Wilson's First Labour Government 1964-1970

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  • Created by: parvos98
  • Created on: 24-02-15 13:57

Wilson's First Labour Government 1964-1970

Advantages

  • His mandate marked the end of "Grouse Moor" politics. Wilson was seen as an ordinary "man of the people".
  • Wilson promised to modernise Britain and develope the country through "the white heat of technology".
  • 1965 Crosland plan to improve the education system.
  • Liberal policies of:
  • Legalised abortion
  • legalised homosexuality
  • 1965 abolition of the death penalty
  • modernising, liberalised attitudes towards immigration and diversity.
  • 1966 election victory
  • At the time, Edward Heath (Conservative leader) could not compete with the success of Wilson's government.Conservative disunity and infighting had made the party unelectable.
  • 1969 Open University
  • 1969-Jenkins (Chancellor) manages to improve the situation of the balance of payments crisis.
  • 1969-Wilson and Castle devise (but fail to enact) "In Place of Strife". This was a direct attempt to subdue the power of trade unions
  • Wilson avoided any involvement (other than verbal support for the US) in the Vietnam War.
  • Made a peaceful approach to the Rhodesia Crisis, even when pressured by other nations to use force.

Disadvantages

  • Inheritance of balance of payments crisis
  • There was a £400 million deficit in the British economy.
  • Britain was lagging behind nations such as West Germany and Japan in terms of economics.
  • Britain was stuck in a cycle of "stop-go" economics for several reasons
  • -Wilson was very indecisive about the economy. He didn't want deflation, which would continue the cycle. However he wanted to avoid devaluation of the pound, which would have possibly eased the crisis but had previously led to Attlee's downfall in 1951, something Wilson was afraid of.
  • -There was tension between Wilsons two economic ministries: the Treasury and the Department for Economic Affairs (DEA).
  • George Brown, Secretary of the DEA, was an alcoholic and frequently behaved out of order at political events, including overseas meetings to discuss British inclusion to the EEC in 1967.
  • Britain's application to join the EEC was rejected by De Gaulle in 1967.
  • 1967 dockworkers striking caused a slowing of the British infrastructure.
  • the frequent "bullying" of the government by the trade unions who were often striking or protesting to force the government to concede to them.
  • The failure of In Place of Strife in 1969 emboldened the unions.
  • Enoch Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech provoked widespread controversy about immigration. He was ejected from the party even though many individuals agreed with him.

Evaluation

The Wilson government of 1964-1970 was deemed as successful but with some major problems. While Wilson enjoyed many social successes with his liberal attitude and modernising policies, as well as international support thanks to his peaceful approach to Rhodesia and the Vietnam War. However, he did undergo some problems, mainly linked to the economy. The trade unions were out of control and exerting an unfair authority over the government, causing numerous problems for Wilson and the British public. Furthermore, the problems caused by the DEA/Treasury hostility and the inheritance of the balance of payments crisis lost Wilson a great deal of support, the final blow to his success being the second rejection of British application to the EEC, showing that while he may have been popular and politically capable, he was not as good a statesman as predicted after 13 years of Conservative rule.

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