The failures of Wilson as PM 1964-1970 are more significant than his successes. How far do you agree?

Clear sucesses in social and foreign policy but this has only been appriciated with hindsight by later generations who acknowledge the civilising effect his governments had on Britain

He was voted out of office in 1970 by an electorate who had judged him a failure

His mishandling of the economy was his single biggest failure

The electorate was disillusioned with high taxation, the left was angry that cuts meant that the pace of social change slowed anf the Unions felt betrayed by the party that had offered economic growth

To the people of 1970, Wilson had failed to deliver economic growth and this was more significant than any successes he had

Precided over a series of legislation that helped to create a more civilised Britain

Jenkins (Home Secretary) unleashed a raft of legislation that abolished the death penalty, legalized abortion and homosexuality, ended censorship, reformed divorce law and criminalized racial discrimination

Held his frist government together with a tiny majority of 2, skillfully handled the Wyatt-Donnelly revolt and increased his party's lead to 96 at the poll in 1966

Wilson and Callaghan must also be praised for the handling of the volatile situation in NI - the abolition of the B specials and a vigorous attack on the socio-economic causes of discontent amongst Catholics was both morally and tactically sound

Ensured no British soldier ever set foot in Vietnam whilst at the same time secured US support for the British economy

Unfortunately, many of Wilson's successes were not appreciated at the time and and to the electorate of 1970 he had failed to deliver economic growth, end restrictive practices and create a more egalitarian society - all of which he had set out in his manifesto of 1964

Inherited a poor economic position - £750 million deficit and was bedeviled with bad luck in the form of sterling crises caused by the hostile speculators in the city and the impact of the 1967 Six Day War

However, by 1970 the electorate had witnessed the failure of the DEA and economic growth slowed to 2%

Bank rate rose to 7% and wages were frozen in the July Package

The humiliation of devaluation had been followed by unemployment peaking at 2.5 million and then the 'two years of hard slog' by Jenkins as Chancellor of the Exchequer with £900 million in extra taxation in 1968 and £340 million in 1969

These economic failings had also caused cuts in public spending and led to deterioration in relation with the trade unions

No amount of success in social or foreign policy could overcome these clear economic failings in the eyes of the electorate

The situation started favourably with the 1965 Trade Disputes Act and the congenial atmosphere of beer and sandwiches at Number 10

However, a series of rash and often unofficial strikes by the Seamen in 1966 and the Dockers in 1967 brought the economy to its knees

The strikes of Mad Friday in 1968 wiped £100 million off the British economy in one day and the electorate were keen for Wilson to curb the power of the unions - in this he failed

Castle's 'In Place of Strife' was humiliatingly withdrawn after Callaghan refused to back it in Cabinet and was followed by a rising tide of inflationary wage settlements over the winer of 1969-70

More crucially, its failure caused significant long term problems including the 1978-9 Winter of Discontent

Clearly, these failures were more significant in the eyes of the electorate than any social successes

The left were appalled by the fact that Wilson's economic failings destroyed any hope of creating a classless society

Devaluation in 1967 was followed by savage cutes to departmental budgets - the raising of the school leaving age to 16 was postponed and the target of builing 500 000 new homes was abandoned

On the opposite side of the political spectrum the right was horrified at the cuts to the defense budgests - defense spending fell from 7% to 4% and was accompanied by a phased withdrawel east of Suez

Wilson's attempt to restructure the House of Lords in 1968 failed under scaremongering of unprecidented powers of patronage vested in a PM

Attemps at reforming local government into Metropolitan authorities also stalled in 1970, as did attempts to reform the civil service following the recommendations of the Fulton Commission

Wilson's most humiliating failure was the rejection of his bid to join the EEC - final nail in the coffin for improved market growth by opening up the European market