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. He emerged as Prime Minister after more general elections than any other 20th century premier. He contested 5 general elections and received victory in 4 of them, winning in 1964, 1966, February 1974 and October 1974. He is the most recent British Prime Minister to serve non-consecutive terms. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Right Honourable (abbreviated as or ) is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and in other Commonwealth Realms, and elsewhere. ... James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, PC (March 11, 1916 - May 24, 1995) was one of the more successful Labour Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and a 1960s icon. ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 455 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (679 × 894 pixel, file size: 88 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Harold Wilson United... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel,[1] KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995) 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British Conservative (actually SUP) politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October 1963 to October... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Her Majestys Most Loyal Opposition. ... is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... 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. ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel,[1] KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995) 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British Conservative (actually SUP) politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October 1963 to October... George Alfred Brown, later George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 – 2 June 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... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel,[1] KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995) 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British Conservative (actually SUP) politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October 1963 to October... is the 170th day of the year (171st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 63rd day of the year (64th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... , Huddersfield is a large town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Mary Wilson (born 1918) is a British poet, best known as the wife of former British prime minister, Harold Wilson. ... For other uses, see Alma mater (disambiguation). ... and of the Jesus College College name Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeths Foundation Named after Jesus Christ Established 1571 Sister college Jesus College, Cambridge Principal The Lord Krebs JCR President Paolo Wyatt Undergraduates 340 MCR President Jahan Zahid Graduates 160 Location Turl Street, Oxford... Academia is a collective term for the scientific and cultural community engaged in higher education and research, taken as a whole. ... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The Fellowship of the Royal Society was founded in 1660. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election. ... The United Kingdom general election of 1964 result was a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of 4, and led to their first government since 1951. ... The UK general election in 1966 was called by Harold Wilson because his government, elected in the 1964 election, had an unworkably small majority. ... The UK general election of February 1974 was held on February 28, 1974. ... Harold Wilson Edward Heath The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974. ...

Harold Wilson first served as Prime Minister in the 1960s, during a period of low unemployment and relative economic prosperity (though also of significant problems with the UK's external balance of payments). His second term in office occurred during the 1970s, when a period of economic crisis was beginning to hit most Western countries. On both occasions, economic concerns were to prove a significant constraint on his governments' ambitions. Although originating from the left wing of the Labour Party, Wilson's brand of socialism placed emphasis on promoting social justice (including through better educational opportunities), allied to the technocratic aim of taking better advantage of rapid scientific progress, rather than on the left's traditional goal of promoting wider public ownership of industry. While he did not challenge the Party constitution's stated dedication to nationalisation head-on, he took little action to pursue it either, suggesting that he may have viewed some of the old ideas of the Left as being of limited relevance. Wilson managed a number of difficult political issues with considerable tactical skill, but his ambition of substantially improving Britain's long-term economic performance remained largely unfulfilled.

Early life

Wilson was born in Huddersfield, England on 11 March 1916, an almost exact contemporary of his rival, Edward Heath (b. 9 July 1916). He came from a political family: his father Herbert (1882–1971) was a works chemist who had been active in the Liberal Party and then joined the Labour Party. His mother Ethel (née Seddon; 1882–1957) was a schoolteacher prior to her marriage. When Wilson was eight, he visited London and a later-to-be-famous photograph was taken of him standing on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street. , Huddersfield is a large town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, near the confluence of the River Colne and the River Holme. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... This article is about the historic Liberal Party. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney stand in front of the famous main door to Number 10. ...

Education

Wilson won a scholarship to attend the local grammar school, Royds Hall Secondary School, Huddersfield. His education was disrupted in 1931 when he contracted typhoid fever after drinking contaminated milk on a Scouts' outing and took months to recover. The next year his father, working as an industrial chemist, was made redundant and moved to Spital on the Wirral to find work. Wilson attended the sixth form at the Wirral Grammar School for Boys, where he became Head Boy. A grammar school is a school that may, depending on regional usage as exemplified below, provide either secondary education or, a much less common usage, primary education (also known as elementary). Grammar schools trace their origins back to medieval Europe, as schools in which university preparatory subjects, such as Latin... This is about the disease typhoid fever. ... This article is about the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts/Girl Guides organizations. ... Spital is a small a suburb of the Wirral located on Merseyside, England. ... Map showing the location of the Wirral at grid reference SJ285850 Wirral or The Wirral (IPA: [wɪɹəɫ]) is a peninsula in the north west of England, bounded by the River Dee to the west and the River Mersey to the east. ... Wirral Grammar School for Boys was founded in 1931, situated on Cross Lane, Bebington, on the Wirral. ... Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth. ...

Wilson did well at school and, although he missed getting a scholarship, he obtained an exhibition which when topped up by a county grant enabled him to study Modern History at Jesus College, Oxford from 1934. At Oxford, Wilson was moderately active in politics as a member of the Liberal Party but was later influenced by G. D. H. Cole to join the Labour Party. After his first year, he changed his field of study to Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He graduated with "an outstanding First Class Bachelor of Arts degree, with alphas on every paper" in the final examinations.^[1] He also received exceptional testimonials from his tutors, including a comment from one that 'he is, far and away, the ablest man I have taught so far'. and of the Jesus College College name Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeths Foundation Named after Jesus Christ Established 1571 Sister college Jesus College, Cambridge Principal The Lord Krebs JCR President Paolo Wyatt Undergraduates 340 MCR President Jahan Zahid Graduates 160 Location Turl Street, Oxford... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Douglas Howard Cole (September 25, 1889 - January 14, 1959) was an English journalist and economist, closely associated with the development of Fabianism. ... Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) is a popular interdisciplinary degree which combines study from the three eponymous disciplines. ... First class is a particularly high quality travel class offered by passenger airlines, railways and shipping companies. ... A B.A. issued from the University of Tennessee. ...

Although Wilson had two abortive attempts at an All Souls Fellowship, he continued in academia, becoming one of the youngest Oxford University dons of the century at the age of 21. He was a lecturer in Economic History at New College from 1937, and a Research Fellow at University College 1938-45. For much of this time, he was a research assistant to William Beveridge, the Master of the College, working on the issues of unemployment and the trade cycle. All Souls can refer to: All Souls Day All Souls College, Oxford All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Economic history is the study of how economic phenomena evolved in the past. ... and of the New College College name New College of St Mary Latin name Collegium Novum Oxoniensis/Collegium Sanctae Mariae Wintoniae Named after Mary, mother of Jesus Established 1379 Sister college Kings College, Cambridge Warden Prof. ... University College can refer to several institutions: in Canada University College, University of Toronto University College of the North, The Pas, Manitoba University College of the Cariboo, Kamloops, British Columbia, merged with British Columbia Open University and renamed Thompson Rivers University Kings University College (Edmonton), Alberta in England University... William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and social reformer. ...

Marriage

In 1940, in the chapel of Mansfield College, Oxford, he married (Gladys) Mary Baldwin who remained his wife until his death. Mary Wilson became a published poet. They had two sons, Robin and Giles; Robin became a Professor of Mathematics, and Giles became a teacher. In November 2006 it was reported that Giles had given up his teaching job and become a train driver for South West Trains.^[2] and of the Mansfield College College name Mansfield College Motto Deus locutus est nobis in Neanderthalus (God hath spoken unto us by [his] Caveman, Hebrews 1:1–2) Named after George and Elizabeth Mansfield Established 1886 Sister college Homerton College, Cambridge Principal Dr Diana Walford JCR president Alex Morris Undergraduates... Mary Wilson (born 1918) is a British poet, best known as the wife of former British prime minister, Harold Wilson. ... The Honourable Robin James Wilson is the son of Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... South West Trains (SWT) is a train operating company operating in the United Kingdom, providing train services to the south-west of London, chiefly in Greater London and the counties of Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Berkshire and Wiltshire (the area largely covered before 1923 by the London and South...

Wartime service

On the outbreak of the Second World War, Wilson volunteered for service but was classed as a specialist and moved into the Civil Service instead. Most of his war was spent as a statistician and economist for the coal industry. He was Director of Economics and Statistics at the Ministry of Fuel and Power 1943–4. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The Roman civil service in action. ... Statisticians are mathematicians who work with theoretical and applied statistics in the both the private and public sectors. ... The Ministry of Fuel and Power was a central government department in the United Kingdom. ...

He was to remain passionately interested in statistics. As President of the Board of Trade, he was the driving force behind the Statistics of Trade Act 1947, which is still the authority governing most economic statistics in Great Britain. He was instrumental as Prime Minister in appointing Claus Moser as head of the Central Statistical Office, and was president of the Royal Statistical Society in 1972–73. The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... Claus Adolf Moser, now Lord Moser, is a British statistician who has made major contributions in both academia and the Civil Service. ... The Central Statistical Office was an UK organization which was merged with the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) in 1996 to form the Office for National Statistics (ONS) under a single director, who, from 2000 was also known as the National Statistician. ... The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK. Founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London, it became the Royal Statistical Society in 1887. ...

Member of Parliament

As the War drew to an end, he searched for a seat to fight at the impending general election. He was selected for Ormskirk, then held by Stephen King-Hall. Wilson accidentally agreed to be adopted as the candidate immediately rather than delay until the election was called, and was therefore compelled to resign from the Civil Service. He served as Praelector in Economics at University College between his resignation and his election to the House of Commons. He also used this time to write A New Deal for Coal which used his wartime experience to argue for nationalisation of the coal mines on the basis of improved efficiency. Ormskirk was a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom. ... Baron William Stephen Richard King-Hall of Headley (21st January 1893 - 1st June 1966) was a British journalist, politician and playwright. ... At the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, a praelector is a Fellow of a college. ... Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act by which a nation takes possession of assets without requiring the owners consent, with or without payment of compensation. ...

In the 1945 general election, Wilson won his seat in line with the Labour landslide. To his surprise, he was immediately appointed to the government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works. Two years later, he became Secretary for Overseas Trade, in which capacity he made several official trips to the Soviet Union to negotiate supply contracts. Conspiracy-minded critics would later seek to raise suspicions about these trips. Clement Attlee Winston Churchill The United Kingdom General Election of 1945 held on 5 July 1945 but not counted and declared until 26 July 1945 (due to the time it took to transport the votes of those serving overseas) was one of the most significant general elections of the 20th... In the parliamentary systems of several Commonwealth countries, such as Canada and Australia, it is customary for the prime minister to appoint parliamentary secretaries (in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, parliamentary assistants) from their caucus to assist cabinet ministers with their work. ... The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943 to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use. ...

In government

On 14 October 1947, Wilson was appointed President of the Board of Trade and, at 31, became the youngest member of the Cabinet in the 20th century. He took a lead in abolishing some of the wartime rationing, which he referred to as a "bonfire of controls". In the general election of 1950, his constituency was altered and he was narrowly elected for the new seat of Huyton. is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... Gasoline ration stamps being printed as a result of the 1973 oil crisis Rationing is the controlled distribution of resources and scarce goods or services. ... , Huyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. ...

Wilson was becoming known as a left-winger and joined Aneurin Bevan in resigning from the government in April 1951 in protest at the introduction of National Health Service (NHS) medical charges to meet the financial demands imposed by the Korean War. After the Labour Party lost the general election later that year, he was made chairman of Bevan's "Keep Left" group, but shortly thereafter he distanced himself from Bevan. By coincidence, it was Bevan's further resignation from the Shadow Cabinet in 1954 that put Wilson back on the front bench. Left wing redirects here. ... A statue of Bevan in Cardiff. ... NHS redirects here. ... Belligerents United Nations: Republic of Korea Australia Belgium Canada Colombia Ethiopia France Greece Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Philippines South Africa Thailand Turkey United Kingdom United States Naval Support and Military Servicing/Repairs: Japan Medical staff: Denmark Italy Norway India Sweden DPR Korea PR China Soviet Union Commanders Syngman Rhee Chung...

Opposition

Wilson soon proved a very effective Shadow Minister. One of his procedural moves caused the loss of the Government's Finance Bill in 1955, and his speeches as Shadow Chancellor from 1956 were widely praised for their clarity and wit. He coined the term "gnomes of Zurich" to describe Swiss bankers whom he accused of pushing the pound down by speculation. In the meantime, he conducted an inquiry into the Labour Party's organisation following its defeat in the 1955 general election, which compared the Party organisation to an antiquated "penny farthing" bicycle, and made various recommendations for improvements. Unusually, Wilson combined the job of Chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee with that of Shadow Chancellor from 1959 , holding the chairmanship of the PAC from 1959 to 1963. Gnomes of Zurich is a disparaging term for Swiss bankers. ... Speculation involves the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, collectibles, real estate, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income via methods such as dividends or interest. ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... Public Accounts Committee refers to a committee in the legislature of one of the following countries: Public Accounts Committee (United Kingdom) of the British House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (Canada) (officially Standing Committee on Public Accounts, PACP) of the Canadian House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (Hong Kong) of... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Wilson steered a course in intra-party matters in the 1950s and early 1960s that left him fully accepted and trusted by neither the left nor the right. Despite his earlier association with the left-of-centre Aneurin Bevan, in 1955 he backed the right-of-centre Hugh Gaitskell against Bevan for the party leadership ^[3] He then launched an opportunistic but unsuccessful challenge to Gaitskell in 1960, in the wake of the Labour Party's 1959 defeat, Gaitskell's controversial attempt to ditch Labour's commitment to nationalisation in the shape of the Party's Clause Four, and Gaitskell's defeat at the 1960 Party Conference over a motion supporting Britain's unilateral nuclear disarmament. Wilson also challenged for the deputy leadership in 1962 but was defeated by George Brown. Following these challenges, he was moved to the position of Shadow Foreign Secretary. A statue of Bevan in Cardiff. ... 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. ... Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution sets out the objects of the Party, and has been the scene of political fights over its direction. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... George Alfred Brown, later George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 – 2 June 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... The title of Foreign Secretary has been traditionally used to refer to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. ...

Hugh Gaitskell died unexpectedly in January 1963, just as the Labour Party had begun to unite and to look to have a good chance of being elected to government. Wilson became the left candidate for the leadership. He defeated George Brown, who was hampered by a reputation as an erratic figure, in a straight contest in the second round of balloting, after James Callaghan, who had entered the race as an alternative to Brown on the right of the party, had been eliminated in the first round. For other uses, see 1963 (disambiguation). ... George Alfred Brown, later George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 – 2 June 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... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ...

Wilson's 1964 election campaign was aided by the Profumo Affair, a 1963 ministerial sex scandal that had mortally wounded the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan and was to taint his successor Sir Alec Douglas-Home, even though Home had not been involved in the scandal. Wilson made capital without getting involved in the less salubrious aspects. (Asked for a statement on the scandal, he reportedly said "No comment... in glorious Technicolor!"). Home was an aristocrat who had given up his title as Lord Home to sit in the House of Commons. To Wilson's comment that he was the fourteenth Earl of Home, Home retorted "I suppose Mr. Wilson is the fourteenth Mr. Wilson". The Profumo Affair was a political scandal from 1963 in the United Kingdom that is named after the then-Secretary of State for War, John Profumo. ... 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. ... Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel,[1] KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995) 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963, was a British Conservative (actually SUP) politician, and served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a year from October 1963 to October... The title Earl of Home (pronounced Hume) was created in 1605 in the Peerage of Scotland for Alexander Home, who was also the sixth Lord Home. ...

At the Labour Party's 1963 annual conference, Wilson made possibly his best-remembered speech, on the implications of scientific and technological change, in which he argued that "the Britain that is going to be forged in the white heat of this revolution will be no place for restrictive practices or for outdated measures on either side of industry". This speech did much to set Wilson's reputation as a technocrat not tied to the prevailing class system. This article pertains to technocracy as a bureaucratic structure. ...

Prime Minister

Labour won the 1964 general election with a narrow majority of four seats, and Wilson became Prime Minister. This was an insufficient parliamentary majority to last for a full term, and after 18 months, a second election in March 1966 returned Wilson with the much larger majority of 96. The United Kingdom general election of 1964 result was a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of 4, and led to their first government since 1951. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ...

Economic policies

In economic terms, Wilson's first three years in office were dominated by an ultimately doomed effort to stave off the devaluation of the pound. He inherited an unusually large external deficit on the balance of trade. This partly reflected the preceding government's expansive fiscal policy in the run-up to the 1964 election, and the incoming Wilson team tightened the fiscal stance in response. Many British economists advocated devaluation, but Wilson resisted, reportedly in part out of concern that Labour, which had previously devalued sterling in 1949, would become tagged as "the party of devaluation".

After a costly battle, market pressures forced the government into devaluation in 1967. Wilson was much criticised for a broadcast in which he assured listeners that the "pound in your pocket" had not lost its value. It was widely forgotten that his next sentence had been "prices will rise". Economic performance did show some improvement after the devaluation, as economists had predicted.

A main theme of Wilson's economic approach was to place enhanced emphasis on "indicative economic planning." He created a new Department of Economic Affairs to generate ambitious targets that were in themselves supposed to help stimulate investment and growth. Though now out of fashion, faith in this approach was at the time by no means confined to the Labour Party -- Wilson built on foundations that had been laid by his Conservative predecessors, in the shape, for example, of the National Economic Development Council (known as "Neddy") and its regional counterparts (the "little Neddies"). A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions about the production, allocation and consumption of goods and services are planned ahead of time, usually in a centralized fashion, though some proposed systems favour decentralized planning. ...

Harold and Mary Wilson with Richard and Pat Nixon at the White House in 1970.

The continued relevance of industrial nationalisation (a centerpiece of the post-War Labour government's programme) had been a key point of contention in Labour's internal struggles of the 1950s and early 1960s. Wilson's predecessor as leader, Hugh Gaitskell, had tried in 1960 to tackle the controversy head-on, with a proposal to expunge Clause Four (the public ownership clause) from the party's constitution, but had been forced to climb down. Wilson took a characteristically more subtle approach. He threw the party's left wing a symbolic bone with the renationalisation of the steel industry, but otherwise left Clause Four formally in the constitution but in practice on the shelf. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Nixon redirects here. ... Thelma Catherine Pat Ryan Nixon (March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was the wife of former President Richard Nixon and the First Lady of the United States of America from 1969 to 1974. ... 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. ... Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution sets out the objects of the Party, and has been the scene of political fights over its direction. ...

Wilson made periodic attempts to mitigate inflation through wage-price controls, better known in the UK as "prices and incomes policy". Partly as a result, the government tended to find itself repeatedly injected into major industrial disputes, with late-night "beer and sandwiches at Number Ten" an almost routine culmination to such episodes. Among the more damaging of the numerous strikes during Wilson's periods in office was a six-week stoppage by the National Union of Seamen, beginning shortly after Wilson's re-election in 1966. With public frustration over strikes mounting, Wilson's government in 1969 proposed a series of reforms to the legal basis for industrial relations (labour law) in the UK, which were outlined in a White Paper entitled "In Place of Strife". Following a confrontation with the Trades Union Congress, however, which strongly opposed the proposals, the government substantially backed-down from its proposals. Some elements of these reforms were subsequently to be revived (in modified form) as a centerpiece of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. In economics, incomes policies are wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation. ... The National Union of Seamen was the principal trade union of merchant seafarers in Great Britain from 1888/1889 to 1990. ... The UK general election in 1966 was called by Harold Wilson because his government, elected in the 1964 election, had an unworkably small majority. ... In Place of Strife was a British Government White paper, written in 1969. ... Image:TradeUnionsCongress20050108 CopyrightKaihsuTai. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ...

External affairs

Overseas, while Britain's retreat from Empire had by 1964 already progressed a long way (and was to continue during his terms in office), Wilson was troubled by a major crisis over the future of the British crown colony of Rhodesia. Wilson refused to concede official independence to the Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith, who led a white minority government which resisted extending the vote to the majority black population. Smith in response proclaimed Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on November 11, 1965. Wilson was applauded by most nations for taking a firm stand on the issue (and none extended diplomatic recognition to the Smith regime). He declined, however, to intervene in Rhodesia with military force, believing the UK population would not support such action against their "kith and kin". Smith subsequently attacked Wilson in his memoirs, accusing him of delaying tactics during negotiations and alleging duplicity; Wilson responded in kind, questioning Smith's good faith and suggesting that Smith had moved the goal-posts whenever a settlement appeared in sight. This article is about the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia, todays Zimbabwe. ... For other persons named Ian Smith, see Ian Smith (disambiguation). ... The Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965 by the Smith administration, whose Rhodesian Front party[1] opposed black majority rule in the then British colony. ... is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ...

Despite considerable pressure from US President Lyndon Johnson for at least a token involvement of British military units in the Vietnam War, Wilson consistently avoided such a commitment of British forces. His government offered some rhetorical support for the US position (most prominently in the defense offered by then-Foreign Secretary Michael Stewart in a much-publicised "teach in" or debate on Vietnam), and on at least one occasion made an unsuccessful effort to intermediate in the conflict. On 28 June 1966 Wilson 'dissociated' his Government from Johnson's bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong. From a contemporary viewpoint, some commentators have attached new significance to Wilson's ability to maintain close relations with the US while pursuing an independent line on Vietnam, in light of the different approach taken by the Blair government which resulted in Britain's participation in the Iraq War (2003). Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... The Right Honourable Captain Robert Maitland Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham, PC (November 6, 1906, Bromley - March 13, 1990) was a British Labour politician who served twice as Foreign Secretary in the first cabinet of Harold Wilson. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ...

In 1967, Wilson's Government lodged the UK's second application to join the European Economic Community. Like the first, made under Harold Macmillan, it was vetoed by the French President Charles de Gaulle. The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ... 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. ... This article is about the person. ...

That same year, Wilson announced that Britain would withdraw its military forces from major bases 'East of Suez', effectively bringing Britain's empire to an end and marking a major shift in Britain's global defence strategy in the twentieth century. East of Suez was a term used in British military and political discussions. ...

Social issues

Wilson's period in office witnessed a range of social reforms, including abolition of capital punishment, decriminalisation of male homosexual acts between consenting adults in private, liberalisation of abortion law, divorce reform and abolition of theatre censorship. Such reforms were mostly adopted on non-party votes, but the large Labour majority after 1966 was undoubtedly more open to such changes than previous parliaments had been. Wilson personally, coming culturally from a provincial non-conformist background, showed no particular enthusiasm for much of this agenda (which some linked to the "permissive society"), but the reforming climate was especially encouraged by Roy Jenkins during his period at the Home Office. Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ...

Wilson's 1966-70 term witnessed growing public concern over the level of immigration to the United Kingdom. The issue was dramatised at the political level by the famous "Rivers of Blood speech" by the Conservative politician Enoch Powell, warning against the dangers of immigration, which led to Powell's dismissal from the Shadow Cabinet. Wilson's government adopted a two-track approach. While condemning racial discrimination (and adopting legislation to make it a legal offense), Wilson's Home Secretary James Callaghan introduced significant new restrictions on the right of immigration to the United Kingdom. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Highly Skilled Migrant Programme. ... The Rivers of Blood speech was a controversial speech about immigration and anti-discrimination legislation made on 20 April, 1968 by the British Conservative Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton South West, Enoch Powell. ... John Enoch Powell, MBE (June 16, 1912 – February 8, 1998) was a British politician, linguist, writer, academic, soldier and poet. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ...

Education policies

Education held special significance for a socialist of Wilson's generation, in view of its role in both opening up opportunities for children from working class backgrounds and enabling the UK to seize the potential benefits of scientific advances. Wilson continued the rapid creation of new universities, in line with the recommendations of the Robbins Report, a bipartisan policy already in train when Labour took power. Alas, the economic difficulties of the period deprived the tertiary system of the resources it needed. However, university expansion remained a core policy. One notable effect was the first entry of women into university education in significant numbers. The Robbins Report was a British government-commissioned report into the future of higher education in the country. ...

Wilson also deserves credit for grasping the concept of an Open University, to give adults who had missed out on tertiary education a second chance through part-time study and distance learning. His political commitment included assigning implementation responsibility to Baroness Jennie Lee, the widow of Aneurin Bevan, the charismatic leader of Labour's Left wing whom Wilson had joined in resigning from the Attlee cabinet. Affiliations Alliance of Non-Aligned Universities, Association of Commonwealth Universities, European Association of Distance Teaching Universities, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Website http://www. ... Jennie Lee (November 3, 1904 - 1988) was born Janet Lee in Lochgelly, in Fife, Scotland. ... A statue of Bevan in Cardiff. ... Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951. ...

Wilson's record on secondary education is, by contrast, highly controversial. A fuller description is in the article Education in England. Two factors played a role. Following the Education Act 1944 there was disaffection with the tripartite system of academically-oriented Grammar schools for a small proportion of "gifted" children, and Technical and Secondary Modern schools for the majority of children. Pressure grew for the abolition of the selective principle underlying the "eleven plus", and replacement with Comprehensive schools which would serve the full range of children (see the article Debates on the grammar school). Comprehensive education became Labour Party policy. Education in England is the responsibility of Department for Education and Skills at national level and, in the case of publicly funded compulsory education, of Local Education Authorities. ... The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary schools in England and Wales. ... A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Secondary modern schools are a type of school in British educational systems, part of the Tripartite System. ... The Eleven Plus is an examination which was given to students in their last year of primary education in the United Kingdom under the Tripartite System. ... A comprehensive school is a secondary school that does not select children on the basis of academic attainment or aptitude. ... The debate about the merits of the British Tripartite System, also known as the grammar school system, still continues forty years after its abolition was initiated. ...

Labour pressed local authorities to convert grammar schools, many of them cherished local institutions, into comprehensives. Conversion continued on a large scale during the subsequent Conservative Heath administration, although the Secretary of State, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, ended the compulsion of local governments to convert. While the proclaimed goal was to level school quality up, many felt that the grammar schools' excellence was being sacrificed with little to show in the way of improvement of other schools. Critically handicapping implementation, economic austerity meant that schools never received sufficient funding. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ...

A second factor affecting education was change in teacher training, including introduction of "progressive" child-centered methods, abhorred by many established teachers. In parallel, the profession became increasingly politicised. The status of teaching suffered and is still recovering.

Few nowadays question the unsatisfactory nature of secondary education in 1964. Change was overdue. However, the manner in which change was carried out is certainly open to criticism. The issue became a priority for ex-Education Secretary Margaret Thatcher when she came to office as prime minister in 1979. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ...

In 1966, Wilson was created the first Chancellor of the newly created University of Bradford, a position he held until 1985. For other uses, see Chancellor (disambiguation). ... The University of Bradford is a university in Bradford, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. ...

Electoral defeat and return to office

By 1969, the Labour Party was suffering serious electoral reverses. In May 1970, Wilson responded to an apparent recovery in his government's popularity by calling a general election, but, to the surprise of most observers, was defeated at the polls by the Conservatives under Edward Heath. Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ...

Wilson survived as leader of the Labour party in opposition. Economic conditions during the 1970s were becoming more difficult for the UK and many other western economies, and the Heath government in its turn was buffeted by economic adversity and industrial unrest (notably including confrontation with the coalminers). When Labour won more seats than the Conservative Party in February 1974, and Heath was unable to form a coalition, Wilson returned to 10 Downing Street on Monday, 4 March 1974 as Prime Minister of a minority Labour Government. He gained a majority in another election shortly afterwards, in October 1974. The UK general election of February 1974 was held on February 28, 1974. ... Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney stand in front of the famous main door to Number 10. ... Harold Wilson Edward Heath The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974. ...

EC Membership Renegotiations and Referendum

Among the most challenging political dilemmas Wilson faced in opposition and on his return to power was the issue of British membership of the European Community (EC), which had been negotiated by the Heath administration following de Gaulle's fall from power in France. The Labour party was deeply divided on the issue, and risked a major split. Wilson showed political ingenuity in devising a position that both sides of the party could agree on. Labour's manifesto in 1974 thus included a pledge to renegotiate terms for Britain's membership and then hold a referendum (a constitutional procedure without precedent in British history) on whether to stay in the EC on the new terms. The European Community (EC) was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ...

The renegotiations with Britain's fellow EC members focused primarily on Britain's net budgetary contribution to the EC. As a small agricultural producer heavily dependent on imports, the UK suffered doubly from the dominance of (i) agricultural spending in the EU budget, and (ii) agricultural import taxes as a source of EU revenues. During the renegotiations, other EU members conceded, as a partial offset, the establishment of a significant European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), from which it was clearly agreed that the UK would be a major net beneficiary.^[4] In the subsequent referendum campaign, rather than the normal British tradition of "collective responsibility", whereby the government takes a policy position which all cabinet members are required to support publicly, members of the Government were free to present their views on either side of the question. A referendum was duly held on 5 June 1975. In the event, continued membership passed. European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Scope As part of its task to promote regional development, the ERDF contributes towards financing the following measures: Productive investment to create and safeguard sustainable jobs; Investment in infrastructure which contributes, in regions covered by Objective 1, to development, structural adjustment and creation and maintenance... The United Kingdom referendum of 1975 was a postlegislative referendum held on 5 June 1975 in the whole of the UK over whether there was support for the UK to stay in the European Economic Community, which the UK had entered in 1973, under the Conservative government of Edward Heath. ... is the 156th day of the year (157th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Northern Ireland

In the late 1960s, Wilson's government witnessed the outbreak of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. In response to a request from the government of the province, the government agreed to deploy the British Army in an effort to maintain the peace. For other uses, see Troubles (disambiguation) and Trouble. ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces campaign in Northern Ireland between 1969 and 2007, initially at the request of the then Unionist government of Northern Ireland in support to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (1972-2001), and later to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI...

Out of office in the autumn of 1971, Wilson formulated a 16-point, 15 year program that was designed to pave the way for the unification of Ireland. The proposal was welcomed in principle by the Heath government at the time, but never put into effect. Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar, known as the year of cyclohexanol. ...

In May 1974, he condemned the Unionist-controlled Ulster Workers' Strike as a "sectarian strike" which was "being done for sectarian purposes having no relation to this century but only to the seventeenth century". However he refused to pressure a reluctant British Army to face down the loyalist paramilitaries who were intimidating utility workers. In a later television speech he referred to the "loyalist" strikers and their supporters as "spongers" who expected Britain to pay for their lifestyles. The strike was eventually successful in breaking the power-sharing Northern Ireland executive. In the context of Irish politics, Unionists are people in Northern Ireland, who wish to see the continuation of the Act of Union 1800, as amended by the Government of Ireland Act 1920, under which Northern Ireland, created in that latter Act, remains part of the United Kingdom of Great... Fifteen unprecedented, historic days in 1974 when a million British citizens, the Protestants of Northern Ireland, staged what amounted to a rebellion against the Crown and won. ... Sectarianism refers (usually pejoratively) to a rigid adherence to a particular sect or party or religious denomination. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... For other uses, see Loyalist (disambiguation). ... Northern Ireland (Irish: , Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a constituent country of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ...

Resignation

On 16 March 1976, Wilson surprised the nation by announcing his resignation as Prime Minister (taking effect on 5 April 1976). He claimed that he had always planned on resigning at the age of sixty, and that he was physically and mentally exhausted. As early as the late 1960s, he had been telling intimates, like his doctor Sir Joseph Stone (later Lord Stone of Hendon), that he did not intend to serve more than eight or nine years as Prime Minister. However, by 1976 he was probably also aware of the first stages of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, as both his formerly excellent memory and his powers of concentration began to fail dramatically. is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Joseph Ellis Stone, Lord Stone of Hendon (27 May 1903 - 17 June 1986) was an officer in the British Army, and a doctor, most notably to Harold Wilson. ...

Garter Banner of Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, Jesus College Chapel, Oxford

Queen Elizabeth II came to dine at 10 Downing Street to mark his resignation, an honour she has bestowed on only one other Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill (although she did dine at Downing Street at Tony Blair's invitation, to celebrate her 80th birthday). Image File history File linksMetadata Wilson_banner. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Wilson_banner. ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... and of the Jesus College College name Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeths Foundation Named after Jesus Christ Established 1571 Sister college Jesus College, Cambridge Principal The Lord Krebs JCR President Paolo Wyatt Undergraduates 340 MCR President Jahan Zahid Graduates 160 Location Turl Street, Oxford... Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; born 21 April 1926) is Queen of sixteen sovereign states, holding each crown and title equally. ... Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney stand in front of the famous main door to Number 10. ... Churchill redirects here. ...

Wilson's Prime Minister's Resignation Honours included many businessmen and celebrities, along with his political supporters. His choice of appointments caused lasting damage to his reputation, worsened by the suggestion that the first draft of the list had been written by Marcia Williams on lavender notepaper (it became known as the "Lavender List"). Roy Jenkins notes that Wilson's retirement "was disfigured by his, at best, eccentric resignation honours list, which gave peerages or knighthoods to some adventurous business gentlemen, several of whom were close neither to him nor to the Labour Party."^[5] Some of those whom Wilson honoured included Lord Kagan, eventually imprisoned for fraud, and Sir Eric Miller, who later committed suicide while under police investigation for corruption. Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... Joseph Kagan, Baron Kagan (June 6, 1915 – January 17, 1995) was a British industrialist and the founder of Kagan Textiles, Elland, who made raincoats from the waterproof Gannex fabric which Kagan had invented. ... Sir Eric Miller (1927 – 22 September 1977) was an English-Jewish businessman who committed suicide while under investigation for fraud. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

Tony Benn, James Callaghan, Anthony Crosland, Michael Foot, Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins stood in the first ballot to replace him. Jenkins was initially tipped as the favourite but came third on the initial ballot. In the final ballot on 5 April, Callaghan defeated Foot in a parliamentary vote of 176 to 137, thus becoming Wilson's successor as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party. Anthony Tony Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925), formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British socialist politician. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ... Michael Mackintosh Foot (born 23 July 1913) is an English politician and writer. ... Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917), is a British Labour politician. ... Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

As Wilson wished to remain an MP after leaving office, he was not immediately given the peerage customarily offered to retired Prime Ministers, but instead was created a Knight of the Garter. On leaving the House of Commons in 1983, he was created Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, after Rievaulx Abbey, in the north of his native Yorkshire. For other uses, see Peerage (disambiguation). ... The insignia of a knight of the Order of the Garter. ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... The ruins of the abbey church Rievaulx Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey located in the small village of Rievaulx (pronounced Ree-voh), near Helmsley in North Yorkshire. ...

Death

Not long after Wilson's retirement, his mental deterioration from Alzheimer's disease began to be apparent, and he rarely appeared in public after 1987. He died of colon cancer in May 1995, at the age of 79. He is buried on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. His epitaph is Tempus Imperator Rerum (Time Commands All Things). His memorial service was held in Westminster Abbey on 13 July. This article is about the year 1987. ... Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or bowel cancer, includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. ... St. ... St Martins taken from the helicopter to Penzance View from Tresco, the second largest member of the Isles of Scilly For the area of Surrey, see Scilly Isles, Surrey. ... The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral (and indeed often mistaken for one), in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ... is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Political "style"

Wilson regarded himself as a "man of the people" and did much to promote this image, contrasting himself with the stereotypical aristocratic conservatives who had preceded him. Features of this portrayal included his working man's Gannex raincoat, his pipe (though in private he smoked cigars), his love of simple cooking and overuse of the popular British relish, 'HP Sauce', his support for his home town's football team, Huddersfield, and his working-class Yorkshire accent. Eschewing continental holidays, he returned every summer with his family to the Isles of Scilly. His first general election victory relied heavily on associating these down-to-earth attributes with a sense that the UK urgently needed to modernise, after "thirteen years of Tory mis-rule....". These characteristics were exaggerated in Private Eye's satirical column Mrs Wilson's Diary. The HP Sauce logo HP sauce HP Sauce is a condiment; a popular brown sauce formerly produced in Aston, Birmingham, England, by HP Foods but now produced by H.J. Heinz in Elst, the Netherlands. ... Huddersfield Town Football Club are an English football club based in Huddersfield, in the Borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire. ... The term working class is used to denote a social class. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... March 4, 2005 cover of Private Eye; this is a typical example of the magazines front cover. ...

Wilson exhibited his populist touch in 1965 when he had The Beatles honoured with the award of MBE. (Such awards are officially bestowed by The Queen but are nominated by the Prime Minister of the day.) The award was popular with young people and contributed to a sense that the Prime Minister was "in touch" with the younger generation. There were some protests by conservatives and elderly members of the military who were earlier recipients of the award, but such protesters were in the minority. Critics claimed that Wilson acted to solicit votes for the next general election (which took place less than a year later), but defenders noted that, since the minimum voting age at that time was 21, this was hardly likely to impact many of the Beatles' fans who at that time were predominantly teenagers. It did however cement Wilson's image as a modernistic leader and linked him to the burgeoning pride in the 'New Britain' typified by the Beatles. Strangely, the Beatles mentioned Wilson rather negatively, protesting his government's high taxes in George Harrison's song "Taxman", the opener to 1966's Revolver—recorded and released after the MBEs. Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... The UK general election in 1966 was called by Harold Wilson because his government, elected in the 1964 election, had an unworkably small majority. ... For other persons named George Harrison, see George Harrison (disambiguation). ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ... The Beatles U.S. chronology Alternate cover Cover of the original 1966 U.S. LP Back cover Back cover of the original 1966 UK LP. The main photo was edited in separate parts for the booklet of the 1988 Compact Disc release. ...

One year later, in 1967, Wilson had a different interaction with a musical ensemble. He sued the pop group The Move for libel after the band's manager Tony Secunda published a promotional postcard for the single Flowers In The Rain, featuring a caricature depicting Wilson in bed with his female assistant, Marcia Falkender (later Baroness Falkender). Wild gossip had hinted at an improper relationship, though these rumours were never substantiated. Wilson won the case, and all royalties from the song (composed by Move leader Roy Wood) were assigned in perpetuity to a charity of Wilson's choosing. The Move were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s from Birmingham, England. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... Tony Secunda ( 24 August 1940 - 10 February 1995) was a British manager of rock groups in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Moody Blues, The Move, and T. Rex. ... Roy Adrian Wood (sometimes erroneously thought to be born as Ulysses Adrian Wood, from a offhand interview comment in the 1960s) (born 8 November 1946 in Birmingham), is a songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. ...

Wilson had a knack for memorable phrases. He coined the term "Selsdon Man" to refer to the anti-interventionist policies of the Conservative leader Edward Heath, developed at a policy retreat held at the Selsdon Park Hotel in early 1970. This phrase, intended to evoke the "primitive throwback" qualities of anthropological discoveries such as Piltdown Man and Swanscombe Man, was part of a British political tradition of referring to political trends by suffixing man. Another famous quote is "A week is a long time in politics": this signifies that political fortunes can change extremely rapidly. Other memorable phrases attributed to Wilson include "the white heat of the [technological] revolution" and his comment after the 1967 devaluation of the pound: "This does not mean that the pound here in Britain — in your pocket or purse — is worth any less....", usually now quoted as "the pound in your pocket". The Selsdon Group is a British free-market pressure group, closely associated with the Conservative Party. ... The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... Selsdon is a place in the London Borough of Croydon. ... The portrait painted by John Cooke in 1915. ... Binomial name (Dubois, 1892) Synonyms † Pithecanthropus erectus † Sinanthropus pekinensis † Javanthropus soloensis † Meganthropus paleojavanicus Homo erectus (Latin: upright man) is an extinct species of the genus Homo. ...

Reputation

Despite his successes and onetime popularity, Harold Wilson's reputation has yet to recover substantially from its low ebb following his second premiership. Some accuse him of inordinate deviousness, some claim he did not do enough to modernise the Labour Party's policy positions on issues such as the respective roles of the state and the market or the reform of industrial relations. This line of argument partly blames Wilson for the civil unrest of the late 1970s (during Britain's Winter of Discontent), and for the electoral success of the Conservative party and its ensuing 18-year rule. His supporters argue that it was only Wilson's own skillful management (on issues such as nationalisation, Europe and Vietnam) that allowed an otherwise fractious party to stay politically united and govern. In either case this co-existence did not long survive his leadership, and the factionalism that followed contributed greatly to the Labour Party's low ebb during the 1980s. For many voters, Thatcherism emerged politically as the only alternative [see TINA] to the excesses of trade-union power. Meanwhile, the reinvention of the Labour Party would take the better part of two decades, at the hands of Neil Kinnock, John Smith and Tony Blair. The Winter of Discontent is a nickname given to the British winter of 1978–79, during which there were widespread strikes by Trade unions demanding larger pay rises for their members. ... Margaret Thatcher Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990. ... TINA is an acronym for Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture. ... Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock, PC (born 28 March 1942) is a British politician. ... John Smith QC (September 13, 1938 – May 12, 1994) was a British politician who served as leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden and unexpected death from a heart attack on 12 May 1994. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...

In 1964, when Wilson took office, the mainstream of informed opinion (in all the main political parties, in academia and the media, etc.) strongly favored the type of technocratic, "indicative planning" approach that Wilson endeavored to implement. Radical market-oriented reforms, of the kind eventually adopted by Margaret Thatcher, were in the mid-1960s backed only by a "fringe" of enthusiasts (such as the leadership of the later-influential Institute of Economic Affairs), and had almost no representation at senior levels even of the Conservative Party. Fifteen years later, disillusionment with Britain's weak economic performance and the unsatisfactory state of industrial relations, combined with active spadework by figures such as Sir Keith Joseph, had helped to make a radical market programme politically feasible for Margaret Thatcher (which was in turn to influence the subsequent Labour leadership, especially under Tony Blair). To suppose that Wilson could have adopted such a line in the late 1960s or early 1970s is, however, anachronistic: like almost any political leader, Wilson was fated to work (sometimes skillfully and successfully, sometimes not) with the ideas that were in the air at the time. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a London-based conservative think tank. ... Keith Sinjohn Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH , PC (17 January 1918–10 December 1994) was a British barrister, politician, and Conservative Cabinet Minister under three different Ministries. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...

Discussion of Possible Plots and Conspiracy Theories

MI5 plots?

Main article: Harold Wilson conspiracy theories

In 1963, Soviet defector Anatoliy Golitsyn is said to have secretly claimed that Wilson was a KGB agent. ^[6] The majority of intelligence officers did not believe that Golitsyn was a genuine defector but a significant number did (most prominently James Jesus Angleton, the Deputy Director of Counter-Intelligence at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and factional strife broke out between the two groups. The book Spycatcher (an exposé of MI5) alleged that 30 MI5 agents then collaborated in an attempt to undermine Wilson. The author Peter Wright (a former member of MI5) later claimed that his ghostwriter had written 30 when he had meant 3. Many of Wright's claims are controversial, and a ministerial statement reported that an internal investigation failed to find any evidence to support the allegations. Soviet defector Anatoliy Golitsyn is said to have told Alec MacDonald, who set up safe houses where Golitsyn could live, that former Labour Party leader Hugh Gaitskell had been assassinated by the KGB in order to have the pro-American Gaitskell replaced as party leader by Harold Wilson. ... Soviet redirects here. ... A defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. ... Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn CBE (Russian: ;born August 25, 1926 in Piryatin, Ukrainian SSR) is a Soviet KGB defector and conspiracy theorist. ... This article is about the KGB of the Soviet Union. ... Operative James Jesus Angleton James Jesus Angleton (December 9, 1917–May 12, 1987), known to friends and colleagues as Jim and nicknamed the Kingfisher, was a long-serving chief of the Central Intelligence Agencys (CIA) counter-intelligence (CI) staff (Associate Deputy Director of Operations for Counterintelligence/ADDOCI). ... Counter Intelligence A uk label started and owned by John Machielsen. ... CIA redirects here. ... Spycatcher cover Spycatcher is a book by the former MI5 secret service operative and Assistant Director Peter Wright. ... MI-5 redirects here. ... See also Peter Wright (rugby player) and Pete Wright (musician) Peter Wright (born on August 9, 1916 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, United Kingdom - died April 27, 1995 in Tasmania, Australia) was a former MI5 counterintelligence officer noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher (ISBN 0670820555), which was part memoir, part expos... For other uses, see Ghostwriter (disambiguation). ...

Several other voices beyond Wright have raised claims of "dirty tricks" on the part of elements within the intelligence services against Wilson while he was in office. In March 1987, James Miller, a former MI5 agent, claimed that MI5 had encouraged the Ulster Workers' Council general strike in 1974 in order to destabilise Wilson's Government. See also: Walter Walker and David Stirling. In July 1987, Labour MP Ken Livingstone used his maiden speech to raise the 1975 allegations of a former Army Press officer in Northern Ireland, Colin Wallace, who also alleged a plot to destabilise Wilson. Chris Mullin, MP, speaking on 23rd of November, 1988, argued that sources other than Peter Wright supported claims of a long-standing attempt by the intelligence services (MI5) to undermine Wilson's government ^[7] The Ulster Workers Council was a Loyalist workers organisation set up in Northern Ireland in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the Loyalist Association of Workers. ... General Sir Walter Colyear Walker (11 November 1912 - 12 August 2001) was born on a tea plantation in India to a military family and was one of four sons. ... Colonel Sir David Stirling, OBE, DSO (November 15, 1915 - November 4, 1990) was a Scottish laird, keen mountaineer, World War II British Army officer, and the founder of the Special Air Service. ... Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is the outgoing Mayor of London, a post he has held from its creation in 2000 until 2008. ... A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected representative in such bodies as the House of Commons or the United States House of Representatives. ... Colin Wallace is a former British soldier and psychological warrior who was one of the members of the Clockwork Orange project, which is alleged to have been an attempt to smear a number of British politicians in the early 1970s. ...

A BBC programme The Plot Against Harold Wilson, broadcast in 2006, reported that, in tapes recorded soon after his resignation on health grounds, Wilson stated that for eight months of his premiership he didn't "feel he knew what was going on, fully, in security". Wilson alleged two plots, in the late 1960s and mid 1970s respectively. He said that plans had been hatched to install Lord Louis Mountbatten, Prince Charles's uncle and mentor, as interim Prime Minister (see also Other conspiracy theories, below). He also claimed that ex-military leaders had been building up private armies in anticipation of "wholesale domestic liquidation". For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (June 25, 1900 – August 27, 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... “Prince Charles” redirects here. ...

In the documentary some of Wilson's allegations received partial confirmation in interviews with ex-intelligence officers and others, who reported that, on two occasions during Wilson's terms in office, they had talked about a possible coup to take over the government.

On a separate track, elements within MI5 had also, the BBC programme reported, spread "black propaganda" that Wilson and Williams were Soviet agents, and that Wilson was an IRA sympathiser, apparently with the intention of helping the Conservatives win the 1974 election.

Other conspiracy theories

Richard Hough, in his 1980 biography of Mountbatten, indicates that Mountbatten was in fact approached during the 1960s in connection with a scheme to install an "emergency government" in place of Wilson's administration. The approach was made by Cecil Harmsworth King, the chairman of the International Printing Corporation (IPC), which published the Daily Mirror newspaper. Hough bases his account on conversations with the Mirror's long-time editor Hugh Cudlipp, supplemented by the recollections of the scientist Solly Zuckerman and of Mountbatten’s valet, William Evans. Cudlipp arranged for Mountbatten to meet King on 8 May 1968. King had long yearned to play a more central political role, and had personal grudges against Wilson (including Wilson's refusal to propose King for the hereditary earldom that King coveted). He had already failed in an earlier attempt to replace Wilson with James Callaghan. With Britain's continuing economic difficulties and industrial strife in the 1960s, King convinced himself that Wilson's government was heading towards collapse. He thought that Mountbatten, as a Royal and a former Chief of the Defence Staff, would command public support as leader of a non-democratic "emergency" government. Mountbatten insisted that his friend, Zuckerman, be present (Zuckerman says that he was urged to attend by Mountbatten’s son-in-law, Lord Brabourne, who worried King would lead Mountbatten astray). King asked Mountbatten if he would be willing to head an emergency government. Zuckerman said the idea was treachery and Mountbatten in turn rebuffed King. He does not, however, appear to have reported the approach to Downing Street. Richard Hough is a British author and historian specializing in maritime history. ... Cecil Harmsworth King (20 February 1901 – 17 April 1987) was owner of Mirror Group Newspapers, and later a Director at the Bank of England. ... Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... Hugh Kinsman Cudlipp (1913 - May 17, 1998), was a Welsh journalist. ... Lord Solly Zuckerman (May 30, 1904 - April 1, 1993) was a UK public servant, zoologist, and scientific advisor. ... is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Chief of the Defence Staff is a term used for the head of the militaries in a number of nations: Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada) Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share... The Right Honourable John Ulick Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne, CBE (9 November 1924–23 September 2005) was a British peer and a television producer. ... Downing Street looking west. ...

The question of how serious a threat to democracy may have existed during these years continues to be controversial -- a key point at issue being who of any consequence would have been ready to move beyond grumbling about the government (or spreading rumours) to actively taking unconstitutional action. Cecil King himself was an inveterate schemer but an inept actor on the political stage. Perhaps significantly, when King penned a strongly worded editorial against Wilson for the Daily Mirror two days after his abortive meeting with Mountbatten, the unanimous reaction of IPC's directors was to fire him with immediate effect from his position as Chairman. More fundamentally, Denis Healey, who served for six years as Wilson's Secretary of State for Defence, has argued that actively serving senior British military officers would not have been prepared to overthrow a constitutionally-elected government. By the time of his resignation, Wilson's own perceptions of any threat may have been exacerbated by the onset of Alzheimer's; his inherent tendency to suspiciousness was undoubtedly stoked by some in his inner circle, notably including Marcia Williams. Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917), is a British Labour politician. ...

Files released on 1 June 2005 show that Wilson was concerned that, while on the Isles of Scilly, he was being monitored by Russian ships disguised as trawlers. MI5 found no evidence of this, but told him not to use a walkie-talkie. is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... MI-5 redirects here. ... A walkie-talkie is a portable, bi-directional radio transceiver, first developed for military use. ...

Wilson's Government took strong action against the controversial, self-styled Church of Scientology in 1967, banning foreign Scientologists from entering the UK, a prohibition which remained in force until 1980. In response, L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's founder, accused Wilson of being in cahoots with Soviet Russia and an international conspiracy of psychiatrists and financiers. Wilson's Minister of Health, Kenneth Robinson, subsequently won a libel suit against the Church and Hubbard. The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. ... Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986), better known as L. Ron Hubbard, was the founder of the Church of Scientology, as well as the author of Dianetics and the body of works comprising Scientology doctrine. ... Kenneth Robinson (1911-1996) was a British politician who served as Minister of Health in Harold Wilsons first government, from 1964 to 1968, when the position was merged into the new one of Secretary of State for Social Services. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ...

Harold Wilson's first government, October 1964 - June 1970

Initial Cabinet

• Harold Wilson - Prime Minister
• George Brown - First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
• Lord Gardiner - Lord Chancellor
• Herbert Bowden - Lord President of the Council
• Lord Longford - Lord Privy Seal
• James Callaghan - Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Patrick Gordon Walker - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Sir Frank Soskice - Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Fred Peart - Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• Anthony Greenwood - Secretary of State for the Colonies
• Arthur Bottomley - Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations
• Denis Healey - Secretary of State for Defence
• Michael Stewart - Secretary of State for Education and Science
• Richard Crossman - Minister of Housing and Local Government
• Barbara Castle - Minister for Overseas Development
• Ray Gunter - Minister of Labour
• Douglas Houghton - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Frederick Lee - Minister of Power
• William Ross - Secretary of State for Scotland
• Frank Cousins - Minister of Technology
• Douglas Jay - President of the Board of Trade
• Thomas Fraser - Minister of Transport
• Jim Griffiths - Secretary of State for Wales
• Margaret Herbison - Minister of Pensions and National Insurance

Changes George Alfred Brown, later George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 – 2 June 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... First Secretary of State is a title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific, currently held by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. ... The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was a position in the United Kingdom government briefly established by Harold Wilson in October 1964. ... Gerald Austin Gardiner, Baron Gardiner of Kittisford in the County of Somerset, PC KC (30 May 1900-7 January 1990) was Lord Chancellor from 1964 to 1970 and during that time he introduced into British law as many reforms as any Lord Chancellor had done before or since. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... Herbert Bowden was a British Labour politician. ... The Office of Lord President of the Council is a British cabinet position, the holder of which acts as presiding officer of the Privy Council. ... Cover image: Peter Stanfords biography of Lord Longford, The Outcasts Outcast (2003) Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, KG, PC (5 December 1905–3 August 2001) was a politician, author, and social reformer. ... The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is one of the traditional sinecure offices in the British Cabinet. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker, Baron Gordon-Walker CH (7 April 1907 – 2 December 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... Frank Soskice, Baron Stow Hill (23 July 1902 - 1 January 1979) was a British lawyer and Labour Party politician. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... Fred Peart, Baron Peart (1914-1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. ... The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. ... Anthony Greenwood, 1st Baron Greenwood (1911–1982) was a prominent British Labour Party politician in the 1950s and 1960s. ... The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet official in charge of managing the various British colonies. ... Arthur George Bottomley, generally known as Arthur Bottomley (1907 - 1995) was a British Labour politician, MP and minister. ... The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet office existing between 1947 and 1966, responsible for dealing with British relationship with members of the Commonwealth of Nations (its former colonies). ... Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917), is a British Labour politician. ... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... The Right Honourable Captain Robert Maitland Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham, PC (November 6, 1906, Bromley - March 13, 1990) was a British Labour politician who served twice as Foreign Secretary in the first cabinet of Harold Wilson. ... The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government. ... Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 to April 1974) was a British politician and writer. ... Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (October 6, 1910 – May 3, 2002) was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (and brought up in Pontefract and Bradford, Yorkshire), who adopted her familys politics, joining the Labour Party. ... In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world. ... Raymond Jones Gunter, (August 30, 1909 – April 12, 1977), British Labour politician, was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement - specifically his union TSSA, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. ... Minister of Labour re-directs here. ... (Arthur Leslie Noel) Douglas Houghton, Baron Houghton of Sowerby (August 11, 1898 – May 2, 1996) was a British Labour politician, Houghton was born in Derbyshire and fought in the First World War, survived the horrors of the Battle of the Somme, and secured for himself a post in the civil... The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a sinecure office in the British government. ... Frederick Lee, Baron Lee of Newton PC (3 August 1906 – 4 February 1984) was a British Labour Party politician and peer. ... A Ministry of Power is a government department dealing with matters concerning power: this could include fuel, electricity, and other connected matters. ... William Willie Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock (7 April 1911 - 10 June 1988) was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland, holding office from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... Frank Cousins (1904-1986) was a British trade union leader and Labour politician. ... The Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as MinTech. The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilsons ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to be... Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, Baron Jay, PC (23 March 1907 – 6 March 1996) was a British Labour Party politician. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... Tom Fraser was a Labour MP for the Hamilton constituency (1950-1967) [[1]]. He was Minister of Transport from October 16, 1964 until December 23 1965. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... James Jim Griffiths (1890-1975) was a Welsh Labour politician, the prime mover in the establishment of the Welsh Office. ... The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. ... Miss Margaret McCrorie Herbison (12 March 1907 - 1997) was a Scottish Labour politician. ... The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. ...

• January 1965 - Michael Stewart succeeds Patrick Gordon Walker as Foreign Secretary. Anthony Crosland succeeds Stewart as Education Secretary.
• December 1965 - Barbara Castle succeeds Thomas Fraser as Minister of Transport. Anthony Greenwood succeeds Castle as Minister of Overseas Development. Lord Longford succeeds Greenwood as Colonial Secretary. Sir Frank Soskice succeeds Lord Longford as Lord Privy Seal. Roy Jenkins succeeds Soskice as Home Secretary.
• April 1966 - Lord Longford succeeds Sir Frank Soskice as Lord Privy Seal. Frederick Lee succeeds Longford as Colonial Secretary. Richard Marsh succeeds Lee as Minister of Power. Douglas Houghton resigns as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. His successor is not in the cabinet. Cledwyn Hughes succeeds Jim Griffiths as Welsh Secretary.
• July 1966 - Tony Benn succeeds Frank Cousins as Minister of Technology.

After reshuffle, August 1966 Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ... Anthony Greenwood, 1st Baron Greenwood (1911–1982) was a prominent British Labour Party politician in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... Richard William Marsh, Baron Marsh (born 14 March 1928) is an English politician and business executive. ... Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, CH, PC, (September 14, 1916-2001) was a Welsh Labour politician. ... Anthony Tony Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925), formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British socialist politician. ...

• Harold Wilson - Prime Minister
• Michael Stewart - First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
• Lord Gardiner - Lord Chancellor
• Richard Crossman - Lord President of the Council
• Lord Longford - Lord Privy Seal
• James Callaghan - Chancellor of the Exchequer
• George Brown - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• Roy Jenkins - Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Fred Peart - Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• Herbert Bowden - Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
• Denis Healey - Secretary of State for Defence
• Anthony Crosland - Secretary of State for Education and Science
• Anthony Greenwood - Minister of Housing and Local Government
• Arthur Bottomley - Minister for Overseas Development
• Ray Gunter - Minister of Labour
• Richard Marsh - Minister of Power
• William Ross - Secretary of State for Scotland
• Tony Benn - Minister of Technology
• Douglas Jay - President of the Board of Trade
• Barbara Castle - Minister of Transport
• Cledwyn Hughes - Secretary of State for Wales

Changes The Right Honourable Captain Robert Maitland Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham, PC (November 6, 1906, Bromley - March 13, 1990) was a British Labour politician who served twice as Foreign Secretary in the first cabinet of Harold Wilson. ... First Secretary of State is a title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific, currently held by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. ... The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was a position in the United Kingdom government briefly established by Harold Wilson in October 1964. ... Gerald Austin Gardiner, Baron Gardiner of Kittisford in the County of Somerset, PC KC (30 May 1900-7 January 1990) was Lord Chancellor from 1964 to 1970 and during that time he introduced into British law as many reforms as any Lord Chancellor had done before or since. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 to April 1974) was a British politician and writer. ... The Office of Lord President of the Council is a British cabinet position, the holder of which acts as presiding officer of the Privy Council. ... Cover image: Peter Stanfords biography of Lord Longford, The Outcasts Outcast (2003) Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford, KG, PC (5 December 1905–3 August 2001) was a politician, author, and social reformer. ... The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is one of the traditional sinecure offices in the British Cabinet. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... George Alfred Brown, later George Alfred George-Brown, Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 – 2 June 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... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... Fred Peart, Baron Peart (1914-1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. ... The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. ... Herbert Bowden was a British Labour politician. ... The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on August 1, 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. ... Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917), is a British Labour politician. ... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ... The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government. ... Anthony Greenwood, 1st Baron Greenwood (1911–1982) was a prominent British Labour Party politician in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Arthur George Bottomley, generally known as Arthur Bottomley (1907 - 1995) was a British Labour politician, MP and minister. ... In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world. ... Raymond Jones Gunter, (August 30, 1909 – April 12, 1977), British Labour politician, was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement - specifically his union TSSA, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. ... Minister of Labour re-directs here. ... Richard William Marsh, Baron Marsh (born 14 March 1928) is an English politician and business executive. ... A Ministry of Power is a government department dealing with matters concerning power: this could include fuel, electricity, and other connected matters. ... William Willie Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock (7 April 1911 - 10 June 1988) was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland, holding office from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... Anthony Tony Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925), formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British socialist politician. ... The Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as MinTech. The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilsons ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to be... Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay, Baron Jay, PC (23 March 1907 – 6 March 1996) was a British Labour Party politician. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (October 6, 1910 – May 3, 2002) was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (and brought up in Pontefract and Bradford, Yorkshire), who adopted her familys politics, joining the Labour Party. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, CH, PC, (September 14, 1916-2001) was a Welsh Labour politician. ... The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. ...

• January 1967 - Lord Shackleton and Patrick Gordon Walker enter the cabinet as Ministers without Portfolio.
• August 1967 - Peter Shore succeeds Michael Stewart as Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. Stewart remains First Secretary of State. George Thomson succeeds Herbert Bowden as Commonwealth Secretary. Anthony Crosland succeeds Douglas Jay as President of the Board of Trade. Patrick Gordon Walker succeeds Anthony Crosland as Education Secretary. Arthur Bottomley, Minister of Overseas Development, leaves the cabinet. His successor in that office is not in the cabinet.
• November 1967 - Roy Jenkins succeeds James Callaghan as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Callaghan succeeds Jenkins as Home Secretary
• January 1968 - Lord Shackleton succeeds Lord Longford as Lord Privy Seal.

After reshuffle, April 1968 Right Hon. ... Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker, Baron Gordon-Walker CH (7 April 1907 – 2 December 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. ... Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC (May 20, 1924 - September 24, 2001) was a British Labour politician noted for his opposition to the European Communities. ... George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT PC, (16 January 1921 - ) is a former journalist and Labour politician. ... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ... Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker, Baron Gordon-Walker CH (7 April 1907 – 2 December 1980) was a British Labour Party politician. ... Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, PC KG (July 15, 1911 - 1994), was a British geographer and Labour politician. ...

• Harold Wilson - Prime Minister
• Barbara Castle - First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity
• Lord Gardiner - Lord Chancellor
• Richard Crossman - Lord President of the Council
• Fred Peart - Lord Privy Seal
• Roy Jenkins - Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Peter Shore - Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
• Michael Stewart - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
• James Callaghan - Secretary of State for the Home Department
• Cledwyn Hughes - Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• George Thomson - Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
• Denis Healey - Secretary of State for Defence
• Edward Short - Secretary of State for Education and Science
• Anthony Greenwood - Minister of Housing and Local Government
• Ray Gunter - Minister of Labour
• Ray Gunter - Minister of Power
• William Ross - Secretary of State for Scotland
• Tony Benn - Minister of Technology
• Anthony Crosland - President of the Board of Trade
• Richard Marsh - Minister of Transport
• George Thomas - Secretary of State for Wales
• Lord Shackleton - Paymaster General

Changes Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (October 6, 1910 – May 3, 2002) was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (and brought up in Pontefract and Bradford, Yorkshire), who adopted her familys politics, joining the Labour Party. ... First Secretary of State is a title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific, currently held by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. ... The Secretary of State for Employment was a UK cabinet position. ... Gerald Austin Gardiner, Baron Gardiner of Kittisford in the County of Somerset, PC KC (30 May 1900-7 January 1990) was Lord Chancellor from 1964 to 1970 and during that time he introduced into British law as many reforms as any Lord Chancellor had done before or since. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 to April 1974) was a British politician and writer. ... The Office of Lord President of the Council is a British cabinet position, the holder of which acts as presiding officer of the Privy Council. ... Fred Peart, Baron Peart (1914-1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. ... The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is one of the traditional sinecure offices in the British Cabinet. ... Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC (May 20, 1924 - September 24, 2001) was a British Labour politician noted for his opposition to the European Communities. ... The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was a position in the United Kingdom government briefly established by Harold Wilson in October 1964. ... The Right Honourable Captain Robert Maitland Michael Stewart, Baron Stewart of Fulham, PC (November 6, 1906, Bromley - March 13, 1990) was a British Labour politician who served twice as Foreign Secretary in the first cabinet of Harold Wilson. ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... Cledwyn Hughes, Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, CH, PC, (September 14, 1916-2001) was a Welsh Labour politician. ... The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. ... George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT PC, (16 January 1921 - ) is a former journalist and Labour politician. ... The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on August 1, 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and Secretary of State for the Colonies. ... Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917), is a British Labour politician. ... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... Edward Watson Short, Baron Glenamara (born 17 December 1912), is a former Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne, who was a minister during the Labour Governments of Harold Wilson. ... The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government. ... Anthony Greenwood, 1st Baron Greenwood (1911–1982) was a prominent British Labour Party politician in the 1950s and 1960s. ... Raymond Jones Gunter, (August 30, 1909 – April 12, 1977), British Labour politician, was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement - specifically his union TSSA, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. ... Minister of Labour re-directs here. ... Raymond Jones Gunter, (August 30, 1909 – April 12, 1977), British Labour politician, was born in Wales and had a background in the railway industry and the British trade union movement - specifically his union TSSA, the Transport Salaried Staffs Association. ... A Ministry of Power is a government department dealing with matters concerning power: this could include fuel, electricity, and other connected matters. ... William Willie Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock (7 April 1911 - 10 June 1988) was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland, holding office from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... Anthony Tony Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925), formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British socialist politician. ... The Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as MinTech. The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilsons ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to be... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... Richard William Marsh, Baron Marsh (born 14 March 1928) is an English politician and business executive. ... The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. ... The Right Honourable Thomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy (29 January 1909 - 22 September 1997) was a British Labour politician. ... The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. ... Right Hon. ... Paymaster-General is a ministerial position in the UK. The portfolio consists of the workings of HM Revenue and Customs, formerly HM Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, and reports to the Chancellor of the Exchequer. ...

• July 1968 - Roy Mason succeeds Ray Gunter as Minister of Power.
• October-November 1968 - Fred Peart succeeds Richard Crossman as Lord President. Lord Shackleton succeeds Fred Peart as Lord Privy Seal. Judith Hart succeeds Shackleton as Paymaster-General. The Foreign and Commonwealth Offices are merged, with Michael Stewart as Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary. Jack Diamond, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, enters the cabinet. The office of Secretary of State for Social Services is created, with Richard Crossman as Secretary. George Thomson enters the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio.
• October 1969 - Anthony Greenwood, Minister of Housing and Local Government, leaves the cabinet. George Thomson becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Anthony Crosland, becomes the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning. Roy Mason succeeds Crosland as President of the Board of Trade. His previous position of Minister of Power is abolished. Harold Lever succeeds Judith Hart as Paymaster General. Richard Marsh resigns as Minister of Transport. His successor is not in the cabinet.

Roy Mason (born April 18, 1924) is a British politician and former Cabinet minister. ... Fred Peart, Baron Peart (1914-1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. ... Judith Hart, Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC (18 September 1924 – 8 December 1991) was a British Labour Party politician. ... Jack Legs Diamond Jack Legs Diamond (1897-December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was the alias of Jack Moran, an Irish-American gangster based out of New York City. ... The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a junior position in the British Cabinet. ... The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. ... George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT PC, (16 January 1921 - ) is a former journalist and Labour politician. ... George Morgan Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT PC, (16 January 1921 - ) is a former journalist and Labour politician. ... Norman Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester (15 January 1914 - 6 August 1995) was a British laywer and Labour politician. ...

Harold Wilson's second government, March 1974 - April 1976

• Harold Wilson - Prime Minister
• Lord Elwyn-Jones - Lord Chancellor
• Edward Short - Lord President of the Council
• Lord Shepherd - Lord Privy Seal
• Denis Healey - Chancellor of the Exchequer
• James Callaghan - Foreign Secretary
• Roy Jenkins - Home Secretary
• Fred Peart - Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• Roy Mason - Secretary of State for Defence
• Reginald Prentice - Secretary of State for Education and Science
• Michael Foot - Secretary of State for Employment
• Eric Varley - Secretary of State for Energy
• Anthony Crosland - Secretary of State for the Environment
• Barbara Castle - Secretary of State for Health and Social Security
• Tony Benn - Secretary of State for Industry
• Harold Lever - Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Merlyn Rees - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• William Ross - Secretary of State for Scotland
• Shirley Williams - Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection
• Peter Shore - Secretary of State for Trade
• John Morris - Secretary of State for Wales
• Robert Mellish - Chief Whip

Frederick Elwyn Elwyn-Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones (1909-1989) was a British peer and politician. ... The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor and prior to the Union the Chancellor of England and the Lord Chancellor of Scotland, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom, and its predecessor states. ... Edward Watson Short, Baron Glenamara (born 17 December 1912), is a former Labour MP for Newcastle upon Tyne, who was a minister during the Labour Governments of Harold Wilson. ... The Office of Lord President of the Council is a British cabinet position, the holder of which acts as presiding officer of the Privy Council. ... Malcolm Newton Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd (1918-2001) was a British Labour politician and peer who served as Leader of the House of Lords under Harold Wilson from 1974 to 1976. ... The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is one of the traditional sinecure offices in the British Cabinet. ... Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917), is a British Labour politician. ... The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister responsible for all economic and financial matters. ... Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ... The position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the United Kingdoms governmental reorganization of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices. ... Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, OM, PC (November 11, 1920 – January 5, 2003) was a British politician and a prominent Labour Member of Parliament in the 1960s and 1970s, and founding member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ... Fred Peart, Baron Peart (1914-1988) was a British Labour politician who served in the Labour governments of the 60s and 70s. ... The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. ... Roy Mason (born April 18, 1924) is a British politician and former Cabinet minister. ... The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. ... Reginald Ernest Prentice, Baron Prentice, PC (July 16, 1923 - January 18, 2001) was a UK politician, representing the Labour Party and later the Conservative Party. ... The Secretary of State for Education and Skills is the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government. ... Michael Mackintosh Foot (born 23 July 1913) is an English politician and writer. ... Minister of Labour re-directs here. ... Eric Graham Varley, Baron Varley (b. ... The Secretary of State for Energy was a UK cabinet position from 1974 to 1992. ... Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977) was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist. ... The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position. ... Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (October 6, 1910 – May 3, 2002) was a British left-wing politician, born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (and brought up in Pontefract and Bradford, Yorkshire), who adopted her familys politics, joining the Labour Party. ... The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet, responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. ... Anthony Tony Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925), formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British socialist politician. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... (Norman) Harold Lever, Baron Lever of Manchester, PC (15 January 1914 - 6 August 1995) was a British laywer and Labour politician. ... The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is, in modern times, a sinecure office in the British government. ... Merlyn Rees, later Baron Merlyn-Rees of Cilfynydd, PC (18 December 1920 - 5 January 2006) was a British Labour party Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. ... The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is the British cabinet minister who has responsibility for the government of Northern Ireland. ... William Willie Ross, Baron Ross of Marnock (7 April 1911 - 10 June 1988) was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland, holding office from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... The Baroness Williams of Crosby Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, PC (born July 27, 1930), is a British politician. ... The Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was a short lived United Kingdom government department created by the incoming Labour government in 1974 when the functions of the Department of Trade and Industry were divided between three new departments; (the Department of Trade, the Department of Industry and the Department... Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC (May 20, 1924 - September 24, 2001) was a British Labour politician noted for his opposition to the European Communities. ... The President of the Board of Trade the title of a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. ... This article is about the British politician. ... The Secretary of State for Wales is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. ... The Right Honourable Robert Joseph Mellish, Baron Mellish, PC (March 3, 1913 – May 9, 1998) was a British politician. ... The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ...

Changes

• October 1974 - John Silkin although working to the Secretary of State for Environment enters the cabinet as Minister of Planning and Local Government.
• June 1975 - Fred Mulley succeeds Reginald Prentice as Secretary for Education and Science. Prentice becomes Secretary for Overseas Development. Tony Benn succeeds Eric Varley as Secretary for Energy. Varley succeeds Benn as Secretary for Industry.

Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... John Silkin was working with Cargo Press on his collection Testament Without Breath at the time of his death in November 1997. ... The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley of Manor Park in the City of Sheffield, PC, (born July 3, 1918) was a British Labour politician, barrister-at-law, and economist. ...

Titles from birth to death

• Harold Wilson, Esq (11 March 1916–1 January 1945)
• Harold Wilson, Esq, OBE (1 January 1945–26 July 1945)
• Harold Wilson, Esq, OBE, MP (26 July 1945–29 September 1947)
• The Right Honourable Harold Wilson, OBE, MP (29 September 1947–6 December 1969)
• The Right Honourable Harold Wilson, OBE, FRS, MP (6 December 1969–23 April 1976)
• The Right Honourable Sir Harold Wilson, KG, OBE, FRS, MP (23 April 1976–9 June 1983)
• The Right Honourable Sir Harold Wilson, KG, OBE, FRS (9 June–16 September 1983)
• The Right Honourable The Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (16 September 1983–24 May 1995)

is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Friday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 1st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 113th day of the year (114th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 160th day of the year (161st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... is the 160th day of the year (161st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Jimi Hendrix song, see 1983. ... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Wilson on television

• Shortly after resigning as Prime Minister Wilson was signed by David Frost to host a series of interview/chat show programmes. The pilot episode proved to be a flop as Wilson appeared uncomfortable with the informality of the format.
• Wilson also hosted two editions of the BBC chat show 'Friday Night, Saturday Morning'. He famously floundered in the role, and in 2000, Channel 4 chose it as one of the 100 Moments of TV Hell.
• In 1978, Harold Wilson appeared on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Special. Eric Morecambe's habit of appearing not to recognise the guest stars was repaid by Wilson, who referred to him throughout as 'Mor-e-cam-by'.
• Francis Wheen scripted the BBC Four 2006 drama The Lavender List, a fictional account of the Wilson Government of 1974–76. Kenneth Cranham played Wilson, Gina McKee Marcia Williams and Celia Imrie has a supporting role as Wilson's wife. The play concentrated on Wilson and Williams' relationship and her conflict with the Downing Street Press Secretary Joe Haines.
• Also in 2006, The Plot Against Harold Wilson aired on BBC Two at 2100GMT on Thursday 16 March. The drama/documentary detailed previously unseen evidence that rogue elements of MI5 and the British military plotted to take down the Labour Government, believing Wilson to be a Soviet spy. Harold Wilson was portrayed by James Bolam.

David Frost during an interview with Donald Rumsfeld. ... Friday Night, Saturday Morning was a BBC2 chat show, with a revolving guest host that ran from 28 September 1979 to 2 April 1982. ... Morecambe and Wise were a famous British comic double act comprising Eric Morecambe OBE and Ernie Wise OBE. The act lasted four decades until Morecambes death in 1984. ... Francis James Baird Wheen (born 22 January 1957) is a British writer and journalist. ... For the BBC radio station, see BBC Radio 4. ... The Lavender List was a docudrama broadcast on BBC Four in March 2006. ... Kenneth Cranham (born on December 12, 1944 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland) is a film, television and stage actor who has appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster No. ... Gina McKee (born 14 April 1961) is an English actress, known for her starring roles in the TV dramas Our Friends in the North (1996) and The Lost Prince (2003) for the BBC and the ITV version of The Forsyte Saga (2002-03). ... Celie Imrie (born 15 July 1952 in Guildford England) is a British actress. ... Joseph Thomas William Haines (born 29 January 1928 in Rotherhithe, London) is a British journalist and former press secretary to Labour leader and Prime Minister Harold Wilson (1969-76). ... 2 (two) is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. ... James Bolam (born June 16, 1938 in Sunderland, England) is a British actor, perhaps most associated with his portrayal of the lovable layabout Terry Collier in the hit BBC sitcoms The Likely Lads and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?. Much like his fellow Likely Lad Rodney Bewes, Bolam was...

Trivia

• A popular urban myth at Oxford University states that Wilson's grade in his final examination was the highest ever recorded up to that date.
• Wilson was a supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club^[8]
• Wilson was an Honorary Fellow of Columbia Pacific University [1]. This was at a time when CPU was led by a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and two former presidents of regionally accredited schools. The former British Prime Minister also delivered a speech at a CPU graduation ceremony [2].
• Wilson was voted Pipe Smoker of the Year in 1965 and Pipeman of the Decade in 1976 by the British Pipesmokers' Council.
• Both Wilson and Edward Heath are named in the lyrics of the George Harrison song "Taxman" the lead track from the Revolver album by The Beatles.
• A viking in the Asterix story Asterix and the Great Crossing is named Haraldwilssen, and shares his physical features.

Urban Legend is also the name of a 1998 movie. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Fans of Janet Jackson, at Much Music in Toronto The word fan refers to someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking of a person, group of persons, work of art, idea, or trend. ... Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. ... Columbia Pacific University (CPU) was an unaccredited nontraditional distance learning school in California. ... Pipe Smoker of the Year was an award given out annually by the British Pipesmokers Council, to honour a famous pipe-smoking individual. ... Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, OBE (9 July 1916 – 17 July 2005) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. ... For other persons named George Harrison, see George Harrison (disambiguation). ... For the profession, see Tax collector. ... The Beatles U.S. chronology Alternate cover Cover of the original 1966 U.S. LP Back cover Back cover of the original 1966 UK LP. The main photo was edited in separate parts for the booklet of the 1988 Compact Disc release. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... For other uses, see Viking (disambiguation). ... This article is about the comic book series. ... Asterix and the Great Crossing is the twenty-second volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). ...

Bibliography

There is an extensive bibliography on Harold Wilson. He is the author of a number of books. He is the subject of many biographies (both light and serious) and academic analyses of his career and various aspects of the policies pursued by the governments he has led. He features in many "humorous" books. He was the Prime Minister in the so-called "Swinging London" era of the 1960s, and therefore features in many of the books about this period of history. Swinging London is a catchall term applied to a variety of dynamic cultural trends in the United Kingdom (centred in London) in the second half of the 1960s. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969. ...

For an extensive list of titles, see the article Harold Wilson: Bibliography.

Notes

Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 209th day of the year (210th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Guardian. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 358th day of the year (359th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Christopher Maurice Andrew (born 23 July 1941) is a British historian and professor with a special interest in international relations and in particular the history of intelligence services. ...

See also

• Lord Goodman
• War on Want

Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is one of a family of wiki-based projects run by the Wikimedia Foundation, running on MediaWiki software. ... Arnold Goodman CH QC (Hon) (1913–1995), British lawyer and political advisor. ... War On Want is a campaigning charity based in London, England, which highlights the needs of poverty-stricken areas around the world, lobbying governments and international agencies to tackle problems, as well as raising public awareness of the concerns of developing nations. ...

External links

• Wilson, Harold Chronology World History Database
• More about Harold Wilson on the Downing Street website.
• Roy Hattersley, The truth about Harold Wilson - after 30 years of scandalous rumours, Daily Mail, 24th June 2007
• Photo of Harold Wilson's grave on Scilly Isles