Chapter 5 - Labour and Conservative Governments, 1964-79
Why did the Labour party win the 1964 election?
Overturned a Conservative majority of 100 and won by 4 (a narrow victory). Labour secured fewer votes
in 1964 than it had done in 1959 (suggesting that the election was more of a rejection of the
Conservatives than an endorsement of Labour).
1. Harold Wilson’s Leadership of the Labour party
More united than in 1955 or 1959. Wilson was able to gloss over divisions about nuclear weapons,
Europe and Clause IV.
Manifesto promised a range of policies:
Faster economic growth, full employment, improved welfare and health services, better housing and a
programme of comprehensive education.
Didn’t stress nationalisation as this was unpopular with the electorate.
Cultural changes in British society in the 1950s (e.g growth of satire on TV/ in the press) meant that
young people were less willing to accept traditional authority.
Grammar schools gave bright children from underprivileged backgrounds opportunities to enter
universities.
Aspirations for a modern, classless Britain run with professional, scientific competence - the Labour party
benefited from this mood (opinion polls showed it was significantly more popular with voters under 44).
Wilson stressed how he was different from the old Etonians who led the Tory party by cultivating his
image as a man of the people - a Yorkshire born, grammar-school boy and football fan, who preferred
tinned salmon and HP sauce. He personified a new, progressive Britain where talented people from
humble backgrounds could succeed.
Wilson was seen as young, dynamic and intelligent in comparison to Home, who admitted to doing sums
with matchsticks.
Wilson also made science an important factor of his campaign and wanted to “harness the white heat of
technology”. Promised to use science/ technology to create a second industrial revolution and revive the
British economy.
HOWEVER, not the most important factor of success as:
- Many voters still distrusted Labour’s links to the trade unions/ their commitment to nationalisation/
their stance on immigration.
- The party’s internal divisions had not been fully resolved
- Very few of its leaders had held office before and voters doubted their abilities to handle crises
(especially international problems) as the Conservatives were more reliable on defence
- Wilson’s personal appeal can be exaggerated. He was not a charismatic leader like Tony Blair
later on.
2. How the electorate regarded the Conservatives
Voters blamed them for the growing economic problems, rising unemployment, inflation and industrial
unrest in the early 1960s. Labour claimed that the Tories had presided over ‘Thirteen Wasted Years’.
,Conservatives seemed out of touch/ old-fashioned. Douglas Home was an aristocrat and there were a
series of scandals that damaged party image. Daily Mirror on the Profumo Scandal - “all power corrupts
and the Tories have been in power for nearly twelve years”. Time for a change.
HOWEVER not the most important factor as:
The Profumo Scandal didn’t have a huge impact on traditional Tory votes (the elderly and women). In
opinion polls they continued to prefer the Conservatives.
Douglas-Home was a more effective PM than many expected. The extent to which he was disliked by the
electorate can be overstated. Many found him to be more modest, decent and trustworthy than Wilson,
who was seen as politically cunning
Conservative tax cuts were popular with the electorate. Chancellor of the Exchequer (Reginald Maulding)
cut taxes in his 1963 budget. Earnings rose and the number of unemployed dropped from 900,000 in Feb
1963 to 300,000 in July 1964.
Conservatives gained some votes in working class areas where immigration was disliked.
In the Smethwick constituency (near Birmingham) the Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths ran an
overtly racist campaign and succeeded in turning a 3500 Labour majority into a Tory majority by 1700
votes. The Tories were seen as more likely to tackle immigration.
3. Revival of the Liberal Party
Conservative growing unpopularity in the early 1960s benefitted the Liberal party, as many middle-class
voters wanted to register their protest but were not prepared to vote Labour.
1962. In middle-class Orpington the Liberals overturned a Conservative majority of 14,000 and won the
seat by 7,000 votes.
This revival brought the Liberals more publicity/ increased funding.
The Liberal Party was able to contest many more seats in 1964 than they had done in 1959 and almost
doubled their vote.
Considerably affected the outcome of the election as, by taking votes from the Conservatives, they
handed the victory to Labour in many marginal seats that they had not won in 1959.
MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR: Labour didn’t win a landslide victory as in 1945 and won fewer votes than
in 1959, but the Conservatives lost 1.6 million votes and the Liberals gained 1.5 million votes. The
outcome was mainly due to discontented middle-class voters going to the Liberals rather than a huge
support for Labour.
If a mere 900 voters in eight constituencies had voted Tory instead of Labour (or not voted at all) the
Conservatives would have won - the growth of the Liberal party therefore had a huge impact by taking
votes off the Conservatives.
, How effective was Harold Wilson as PM?
Area 1: Labour’s Small Majority (SUCCESS)=
- Majority of 4
- March 1966 General Election, the government returned with a majority of 96 (a major
achievement showing that WIlson’s leadership style had paid off)
- He had avoided splits within the party
- Many voters still blamed the Tories for the country's difficulties and Wilson (by exuding self-
confidence and authority) made Edward Heath seem dogged and ponderous
Area 2: The Transformation of British Society (SUCCESS)
➔ Reforms
The increase in prosperity; better education; higher standard of living; less respect for tradition; the growth
of a youth sub-culture and more employment opportunities for women resulted in demands for reforms/
equality.
Series of reforms enacted by Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary:
Date Act Impact
1965 Murder Temporary abolition of the death penalty, made permanent in 1969
Race Relations Discrimination in public facilities illegal
1967 Family Planning Contraception available to all on the NHS, not just married couples
Sexual Offences Homosexual acts in private between two consenting adults legalised
Abortion Legalised under certain conditions
Criminal Justice Introduced the parole system of releasing prisoners serving three years or
Act more early. Made the justice system more civilised.
1968 Race Relations Race discrimination in housing and employment illegal
Theatres Censorship of plays by the Lord Chamberlain ended
1969 Voting Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
Divorce Divorce process simplified/ made less costly
1970 Equal Pay Men and women to receive the same pay for the same work
Successes of reforms:
Wilson had managed to balance the left wing and the more centrist Labour supporters in his social
reforms.
Achieved change without being too extreme.
Failures of reforms:
Why did the Labour party win the 1964 election?
Overturned a Conservative majority of 100 and won by 4 (a narrow victory). Labour secured fewer votes
in 1964 than it had done in 1959 (suggesting that the election was more of a rejection of the
Conservatives than an endorsement of Labour).
1. Harold Wilson’s Leadership of the Labour party
More united than in 1955 or 1959. Wilson was able to gloss over divisions about nuclear weapons,
Europe and Clause IV.
Manifesto promised a range of policies:
Faster economic growth, full employment, improved welfare and health services, better housing and a
programme of comprehensive education.
Didn’t stress nationalisation as this was unpopular with the electorate.
Cultural changes in British society in the 1950s (e.g growth of satire on TV/ in the press) meant that
young people were less willing to accept traditional authority.
Grammar schools gave bright children from underprivileged backgrounds opportunities to enter
universities.
Aspirations for a modern, classless Britain run with professional, scientific competence - the Labour party
benefited from this mood (opinion polls showed it was significantly more popular with voters under 44).
Wilson stressed how he was different from the old Etonians who led the Tory party by cultivating his
image as a man of the people - a Yorkshire born, grammar-school boy and football fan, who preferred
tinned salmon and HP sauce. He personified a new, progressive Britain where talented people from
humble backgrounds could succeed.
Wilson was seen as young, dynamic and intelligent in comparison to Home, who admitted to doing sums
with matchsticks.
Wilson also made science an important factor of his campaign and wanted to “harness the white heat of
technology”. Promised to use science/ technology to create a second industrial revolution and revive the
British economy.
HOWEVER, not the most important factor of success as:
- Many voters still distrusted Labour’s links to the trade unions/ their commitment to nationalisation/
their stance on immigration.
- The party’s internal divisions had not been fully resolved
- Very few of its leaders had held office before and voters doubted their abilities to handle crises
(especially international problems) as the Conservatives were more reliable on defence
- Wilson’s personal appeal can be exaggerated. He was not a charismatic leader like Tony Blair
later on.
2. How the electorate regarded the Conservatives
Voters blamed them for the growing economic problems, rising unemployment, inflation and industrial
unrest in the early 1960s. Labour claimed that the Tories had presided over ‘Thirteen Wasted Years’.
,Conservatives seemed out of touch/ old-fashioned. Douglas Home was an aristocrat and there were a
series of scandals that damaged party image. Daily Mirror on the Profumo Scandal - “all power corrupts
and the Tories have been in power for nearly twelve years”. Time for a change.
HOWEVER not the most important factor as:
The Profumo Scandal didn’t have a huge impact on traditional Tory votes (the elderly and women). In
opinion polls they continued to prefer the Conservatives.
Douglas-Home was a more effective PM than many expected. The extent to which he was disliked by the
electorate can be overstated. Many found him to be more modest, decent and trustworthy than Wilson,
who was seen as politically cunning
Conservative tax cuts were popular with the electorate. Chancellor of the Exchequer (Reginald Maulding)
cut taxes in his 1963 budget. Earnings rose and the number of unemployed dropped from 900,000 in Feb
1963 to 300,000 in July 1964.
Conservatives gained some votes in working class areas where immigration was disliked.
In the Smethwick constituency (near Birmingham) the Conservative candidate Peter Griffiths ran an
overtly racist campaign and succeeded in turning a 3500 Labour majority into a Tory majority by 1700
votes. The Tories were seen as more likely to tackle immigration.
3. Revival of the Liberal Party
Conservative growing unpopularity in the early 1960s benefitted the Liberal party, as many middle-class
voters wanted to register their protest but were not prepared to vote Labour.
1962. In middle-class Orpington the Liberals overturned a Conservative majority of 14,000 and won the
seat by 7,000 votes.
This revival brought the Liberals more publicity/ increased funding.
The Liberal Party was able to contest many more seats in 1964 than they had done in 1959 and almost
doubled their vote.
Considerably affected the outcome of the election as, by taking votes from the Conservatives, they
handed the victory to Labour in many marginal seats that they had not won in 1959.
MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR: Labour didn’t win a landslide victory as in 1945 and won fewer votes than
in 1959, but the Conservatives lost 1.6 million votes and the Liberals gained 1.5 million votes. The
outcome was mainly due to discontented middle-class voters going to the Liberals rather than a huge
support for Labour.
If a mere 900 voters in eight constituencies had voted Tory instead of Labour (or not voted at all) the
Conservatives would have won - the growth of the Liberal party therefore had a huge impact by taking
votes off the Conservatives.
, How effective was Harold Wilson as PM?
Area 1: Labour’s Small Majority (SUCCESS)=
- Majority of 4
- March 1966 General Election, the government returned with a majority of 96 (a major
achievement showing that WIlson’s leadership style had paid off)
- He had avoided splits within the party
- Many voters still blamed the Tories for the country's difficulties and Wilson (by exuding self-
confidence and authority) made Edward Heath seem dogged and ponderous
Area 2: The Transformation of British Society (SUCCESS)
➔ Reforms
The increase in prosperity; better education; higher standard of living; less respect for tradition; the growth
of a youth sub-culture and more employment opportunities for women resulted in demands for reforms/
equality.
Series of reforms enacted by Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary:
Date Act Impact
1965 Murder Temporary abolition of the death penalty, made permanent in 1969
Race Relations Discrimination in public facilities illegal
1967 Family Planning Contraception available to all on the NHS, not just married couples
Sexual Offences Homosexual acts in private between two consenting adults legalised
Abortion Legalised under certain conditions
Criminal Justice Introduced the parole system of releasing prisoners serving three years or
Act more early. Made the justice system more civilised.
1968 Race Relations Race discrimination in housing and employment illegal
Theatres Censorship of plays by the Lord Chamberlain ended
1969 Voting Voting age lowered from 21 to 18
Divorce Divorce process simplified/ made less costly
1970 Equal Pay Men and women to receive the same pay for the same work
Successes of reforms:
Wilson had managed to balance the left wing and the more centrist Labour supporters in his social
reforms.
Achieved change without being too extreme.
Failures of reforms:
