Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Labour lost power in 1970
because of it's own failings in
the years 1964-1970
- Failings
- Economic
- George's Brown's national plan 1965
- George brown's behaviour and
inconsistency, completion,
competition wigh james Callaghan and
orthodox economists, disagreements
with Wilson and his resignation
- 1968 devaluation both the delay
in implement it and the effect of its
acceptance in novermber 1967
- Failure to negotiate entry into the EEC
- public spending cut this reminded
the idea of stop go economics which
Wilson promised to avoid
- This clashed with the fact that he had a
progressive agenda to remove the class divide.
- Leadership
- Wilson's lack of trust in colleagues and reliance on
'kitchen cabinet' government; his reputation for
being devious
- Trade Union reform
- breakdown of relations with Trade unions 1966/67 and seamen's
and dockers' strikes; the failure of 'in Place of Strife', 1969 and the
resultant splits
- 1969- 3,000= strikes in
Britain = 7 million days of
lost work
- Foreign
- problems over Rhodesia and
Northern Ireland
- involvement with Biafra famine
Igbo- famine 1967-70. Wilson
sent arms to Nigeria
- Immigration
- Wilson refused to make the popular topic of
immigration an election issue but Enoch Powell's
'rivers of blood' speech gained support from labour voters.
- Other Reasons
- that election defeat was not primarily
caused by Labour's failings:
- the economic situation was not of Labour's making; a difficult
situation had been inherited from the Conservatives.
- Once Roy Jenkins replaced Callaghan, tough deflationary measures
helped to achieve a balance of payments surplus by 1969
- from 1966 George Brown was moved to the
Foreign Office and from 1968 was no longer in
the cabinet and causing trouble
- a face-saving compromise was
negotiated with the trade unions
before the Election in 1969
- in 1970 Wilson's political position was looking
strong and the economy was growing
- Heath had a clear programme of policies for the
modernisation of Britain – particularly better
industrial relations and entry to EEC – 'One
Nation Toryism', which had voter appeal
- at the Selsdon Park Conference, January 1970, tough
approaches to economic modernisation, influenced by
Sir Keith Joseph, were adopted.
- Conclusion
- Conservative victory was more
the result of their own strengths
than Labour's failings
- Labour's 'failings' were more the product of circumstances
than their own ineptitude although Conservative victory
came as a surprise to both sides and that the fragility of
Labour's position in 1970 was not as obvious at the time as
it might seem in retrospect.