Harold Wilson

Alec Douglas-Home

The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on October 15, 1964, more than five years after its predecessor, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had first taken power. Both major parties had changed leaders in 1963: after the sudden death of Hugh Gaitskell, Labour chose Harold Wilson (who was then thought of as being on the party's centre left), and the Conservatives had unexpectedly chosen the Earl of Home as their new leader after Harold Macmillan announced his resignation (Home shortly after disclaimed his title under the Peerage Act 1963 in order to lead the party from the Commons). Macmillan's government had been increasingly unpopular in the mid-term, and Douglas-Home faced a difficult task in rebuilding the party's popularity. Wilson had begun to try to tie the Labour Party to the growing confidence of Britain in the 1960s, arguing that the technological revolution would sweep away restrictive practices on either side of industry. This United Kingdom general election was held on October 8, 1959, and marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative party, led by Harold MacMillan. ... The UK general election in 1966 was called by Harold Wilson because his government, elected in the 1964 election, had an unworkably small majority. ... Government portrait of Harold Wilson This work is copyrighted. ... Government portrait of Harold Wilson This work is copyrighted. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th Century. ... Sir Alec Douglas Home photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Sir Alec Douglas Home photo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT,1 PC (July 2, 1903 – October 9, 1995), 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October, 1963 until October, 1964. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell (April 9, 1906 – January 18, 1963) was a British politician, leader of the Labour Party from 1955 until his death in 1963. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th Century. ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT,1 PC (July 2, 1903 – October 9, 1995), 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October, 1963 until October, 1964. ... Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... The Peerage Act 1963 is a significant act in the history of the British Peerage. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the prospects of his party. The starting gun of the campaign was fired on September 15, 1964 when Douglas-Home saw the Queen and asked for a dissolution of Parliament. The campaign was dominated by some of the more voluble characters on the political scene: George Brown, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, toured the country making energetic speeches and the occasional gaffe, and Quintin Hogg for the Conservatives responded in kind. The image of Hogg lashing out at a Harold Wilson poster with his walking stick was one of the most striking of the campaign. Many party speakers, especially at televised rallies, had to deal with hecklers: Sir Alec Douglas-Home in particular was treated very roughly in a meeting at Birmingham. United Kingdom general elections are the times when the Members of Parliament forming the House of Commons are elected. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... George Alfred Brown, later George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC (September 2, 1914–June 2, 1985) was a British politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1960 to 1970, and was a senior Cabinet minister (including as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) in... A gaffe is a verbal mistake made by a company or individual, usually in a social environment. ... Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, KG, CH, PC, QC (October 9, 1907 – October 12, 2001), formerly 2nd Viscount Hailsham (1950–1963), was a British Conservative politician. ... The city from above Centenary Square. ...

The election resulted in a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of five seats, and led to their first government since 1951. Labour achieved a swing of just over 3% although its own vote rose by only 0.2%; the Liberal Party won nearly twice as many votes as in 1959, but did so partly by nominating 150 more candidates. Harold Wilson became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, replacing Sir Alec Douglas-Home. The majority was not sustainable for a full Parliament and there had to be another general election in 1966. In particular, the small majority of Wilson's government resulted in its being unable to implement the party's policy of nationalising the steel industry, due to the opposition of two of its back benchers: Woodrow Wyatt and Desmond Donnelly. 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is in practice the most important political office in the UK. He acts as the head of Her Majestys Government and like other Prime Ministers in Westminster Systems is (along with his Cabinet) the de facto... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT,1 PC (July 2, 1903 – October 9, 1995), 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October, 1963 until October, 1964. ... The UK general election in 1966 was called by Harold Wilson because his government, elected in the 1964 election, had an unworkably small majority. ... Woodrow Lyle Wyatt, Baron Wyatt of Weeford, (born July 4, 1918), was a British Labour politician, published author, journalist and broadcaster. ... Desmond Louis Donnelly (1920 – April 3, 1974) was a British politician and journalist who was noted for moving from the left to the right wing and for his resistance to following party lines (he was a member of four different political parties during the course of his career, and moved...

The election also saw the only time in the UK's recent history where all seats were divided between only the three main parties; that is, no minor parties, independents or splinter groups were able to obtain a seat.

National opinion poll summary

NOP: Lab swing 3.5% (Lab majority of 12)
Gallup: Lab swing 4% (Lab majority of 23)
Research Services: Lab swing 2.75% (Con majority of 30)
Daily Express: Lab swing of 1.75% (Con majority of 60)

Notable declarations

The declarations are taken from a BBC Parliament election replay: BBC Parliament is a British television channel from the BBC. It broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the British House of Commons and House of Lords, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. ...

Cheltenham (10.00pm): Con 47% (-4%) Lab 35% (+6%) Lib 18% (-2%), Con hold, Swing to Lab: 5%

Exeter (10.44pm): Con 41% (-8%) Lab 38% (+2%) Lib 20% (+5%), Con hold, Swing to Lab: 5%

Battersea South (10.49pm): Lab 47% (+5%) Con 41% (-7%) Lib 13% (+4%), Lab GAIN from Con, Swing to Lab: 6%

Holborn and St Pancras South (11.05pm): Lab 54% (+5%) Con 45% (-6%) Ind 1% (+1%), Lab GAIN from Con, Swing to Lab: 5.5%

Devon North (11.11pm): Lib 51% (+8%) Con 37% (-5%) Lab 12% (-3%), Lib hold, Swing from Con to Lib of 6.5%

Stockport South (11.18pm): Lab 45% (-2%) Con 37% (-16%) Lib 19% (+19%), Lab GAIN from Con, Swing to Lab: 7%

Baron's Court (11.19pm): Lab 48% (+2%) Con 44% (-4%) Lib 8% (+8%), Lab GAIN from Con, Swing to Lab: 3%

Bolton West (11.33pm): Lab 41% (-4%) Con 34% (+34%) Lib 25% (-30%), Lab GAIN from Lib, Swing from Lib to Lab: 13%

Smethwick (11.45pm): Con 52% (+7%) Lab 47% (-8%) Ind 1% (+1%), Con GAIN from Lab, Swing to Con: 7.5%

Huyton (12.06am): Lab 64% (+9%) Con 35% (-10%) Ind 1% (+1), Lab hold, Swing to Lab: 9.5%

Orpington (12.45am): Lib 48% (+27%) Con 42% (-17%) Lab 10% (-12%), Lib WIN / hold from by-election, Swing to Lib from Con: 22%

Torrington (11.12am): Con 45% (-1%) Lib 39% (-1%) Lab 16% (+1%), Con hold, Neglible swing from Con to Lib

Cheltenham is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Exeter is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Devon North (or sometimes North Devon) is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Bolton West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Huyton was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. ... Orpington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...

Results

Titles for the BBC coverage of the 1964 General Election.

Total votes cast on 15th October 1964: 27,657,148. All parties are shown. Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists and National Liberals. The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main democratic socialist [1] political party in the United Kingdom. ... The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... Plaid, also known in full as Plaid Cymru (pronounced IPA: ) – The Party of Wales, is the principal nationalist political party in Wales. ... In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. ... The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist party in the United Kingdom. ... The Republican Labour Party was a political party in Northern Ireland. ... The British National Party was a far right political party that operated in the United Kingdom from 1960 to 1967. ... The Independent Nuclear Disarmament Election Committee (INDEC) was a splinter group of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the United Kingdom. ... Logo of the Fellowship Party The Fellowship Party is a minor political party in the United Kingdom. ... The League of Empire Loyalists was a pressure group campaigning against the dissolution of the British Empire in the 1950s and 1960s. ... The National Democratic Party was a right wing political party that operated in the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s. ... Arguing against capitalism, Speakers Corner, October 31, 2004 The Socialist Party of Great Britain, also known as the SPGB, is a small Marxist party, which is emphatically not Leninist. ... This article is about politics that is a conjunction of Christianity and Socialism. ... The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP, sometimes referred to as the Official Unionist Party or OUP) is a political party in Northern Ireland representing the unionist community, and was the party of government in Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. ... National Liberal Party was a name used by two groups of politicians, who had formerly been associated with the Liberal Party. ...

See also

• MPs elected in the UK general election, 1964

United Kingdom general elections

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