Where did Wigg get his fortune?
Socialist Organiser1984 1984-03-01Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 6 →
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Wigg:.. that he was worth quarter of a million pounds.
Lord Wigg, who died last August at the age of 82, started work in a factory at 14 and then joined the army on a long enlistment. He beit fast - only the equivalent of 30 years' wages for someone on the average income of about £8000 a year..
And the equivalent of a life's wages for one of the millions of workers who earn much less than the average.
Gerald Kaufman has suggested that Wigg, who was a gambling man, may have won the money on the horses. Which takes me back to the world of thriller writers.
The racetrack winnings explanation of Wigg's wealth may of course be true. But no self-respecting thriller writer who wanted to keep the readers' confidence would use it.