’s just that we’ll have to make a three hour drive every time we want to see them. That’s not so bad, is it?
“And, as a Detective Inspector, I won’t have to wear this uniform anymore, except of course on ceremonial occasions.
“Now let’s just focus on celebrating Hadi’s ‘A’ level results today. Any thoughts on what you’d like to do, love?”
“Well,” said Hadi, “if we are going to get together with family and friends, don’t forget Mrs Ros Saveth. I saw in the paper today that the Sarum racecourse stewards have just decided to rename one of its races. The Sitwells Handicap is henceforth the Captain Vicdan Yilmaz Queen’s Ransom Handicap. I think she would want to celebrate that. Don’t you?”
