Harold Wilson

04/03/197405/04/1976View on timeline
Harold Wilson

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976.

Entering Parliament in 1945, Wilson was appointed a parliamentary secretary in the Attlee ministry and rose quickly through the ministerial ranks; he became Secretary for Overseas Trade in 1947 and was elevated to Cabinet shortly thereafter as President of the Board of Trade. In opposition to the next Conservative government, he served as Shadow Chancellor (1955–1961) and Shadow Foreign Secretary (1961–1963). After Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell died suddenly in 1963, Wilson won the subsequent leadership election. After narrowly winning the 1964 general election, Wilson saw an increased majority in a snap election in 1966.

Wilson's first period as prime minister coincided with a period of low unemployment and relative economic prosperity, though hindered by significant problems with Britain's external balance of payments. In 1969 he sent British troops to Northern Ireland. After losing the 1970 election to Edward Heath, he spent four years as Leader of the Opposition before the February 1974 election resulted in a hung parliament. After Heath's talks with the Liberals broke down, Wilson returned to power as leader of a minority government until another general election in October, resulting in a narrow Labour victory. A period of economic crisis had begun to hit most Western countries, and in 1976 Wilson suddenly announced his resignation as prime minister. Wilson's approach to socialism was moderate compared with others in his party at the time, emphasising programmes aimed at increasing opportunity in society through relatively indirect means rather than the more direct socialist goal of promoting wider public ownership of industry and workers' control of production. He took little action to pursue the Labour Party constitution's stated dedication to public ownership as a stepping stone towards this goal, though he did not formally disavow it. Himself a member of the party's soft left, Wilson joked about leading a cabinet made up mostly of social democrats, comparing himself to a Bolshevik revolutionary presiding over a Tsarist cabinet, but there was little to divide him ideologically from the social democratic cabinet majority.

Overall, historians evaluate Wilson as having led his party through difficult political issues with considerable skill. Important issues of the time included the role of public ownership, membership of the European Economic Community, and involvement in the Vietnam War, in which he refused to allow the use of British combat troops, although he maintained an expensive military presence east of Suez. His stated ambition of substantially improving Britain's long-term economic performance, applying technology more democratically, and reducing inequality was largely unfulfilled. He seemed to some observers to lose his energy and drive in his second premiership and found it difficult to mediate disputes concerning European integration and trade union rights.

0 comments

Comment
No comments avaliable.

Author

Info

Published in 10/09/2020

Updated in 19/02/2021

All events in the topic U.K. - Prime Ministers:


03/04/172111/02/1742Robert WalpoleRobert Walpole
16/02/174202/07/1743Spencer ComptonSpencer Compton
27/08/174306/03/1754Henry PelhamHenry Pelham
16/03/175411/11/1756Thomas Pelham-HollesThomas Pelham-Holles
16/11/175629/06/1757William CavendishWilliam Cavendish
29/06/175726/05/1762Thomas Pelham-HollesThomas Pelham-Holles
26/05/176208/04/1763John StuartJohn Stuart
16/04/176310/07/1765George GrenvilleGeorge Grenville
13/07/176530/07/1766Charles Watson-WentworthCharles Watson-Wentworth
30/07/176614/10/1768William PittWilliam Pitt
14/10/176828/01/1770Augustus FitzRoyAugustus FitzRoy
28/01/177027/03/1782Frederick NorthFrederick North
27/03/178201/07/1782Charles Watson-WentworthCharles Watson-Wentworth
04/07/178226/03/1783William PettyWilliam Petty
02/04/178318/12/1783William Cavendish-BentinckWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck
19/12/178314/03/1801William PittWilliam Pitt
17/03/180110/05/1804Henry AddingtonHenry Addington
10/05/180423/01/1806William PittWilliam Pitt
11/02/180625/03/1807William GrenvilleWilliam Grenville
31/03/180704/10/1809William Cavendish-BentinckWilliam Cavendish-Bentinck
04/10/180911/05/1812Spencer PercevalSpencer Perceval
08/06/181209/04/1827Robert JenkinsonRobert Jenkinson
12/04/182708/08/1827George CanningGeorge Canning
31/08/182708/01/1828Frederick John RobinsonFrederick John Robinson
22/01/182816/11/1830Arthur WellesleyArthur Wellesley
22/11/183009/07/1834Charles GreyCharles Grey
16/07/183414/11/1834William LambWilliam Lamb
17/11/183409/12/1834Arthur WellesleyArthur Wellesley
10/12/183408/04/1835Robert PeelRobert Peel
18/04/183530/08/1841William LambWilliam Lamb
30/08/184129/06/1846Robert PeelRobert Peel
30/06/184621/02/1852John RussellJohn Russell
23/02/185217/12/1852Edward Smith-StanleyEdward Smith-Stanley
19/12/185230/01/1855George Hamilton-GordonGeorge Hamilton-Gordon
06/02/185519/02/1858Henry John TempleHenry John Temple
20/02/185811/06/1859Edward Smith-StanleyEdward Smith-Stanley
12/06/185918/10/1865Henry John TempleHenry John Temple
29/10/186526/06/1866John RussellJohn Russell
28/06/186625/02/1868Edward Smith-StanleyEdward Smith-Stanley
27/02/186801/12/1868Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli
03/12/186817/02/1874William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
20/02/187421/04/1880Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli
23/04/188009/06/1885William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
23/06/188528/01/1886Robert Gascoyne-CecilRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
01/02/188620/07/1886William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
25/07/188611/08/1892Robert Gascoyne-CecilRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
15/08/189202/03/1894William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone
05/03/189422/06/1895Archibald PrimroseArchibald Primrose
25/06/189511/07/1902Robert Gascoyne-CecilRobert Gascoyne-Cecil
12/07/190204/12/1905Arthur BalfourArthur Balfour
05/12/190503/04/1908Henry Campbell-BannermanHenry Campbell-Bannerman
08/04/190805/12/1916H. H. AsquithH. H. Asquith
06/12/191619/10/1922David Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George
23/10/192220/05/1923Bonar LawBonar Law
22/05/192322/01/1924Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
22/01/192404/11/1924Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonald
04/11/192404/06/1929Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
05/06/192907/06/1935Ramsay MacDonaldRamsay MacDonald
07/06/193528/05/1937Stanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin
28/05/193710/05/1940Neville ChamberlainNeville Chamberlain
10/05/194026/07/1945Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
26/07/194526/10/1951Clement AttleeClement Attlee
26/10/195105/04/1955Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
06/04/195509/01/1957Anthony EdenAnthony Eden
10/01/195718/10/1963Harold MacmillanHarold Macmillan
19/10/196316/10/1964Alec Douglas-HomeAlec Douglas-Home
16/10/196419/06/1970Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
19/06/197004/03/1974Edward HeathEdward Heath
04/03/197405/04/1976Harold WilsonHarold Wilson
05/04/197604/05/1979James CallaghanJames Callaghan
04/05/197928/11/1990Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
28/11/199002/05/1997John MajorJohn Major
02/05/199727/06/2007Tony BlairTony Blair
27/06/200711/05/2010Gordon BrownGordon Brown
11/05/201013/07/2016David CameronDavid Cameron
13/07/201624/07/2019Theresa MayTheresa May
04/07/201910/09/2020Boris JohnsonBoris Johnson