Britain 1964-1990
, Wilson’s image and leadership
• Young compared to other Prime Ministers
• Friends with the Beatles
• White Hot Heat (speech held in 1963) and promised Ministry of Technology
• Promise to develop the Welfare State and did not see the socialist dogma as very high up on his priority list
• Wanted to bring businesses, trade unions and the government together to work in cooperation
• And put an end to “stop-go” policies
• Represented Modernisation
• Representative of the forward thinking, energetic culture
• Represented a down to earth, ordinary person and a pragmatist
• Middle class and ordinary
• From a state grammar school; many identified with him
• First generation who was going through the 1944 Butler Education Act
• First time politicians didn’t have to come for the upper class
• Promised to defeat the class struggle
• Tony Blair – “Britain’s first modern prime minister.”
• He said “If the past belongs to the Tories, the future belongs to us, all of us”
Got a majority of 4 that then decreased to 1
, Wilson’s skills in managing his
cabinet colleagues
• All of cabinet had first degrees from Oxford, but many came from
middle classes
• He had a kitchen cabinet
• He often allowed the cabinet to talk itself out
• Created competition between members of the cabinet
• E.g. Brown and Callaghan
• Very firm with his colleagues
• Showed as much courtesy and good humour to his driver as to the
queen
, Wilson’s relations with the media
• By 1960 there were already 10 million TVs in Britain
• He was extremely good at using the TV to broadcast and promote h
policies
• Very open with the press
• Said to the BBC that he thought equality of opportunity was more importa
than equality
• The media found that 54% thought Wilson had a “strong forceful
personality” and 95% of Labour supporters were satisfied with
Wilson.
, Wilson’s image and leadership
• Young compared to other Prime Ministers
• Friends with the Beatles
• White Hot Heat (speech held in 1963) and promised Ministry of Technology
• Promise to develop the Welfare State and did not see the socialist dogma as very high up on his priority list
• Wanted to bring businesses, trade unions and the government together to work in cooperation
• And put an end to “stop-go” policies
• Represented Modernisation
• Representative of the forward thinking, energetic culture
• Represented a down to earth, ordinary person and a pragmatist
• Middle class and ordinary
• From a state grammar school; many identified with him
• First generation who was going through the 1944 Butler Education Act
• First time politicians didn’t have to come for the upper class
• Promised to defeat the class struggle
• Tony Blair – “Britain’s first modern prime minister.”
• He said “If the past belongs to the Tories, the future belongs to us, all of us”
Got a majority of 4 that then decreased to 1
, Wilson’s skills in managing his
cabinet colleagues
• All of cabinet had first degrees from Oxford, but many came from
middle classes
• He had a kitchen cabinet
• He often allowed the cabinet to talk itself out
• Created competition between members of the cabinet
• E.g. Brown and Callaghan
• Very firm with his colleagues
• Showed as much courtesy and good humour to his driver as to the
queen
, Wilson’s relations with the media
• By 1960 there were already 10 million TVs in Britain
• He was extremely good at using the TV to broadcast and promote h
policies
• Very open with the press
• Said to the BBC that he thought equality of opportunity was more importa
than equality
• The media found that 54% thought Wilson had a “strong forceful
personality” and 95% of Labour supporters were satisfied with
Wilson.
