Which British politician was responsible for the introduction of the world’s first zebra crossing?
The answer might surprise you – as it did me when the question was recently put to me by a friend over dinner. The answer is Jim Callaghan who, at the time, was a junior minister in the Ministry of Transport in Clement Attlee’s postwar Labour Government and subsequently became Prime Minister himself.
In 1948, Callaghan’s ministerial portfolio included road safety and, in that capacity, he visited Britain’s Transport and Road Research Laboratory where he discussed and supported two new safety measures: the zebra crossing and illuminated metal studs (known as ‘cat’s eyes’). The first zebra crossing was then introduced at Slough High Street on 31 October 1951.
The story is that, on his visit to the laboratory, Callaghan remarked that the new black and white design for a pedestrian crossing resembled a zebra which led to the popular name for the innovation, but he himself never claimed authorship of the term.
Fast forward to 24 March 1972 when I was invited to the House of Commons to be interviewed for the award of a Political Fellowship offered by the Joseph Rowntree Social Services Trust. The interview panel was headed by Jim Callaghan and I was given the fellowship, initially working for him and then for Merlyn Rees.
Jump again to the spring of 1976: Harold Wilson resigns as Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan runs to succeed him, Merlyn Rees becomes campaign manager for Callaghan, I attend all the campaign meetings, Jim wins the election to be party leader and therefore PM and he invites me to run his political office at 10 Downing Street.
In fact, private funding for the political office was not forthcoming, I never moved No 10, and instead I continued working as Special Adviser to Merlyn until 1978.