Wilson, (James) Harold, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (b. 11 Mar. 1916, d. 24 May 1995). British Prime Minister 1964–70, 1974–6 Born in Huddersfield (Yorkshire), he studied at Oxford University. He taught economics there before World War II, and then went to work as a civil servant in the economics section of the War Cabinet secretariat. Originally a Liberal, he drifted towards the
Labour Party in the late 1930s. In 1945, he was elected to Parliament for Ormskirk. He was President of the Board of Trade from 1947 until February 1951, when he resigned, in support of
Bevan, over
Gaitskell's imposition of health prescription charges. As this associated him with the left of the party, he was subsequently at pains to advocate the interests of party unity. This enabled him to become Gaitskell's Shadow Chancellor in 1956. In 1963, when Gaitskell died, Wilson was elected Labour leader, and set about creating the image of a modern, dynamic party, keen on utilizing what he called ‘the white heat of the technological revolution’ to boost Britain's prosperity.
He won the 1964 elections against a tired and worn-out
Conservative Party under
Douglas-Home, though in the end only by a surprisingly narrow margin. In 1966, he increased his majority to almost 100. His 1964–70 governments faced enormous economic difficulties, including a balance-of-payments deficit and a sterling crisis, the latter leading to devaluation of the pound in 1967. He failed to implement a successful prices-and-incomes strategy, while his attempts to limit
trade-union power floundered in the face of strong union opposition. The late 1960s were a time of increased racial tension in Britain, which the government tried to deal with by restricting immigration under the 1968
Immigration Act, and by passing anti-discrimination legislation in the form of Race Relations Acts in 1965 and 1968. The 1964–70 governments also developed comprehensive education, expanded higher education, ended the death penalty, and liberalized laws on sexual relations, divorce, and
abortion. The age of majority was reduced to 18. In foreign and
Commonwealth affairs, the decision was made to withdraw British military forces from east of Suez (1968), though Wilson's government failed to find a solution to Ian
Smith's Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Independence (
Zimbabwe).
Labour's defeat in the 1970 general election was a shock to many, including Wilson, but he returned to office with a slender majority in 1974. His government inherited a massive balance-of-payments deficit from
Heath, five times worse than that of 1964. In a renewed effort to deal with inflation, he was again unsuccessful in dealing with the
TUC in a ‘social contract’. In 1975, he confirmed British membership of the European Community after a referendum, which he had held in order to avoid Labour having to reach a decision on the issue over which it was deeply divided. Wilson announced his retirement on his sixtieth birthday, handing over to James
Callaghan. Wilson had led Labour to victory in three general elections, more than any other Labour leader before. His longevity at the head of the party derived from the fact that he was never closely associated with any one wing of the party, which enabled him to enlist the support of all sections. At the same time, he was seen as an intellectual and divorced from the rank and file of the party, which partly explains his inability to deal with the trade unions.
