[rmc]

Political correctness had taken hold in local government by the early 1980s

I must point out Section 28 in the UK ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28 ). It was passed in 1988, and banned local authorities from "promoting homosexuality". This was wildly interpreted as banning any mention of homosexuality in schools (amoung other things). It's the height of the AIDS epidemic and you can't teach gay kids in school how to have safe sex, and you can't tell them it'll OK to be gay, you can't have any books that have gay characters. It was repealed in 2003.

Political incorrectness and discrimination were enshrined in local government law in the 1980s.