Summary of Chapter Five: Britain's position in the world 1951-97. These useful pages summarise the key points in the chapter in as few words as possible. A great place to start revision from rather than reading through the huge textbook. These notes helped me achieve an A*. Apologies for any spell...
Why did labour win the 1964 With Wilson election but reasons why it was close
Douglas home lost (Edward Heath becomes part leader)
Harold Wilson leadership
• Much more united than 1955 and 59
• Able to find middle ground between left and right
• Could gloss over divides like nuclear weapons
• Policies promoted faster economic growth full employment and improved welfare state
• Appeared to personify new and progressive ideals
• Although a oxford lecturer, he didn’t identify with Etonians, as Yorkshire grammar school boy
• Makes heath seem absolutely unrelaxed and unnatural next to him
• Main aims to strengthen education and science
• Douglas home +more modest and trustworthy and Wilson is more politically cunning
• Majority of money comes from trade union which made middle class distrust
Conservative weaknesses
• Blamed for growing economic problems and unemployment, offered no sound solution
• Seen as ’13 years wasted’
• Out of touch with modern democracy
• Littered with scandals
• Tax cuts in 1963 budget
• Unemployment dropped to 600,000
Liberal party review
• Many middle class votes who had previously voted conservative tactically to not vote labour in
• More funding and representatives
• Although only gaining 1 more seat, almost doubled their vote which hindered the conservatives
• Labour did only win by 4 seats
• Good example would be in middle class area of Orpington in 1962 when massive liberal victory
over conservatives
Society changes
• Having more money made youth turn away from traditional authority
• Grammar school gave opportunities
• Satires of traditional conservative values
• Labour party more popular with youth under 44
• Increasing social divide
However really close
• If 900 voters in eight seats had voted conservatives then would have won
• More of rejection of conservatives than endorsement of labour
• Liberal party allowed labour win
• During scandals pols showed 20% labour lead
• Narrowed considerably over next year, as year before, people had already forgotten
, How effective was Harold Wilson as PM?
1964-labor election victory 60% support for
- Problems
o Only majority of 4
o Pressing foreign problems
o Serios economic situ
o promises of modernisation needed to be fulfilled
o Difficult to get legislation thro
- Party divisions
o Left wanted state control, reject ECC, decolonialisation distancing from US
o Right wanted economic growth tax policy, ECC, nuclear weapons, close US alliance
o
66- increased majority to 96 victory
- Heath difficult to connect with the people bit awkward
- Voters still blamed Tories for economy
- 1963 report on higher education seven new un eg.is York Warick
- Scientists as government advisors
- New technology funding
- Roy Jenkins home security promoted liberalism
- -capital punishment abolished
- New race relations act 1965 only civil offence
- Ongoing problems with balance of payments
- Bank of England were very anti-labour and civil servants
67 - devaluation of pound
68 -the troubles
70 – snap election where conservative win
Personality
• Highly intelligent
• Optimistic and cool in crisis -
• Kind and charming
• Uniting force between competing sides of party seeking compromise
• First state school pm
• showed as result of unity
Foreign problems
Vietnam
• north (communist) Vietnam v south US supported Vietnam, after French tried to re-establish
colony, split into two, now north find it unacceptable and so start a war to attempt to
reunite
• left didn’t support us president Johnson saw aggression against communism in Vietnam as
aggressive
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