I think your memory is shall we say a bit "selective" Imagine
Taken from "Fleet Street Invest"
It’s late autumn, 1976. Britain is facing yet another sterling crisis. In less than two years the pound has fallen from $2.40 to $1.60. Investors have no faith in the British economy, or the government that runs it. The Budget is a mess — vital public spending will have to be cut.
Investors punish Britain by ditching its currency.
The plummeting pound pushes the economy to breaking point. Prime Minister Callaghan is told that unless a solution is found, Britain can no longer afford to be a nuclear power.
In desperation, the government finally acts. In December, Labour Chancellor Denis Healey takes a drastic step. He borrows £2.3 billion — the maximum allowed — from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
That was the situation just before the electorate binned Callaghan and elected Maggie Thatcher