Chocolate Soldiers

In the early 1970s, the Joseph Rowntree Social Service Trust (JRSST), now known as the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust (JRRT), began a project to fund research assistants for opposition front-bench MPs in Parliament. At the time, the government provided civil servants to support ministers and the governing party, but there was no equivalent formal funding for opposition MPs. This made it more difficult for opposition parties to properly scrutinise the government and hold it to account.

The JRSST responded by providing funding for research assistants to support opposition front-benchers. These assistants helped with tasks such as researching policies, drafting speeches, preparing questions for Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs), and contributing to parliamentary committee work. The aim was to strengthen the ability of opposition parties to challenge and scrutinise the government effectively.

The JRSST made its funding available to opposition parties across the political spectrum, although the Liberal Party benefited particularly significantly from the scheme. The assistants became known as the ‘Chocolate Soldiers’, a reference to the fact that their funding ultimately came from the wealth generated by the Rowntree confectionery business. The scheme was relatively short-lived. In 1975, the government introduced Short Money, providing public funding to opposition parties with at least two MPs, or one MP who had received at least 150,000 votes nationally. This funding was intended to support parliamentary work, including research, as well as certain travel and administrative costs associated with opposition.

Although the ‘Chocolate Soldiers’ project lasted only a short time, it helped highlight the importance of providing opposition parties with resources to scrutinise the government. In doing so, the scheme contributed to the development of a political system in which parliamentary scrutiny and government accountability could become more effective and accessible.