Harold Wilson

• General Election – narrow Labour win – majority of 4


  1964
• Wilson becomes PM
• On-going “Confrontation” with Indonesia over N. Borneo, 1962-66
• 1964 Radfan Campaign, Aden – short-term success, but Aden was a mess
• 1964 National Plan introduced (George Brown) -> tensions between Brown & Chancellor Callaghan/ Treasury
• IMF loaned UK £1 billion
• Mary Whitehouse - “Clean-Up TV campaign”, 1964 -> “National Viewers’ & Listeners’ Association” (1965) –> Whitehouse much mocked, but by mid 1970s NVALA had significantly higher membership than any political party
• 1st Race Relations Act

  1965
• Education Circular 10/65 – comprehensive schools
• 1965 capital punishment suspended – trial period -> abolished 1969
• 1965 Douglas Home resigns and Edward Heath is elected new Conservative leader (1st elected by secret ballot of Conservative MPs: Heath an “unknown quantity”, but clearly a “moderniser” & “technocrat”, very committed to taking Britain into the EEC
• 1965 Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence - awkward for Brit Govt
• March General Election – big win for Lab – clear nationwide shift in its favour –> clear mandate with a majority of 98 -> Just under Macmillan’s 100 majority 1959 win


  1966
• July 1966 England won football World Cup
• 1966 Moors Murders trial – public “pushback” over the suspension of the death penalty –> Parliament resisted reintroducing the death penalty
• 1966 Beatles’ Revolver; Rolling Stones’ Aftermath
• Mid 1960s Britain (especially London) “swinging” (American Time magazine, April 1966) – global centre of emerging youth “counter-culture
• 1966 Aberfan Disaster – awkward for Labour Government because pits now run by National Coal Board
• Healey Defence Review (White Paper), 1966 –> major cuts, especially to Royal Navy
• 1966 3-month Seamen’s strike – not good for trade
• 1966 Prices & Incomes freeze
• 1967 Docker’s strike – not good for trade
• March 1967 – Torrey Canyon tanker sinking & massive oil -> heightened environmental concerns
• 1967 Abortion Act and amended Sexual Offences Act (-> decriminalised homosexuality for consenting men over 21 in private)
• 1967 “Summer of Love” – BBC One World satellite broadcast –> Beatles sang “All You Need is Love” to the world
• 1967 – 6 Day War -> Israel triumphant
• 1967 Britain withdrew from Aden – a mess
• 1967 devaluation - long overdue but damaging to public perceptions of Wilson’s premiership
• “Prague Spring”, Czechoslovakia –> crushed by Soviets/ Warsaw Pact -> “Brezhnev Doctrine”


  1968
• 1968 “Year of Youth” – Grosvenor Square demos against Vietnam War outside US Embassy, London
• 1968 – colour TV generally available
• 31st Aug-1st Sept 1968 - 1st Isle of Wight Festival
• Theatres Act (1968) – ended all censorship in Brit theatres
• Hippy Musical Hair (1968) – whole cast nudity
• April 1968 Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech -> Heath sacked Powell from Shadow Cabinet
• 1968 Immigration Act, and 2nd Race Relations Act
• 1968 – Apollo 8 “Earth Rise” photo – huge impact on people, who for first time saw Earth “hanging” in the vastness of Space – prompted awareness of environmental issues
• 1968 Barbara Castle – 1st woman to become a full Cabinet member
• White Paper In Place of Strife presented to Cabinet by Barbara Castle > proposed reforms not implemented


  1969
• 1969 Open University founded -> opened education to older people + housewives