foreign policy

Question 1

give examples of eurosceptics within labour:

Answer 1

-high gaitskell
-barbara castle
-trade unions

Question 2

give examples of europhiles within labour:

Answer 2

-jenkins
-brown

Question 3

what did labour decide in october 1966 regarding the EEC?

Answer 3

they agreed to back a new application for EEC membership

Question 4

what was DeGaulle’s ultimatum for britain joining, and how did wilson respond?

Answer 4

-degaulle said britain could join if it cut off its special relationship with america
-wilson refused, so the application was rejected in november 1967

Question 5

to what extent was labour successful at dealing with this issue?

Answer 5

-the failed application revealed divisions within the party
-they knew acceptance was highly unlikely with degaulle as president still, het they still attempted which weakened their position in europe further
-rejection came in the same month as devaluation
-BUT the other 5 EEC members supported britain joining, and it presented france as unreasonable

Question 6

why did labour have to cut back on military commitments?

Answer 6

to save money and correct the balance of payments, and because of a promise to get the defence budget under £2mil

Question 7

what did jenkins announce in 1968?

Answer 7

drastic spending cuts

Question 8

explain the withdrawal from east of suez:

Answer 8

-it rapidly accelerated from 1968 onwards
-troops were to be pulled out of aden (yemen), the arabian gulf, malaysia and singapore by the end of 1971

Question 9

what did labour abandon?

Answer 9

a new high tech warplane because it was too costly

Question 10

why did wilson withdraw from these areas?

Answer 10

-economic reasons
-he said he could no longer afford the role of ‘world policeman’
-he said he wanted their security to lie ‘fundamentally in europe’

Question 11

to what extent was labour successful with dealing with the issue of withdrawal from the east of suez?

Answer 11

-arguable that the cuts didn’t go far enough or fast enough
-wilson tried to turn it into a success by arguing britain’s priority was with NATO and europe
-made GB look weak as it was obvious they were withdrawing due to economic issues

Question 12

when did the federation of rhodesia and nyasaland break up into 3 seperate entities?

Answer 12

1963

Question 13

why did wilson say southern rhodesia couldn’t get independence?

Answer 13

it was politically dominated by the minority white population

Question 14

who was the white minority PM of rhodesia?

Answer 14

Ian Smith

Question 15

what did Ian Smith do in 1965?

Answer 15

-he issued a unilateral declaration of independence for rhodesia without accepting majority rule - direct challenge to labour

Question 16

how did wilson’s government respond to the UDI?

Answer 16

-wilson hoped to reach a solution quickly through oil sanctions/ a negotiated solution
-oil sanctions didn’t have much of an effect (as they were undermined by south africa, mozambique and big oil companies) which frustrated wilson
-smith refused to cooperate because he believed he could rely on support from the right of the tory party
-wilson refused to use military intervention but his diplomacy got him nowhere

Question 17

to what extent was Labour successful with dealing with the issue of rhodesia + the UDI?

Answer 17

-the situation upset the commonwealth and many on the labour left wing
-made britain look weak
-talks between wilson and smith didn’t achieve anything
-issue wasn’t solved until the 1980s
BUT
-was an almost impossible situation for wilson

Question 18

what heightened the soviet threat in 1968?

Answer 18

soviet invasion of czechoslovakia

Question 19

what did president johnson wanted wilson to do during the vietnam war?

Answer 19

send troops as he needed support from his allies e.g. australia sent troops

Question 20

how did wilson respond to president johnson’s demand?

Answer 20

he resisted any direct military involvement from GB

Question 21

why was the vietnam war a difficult balancing act for wilson?

Answer 21

he wanted to maintain the atlantic alliance so the US stayed committed to the defence of europe, but the war was very unpopular in GB
-GB couldn’t afford military intervention either, but they needed US’ financial support so couldn’t alienate them (US dollar propped up the pound)
-sending troops would’ve been political suicide as labour only had a small majority in 1964

Question 22

what could wilson’s policy regarding the vietnam war be described as?

Answer 22

moral support without any military support

Question 23

to what extent was labour successful with dealing with the issue of the vietnam war?

Answer 23

-america was annoyed as they wanted greater backing + military support
-many labour MPs and supporters were annoyed as they wanted britain to condemn the US’ actions
BUT
-wilson did well to resist pressure from johnson whilst preserving the atlantic alliance