pic7204. Petition against the Rhodesia settlement proposals, 1972

A petition calling for no independence for Rhodesia before majority rule was delivered to 10 Downing Street on 21 March 1972. It was part of the AAM’s campaign for the rejection of the Conservative government’s 1971 proposals for a settlement with the illegal Smith regime. The petition was widely circulated and reprinted in the Guardian newspaper. It was signed by 80,000 people. On the left in the photograph are Labour MPs Joan Lestor and Alex Lyon and on the right trade union leader Jack Jones.