Years of Concensus 1964-79: 1 Wilson's gov 1964-70

Question 1

when was Wilson in office?

Answer 1

1964-70 (and 1974-6)

Question 2

what were the results of the 1964 election?

Answer 2

lab - 317 seats
cons - 304 seats
Labour had a 4 seat majority overall

Question 3

how did Wilson appear to the public in contrast to Home?

Answer 3

Wilson was portrayed as the plain, straight-speaking Yorkshireman
Home as an aristocrat
Wilson was able to tap into the zeitgeist

Question 4

what were the reasons for Labour’s victory in 1964?

Answer 4

• con scandals weakened their integrity and claim to competence
• the electoral system that resulted in Home as leader rather than Butler
• high unemployment in 1963 at over 800,000
• failure to join EEC in 1963 showed Britain had become weak internationally
• Labour party represented a younger ‘with it’ image
• Wilson projected a more dynamic image than Home
• con gov was main target of satire
• Wilson’s electoral campaign

Question 5

how was Britain described by commentators (partially due to their failing economy that was constantly fluctuating)?

Answer 5

the sick man of Europe

Question 6

how much of Britain’s budget went towards defence?

Answer 6

peak 34.5%, low 25.6%
1963-79

Question 7

what was the National Plan?

Answer 7

1964 - a programme for modernisation aimed at increasing industrial production and exports by encouraging cooperation between government, employers and trade unions led by George Brown
by 1967 few of the targets had been met and it was quietly abandonned

Question 8

what were the results of the 1966 election?

Answer 8

labour had a 110 seat majority over cons

Question 9

what did Wilson warn trade unions and employers in 1963?

Answer 9

they needed to be more realistic with their approach and demands to wages
Wilson believed that inflation and Britain’s balance of payments deficit were major threats to the economy and as a result wage and salary increases must be kept in check

Question 10

what was created that angered the left of the party as well as resulted in Frank Cousins, leader of Transport and General Workers’ Union resign?

Answer 10

a prices and incomes boards which was set up with power to regulate pay settlements

Question 11

what disruption began between 1966-7?

Answer 11

strikes over pay e.g. seamen an dockers

Question 12

what happened in 1967 and what controversial statement did Wilson make?

Answer 12

devaluation
‘the pound in your pocket… hasn’t been devalued’

Question 13

how much was borrowed from IMF in 1964?

Answer 13

1 billion

Question 14

why did Wilson put off devaluing the pound?

Answer 14

• didn’t feel he could ask for another IMF loan
• blamed trade union strikers

Question 15

before Wilson devalued the pound what was the exchange rate to US dollars?

Answer 15

£1 to $2.80

Question 16

who stood down over devaluation?

Answer 16

Callaghan, chancellor of the exchequer
the devaluation appeared as a major political and economic failure

Question 17

what had Britain’s balance of payments reached by 1969?

Answer 17

£402 million

Question 18

stats for strikes from 1951 to 1970?

Answer 18

1951 - 1,719 strikes, 1,694,000 days lost
1970 - 3,906 strikes, 10,980,000 days lost

Question 19

why did Wilson want to join the EEC in 1967?

Answer 19

feared Britain would be left behind financially and economically - it was backed by cons and liberals but was opposed by 36 Labour MPs

Question 20

who vetoed Britain’s application to the EEC? (67)

Answer 20

de Gaulle however this time the other 5 members were annoyed with France

Question 21

what was the aim of the white paper ‘in place of strife’?

Answer 21

1969 - a set of proposals to prevent future strikes - the unions were unhappy at the attempted control and it created deep divisions within Labour

Question 22

who put forward ‘in place of strife’ and who ‘killed it off’?

Answer 22

Barbara Castle, the minister of Labour
James Callaghan - he believed it caused stresses to the party and alienated trade unions

Question 23

what was the general feeling of Wilson’s first government?

Answer 23

that they promised much but delivered little - it claimed to be modernising but it was no different than the cons predecessors

Question 24

what social reforms were passed under Wilson?

Answer 24

Race Relations 1965 and 68
Abortion Act 1967
Sexual Offences Act 1967
creation of the Ombudsman 1967
Commonwealth Immigration Act 1968
Theatres Act 1968
abolition of death penalty 1969
Divorce Reform Act 1969
founding of the Open University 1969

Question 25

who was Roy Jenkins?

Answer 25

home secretary 1965-7
he helped pass many of the social reforms whilst they weren’t all his ideas such as the abortion act from MP David Steel Jenkins’ support and encouragement helped progress Britain’s social attitudes

Question 26

what was this progressive society known as colloquially?

Answer 26

the permissive society

Question 27

what were some criticisms of Wilson’s government?

Answer 27

• rising unemployment
• growing inflation
• wage controls
• attempted restriction of trade unions
• immigration controls
• failure to join the EEC
• retention of nuclear weapons
• subservience to the USA in foreign policy

Question 28

when was the Vietnam war?

Answer 28

1963-75

Question 29

when did the US withdraw its forces from Vietnam?

Answer 29

1975 - left the Communists victorious who the US were against

Question 30

what happened in 1968 regarding the Vietnam War?

Answer 30

attempted storming of the US embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square
- many were angry over Britain’s consistent diplomatic support to the US
- Wilson condemned the violence and stated ‘we must not kick our creditors in the balls’

Question 31

what did Dennis Healey, defence minister, announce plans for in 1967?

Answer 31

withdrawal of British troops from their bases in Borneo, Malaysia, Singapore and the Persian Gulf - it was planned to take effect by 1971
the withdrawal went ahead against the wishes of the host country’s govs who lost income and protection

Question 32

why was Wilson’s gov keen to withdraw from ‘east of Suez’?

Answer 32

• high cost of maintaining expensive bases - hard to justify in a time of financial difficulty
• exhausting military engagement had stretched Britain’s military resources
• Suez crisis undermined Britain’s role of ‘world policeman’
• process of giving up former colonies made it logical to remove bases
• Britain still remained a world power???

Question 33

how did Enoch Powell help the cons win the 1970 election?

Answer 33

despite his ‘rivers of blood speech’ his stance on immigration gained approx. 2.5 million votes

Question 34

what were the results of the 1970 election?

Answer 34

cons - 330 seats
lab - 287 seats
Wilson was surprised by this and believed that Labour would win despite his undistinguished economic policies