Institute of Commonwealth Studies

A large proportion of the material held here dates from the 1950s and 1960s, encompassing the build-up to and eventual realisation of Malta's independence in 1964. Amongst the significant debates of this period were the question of the consequences for Malta's economy of any reduction in the British military presence on the island and the merits of the various options of integration, interdependence and independence. The collection also covers the post-independence electoral struggle between the two main parties, the Nationalist Party and the Malta Labour Party, led for a long time by Dom Mintoff, whose writings and speeches feature prominently here. The antipathy of the Catholic Church to Mintoff's Labour Party led to the formation of alternatives, such as the Christian Workers Party, and there are holdings for these alongside those of other minority parties, trades unions and pressure groups.