Domestic Policies

Although Wilson wanted to emphasise technology and science in modernising Britain's economy, the government was hindered by a lack of expertise. Roy Jenkins, the first minister of aviation, later admitted that he had difficulty understanding his briefings becasue of his non-scientific mind, while the first minister of technology, Frank Cousins, had little interest in technological development.

In 1966, when Tony Benn took over as minister, the department performed better, but in some ways were still overshadowed by economic problems.

Research and development was costly. Although Britain pursued some projects such as the supersonic plane Concorde which it developed in partnership with the French government, it could not compete with the USA, which spent vast government sums on research and development.