Labour 1960's

• Wilson and the Labour Government

  Came from a Northern middle class (but still went to Oxford), he wanted to help the working class but he was always interfering and felt he was better than anyone else

  Labour won the 1964 election due to the Conservatives scandals and crisis but Wilson called another one in 1966 to secure votes.
• Labour and the economy

  The economy was a major weakness for Labour as it was left in such a mess by the Conservatives due to their short-term consumerism.

  Labour had to place a 15% tax on imports but it was unpopular and scrapped a year later.

  Wilson wanted to modernise economics, dropping the Conservatives stop-and-go policy

  He introduced the DEA in 1962 with George Brown but it was shut down in 1964 due to him being hard to work with.
• Labour and trade unions

  Labour needed nearly full employment to keep trade unions happy but they also needed them for voters. So in 1964 Wilson made a trade unionist the minister of technology.

  Wilson had a beer and sandwiches approach.

  1966: the National Union of Seamen wanted a 17% increase but the government had to take a stand.
• The NUS issue and trade unions

  Wilson gave a speech claiming 8 NUS leaders were communists which lost union support and cost the government £40 million

  After this there was an increase in wildcat strike where members went on strike regardless of what the leader said.

  Wilson appointed Barbara Castle as the new employment minister who began to use the law to limit unofficial strikes.
• In place of strife - 1969


  Barbara Castle (A Bevanite) went against the unions by installing a 28 day cooling off period, there must be a ballot for striking and the government chose who represented the party.

  Voters and businesses liked this but the far left diagreed and Callaghan + others were ready to rebel. Hinting that a split was possible.
• Strikes in the 60 + 70's

  Dock strike (1970) achieved 7% pay increase with better holidays.

  Miners strike (1972) wage dispute settled (lost 23 million working days and 3-day week installed)

  Unofficial miner strike (1969) it was noted they were underpaid.
• Key Individuals under Wilson

  James Callaghan: served as prime minister from 1976 to 1979 and held all 4 great offices. An important politician with Wilson.

  Jenkins: worked closely with Callaghan but didn't agree with the liberal legislation and wanted to de-value the sterling (odd)

  Brown: used in a plot to remove Atlee from power and was upset when he was not voted prime minister (difficult man)

  On top of this Wilson was very paranoid and feared Callaghan may be out for his job.
• 1970 Election - Wilson vs Heath

  Why did Labour lose:

  Devaluation of the pound (1967)

  Crisis in Northern Ireland

  Enoch Powell's river of blood speech gained Conservative popularity

  New range of voters (1969: Vote at 18)

  Decimal coinage in 1971

  Unemployment levels released on poll week

  Conservative ideas were breaking the post war consensus
• Wilson and the Special Relationship

  Wilson was pro-american and wanted to help them, especially in Vietnam:

  Sent over military advisors

  RAF flew over Cambodia

  Secret flights delivered weapons to US bases

  £5 million a year was sent to help the war effort

  But all of this was kept from the public and it worried Europe
• Wilson and the European Relationship

  Applied for a second time (1967) but there were issues over Rhodesia, Vietnam and the Commonwealth

  There were industrial benefits, lasting detente, political influence, all on a continental scale

  Britain was vetoed again by French President Charles De Gaulle despite Roy Jenkins and George Browns best attempts (Europhiles)
• East of Suez

  Brought positives and negatives

  + Britain didn't have to worry about their troops, less defence spending and hopefully a better economy.

  ~ Losing their territory worried America because of communism, and Britain couldn't rely on them in aid of war.
• Areas of Decolonisation

  Singapore (1971): greatly affected Singapore's economy (20% from British presence) and the agreements took months with Singapore being a large Naval base. As a gift Britain left all their naval bases and defences.

  Malaysia (1957): growth for independence after the British troop invasion. Led to the Malayan Emergency and great social unrest.

  Aden (1967): was the second busiest port in the world but there were often violent outbursts and bombings. Britain had to send over £12.6 million to support Aden's budget.
• Rhodesia (Now Zimbabwe)

  Ian Smith (PM of Rhodesia) favoured white rule and did not accept minority rule. Wilson attempted to impact Rhodesia by restricting oil access and trading opportunities.

  This failed as they simply found other routes.

  Wilson's diplomacy got him nowhere and many other commonwealth countries were upset.

  Due to pressure Wilson was forced to step down and many Labour left wings were disappointed with the failure to end white rule.