The Right Honourable  Harold Wilson  Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
In office 4 March 1974 – 5 April 1976
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Edward Heath
Succeeded by	James Callaghan
In office 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Alec Douglas-Home
Succeeded by	Edward Heath
Leader of the Opposition
In office February 14, 1963 – October 16, 1964
Prime Minister	Harold Macmillan Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by	George Brown
Succeeded by	Alec Douglas-Home
In office June 19, 1970 – March 4, 1974
Prime Minister	Edward Heath
Preceded by	Edward Heath
Succeeded by	Edward Heath
Born	11 March 1916(1916-03-11) Huddersfield, United Kingdom
Died	24 May 1995 (aged 79) London, United Kingdom
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Mary Baldwin
Alma mater	Jesus College, Oxford
Profession	Academic
Religion	Congregationalist

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. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as The Rt Hon) is an Honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Leader of the Opposition (sometimes known as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons) in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Events 842 - Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Events 1179 - The Norwegian Battle of Kalvskinnet outside Nidaros. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth 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, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Huddersfield ( is a large Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, 190 miles (306km north The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Mary Wilson Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx (born 1918 is an English Poet, best known as the wife of former British prime minister, Harold Wilson Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval Jesus College (in full Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 He emerged as Prime Minister after more general elections than any other 20th century premier. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. A general election is an Election in which all or most members of a given political body are up for election He contested 5 general elections and received victory in 4 of them, winning in 1964, 1966, February 1974 and October 1974. Campaign The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the National opinion poll summary Research Services: 3% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 101National Opinion Polls: 3 Results |} Total votes 31321982 All parties are shown The seats won by the Ulster Unionists are compared with those won by Unionist MPs in the 1970 election Results |} Total number of votes 29189104 All parties shown Votes summary Seats summary He is the most recent British Prime Minister to serve non-consecutive terms.

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.

Contents 1 Early life 1.1 Education 1.2 Marriage 1.3 Wartime service 2 Member of Parliament 2.1 In government 2.2 Opposition 3 Prime Minister 3.1 Economic policies 3.2 External affairs 3.3 Social issues 3.4 Education policies 4 Electoral defeat and return to office 4.1 EC Membership Renegotiations and Referendum 4.2 Northern Ireland 4.3 Resignation 5 Death 6 Political "style" 6.1 Reputation 7 Discussion of Possible Plots and Conspiracy Theories 7.1 MI5 plots? 7.2 Other conspiracy theories 8 Harold Wilson's first government, October 1964 - June 1970 9 Harold Wilson's second government, March 1974 - April 1976 9.1 Changes 10 Titles from birth to death 11 Wilson on television 12 Trivia 13 Bibliography 14 Notes 15 See also 16 External links

Early life

Wilson was born in Huddersfield, England on 11 March 1916, an almost exact contemporary of his rival, Edward Heath (b. Huddersfield ( is a large Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, 190 miles (306km north England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 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. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the 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.

Education

Wilson won a scholarship to attend the local grammar school, Royds Hall Secondary School, Huddersfield. A grammar school is one of several different types of School in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries His education was disrupted in 1931 when he contracted typhoid fever after drinking contaminated milk on a Scouts' outing and took months to recover. Typhoid fever, also known as enteric fever, bilious fever, Yellow Jack or commonly just typhoid, is an illness caused by the Bacterium Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide Youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical mental and spiritual The next year his father, working as an industrial chemist, was made redundant and moved to Spital on the Wirral to find work. Spital is a small Suburb located on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. Wirral or the Wirral (ˈwɪrəl is a Peninsula in the north west of England. Wilson attended the sixth form at the Wirral Grammar School for Boys, where he became Head Boy. 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. Jesus College (in full Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. George Douglas Howard Cole ( 25 September 1889 &ndash 14 January 1959) was an English Political theorist, Economist After his first year, he changed his field of study to Philosophy, Politics and Economics. Philosophy Politics and Economics or Politics Philosophy and Economics (often abbreviated to PPE) is a popular Interdisciplinary degree which 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'.

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. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the He was a lecturer in Economic History at New College from 1937, and a Research Fellow at University College 1938-45. Economic history is the study of how economic phenomena evolved in the past New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The term " university college " is used in a number of countries to denote institutions that provide Tertiary education but do not have full or independent 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. For the Scottish footballer and athlete see William Beveridge (footballer William Henry Beveridge 1st Baron Beveridge ( 5 March

Marriage

In 1940, in the chapel of Mansfield College, Oxford, he married (Gladys) Mary Baldwin who remained his wife until his death. Mansfield College is one of the 39 constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Mary Wilson Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx (born 1918 is an English Poet, best known as the wife of former British prime minister, Harold Wilson Mary Wilson became a published poet. They had two sons, Robin and Giles; Robin became a Professor of Mathematics at Keble College, Oxford, and Giles became a teacher. This article is about Robin Wilson the mathematician For the musician see Robin Wilson. Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Both his sons went to the same independent school, University College School, in Hampstead. The Gower' redirects here - for the geographical area of that name see Gower peninsula University College School', known generally as UCS Hampstead is an area of London, England, located north-west of Charing Cross. In their twenties, his sons were under a kidnap threat from the IRA. The Irish Republican Army ( IRA) (Óglaigh na hÉireann was a military organisation descended from the Irish Volunteers, established 25 November 1913 and who After becoming a teacher at a comprehensive school for two years, Giles later returned to teaching, becoming a Maths master at Salisbury Cathedral School. Salisbury Cathedral School is a school located in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. In November 2006 it was reported that Giles had given up his teaching job and become a train driver for South West Trains. South West Trains ( SWT) is a train operating company operating in the United Kingdom, providing Train services to the south-west of London chiefly ^[2] He is a devotee of rail restoration, specifically the Tarka Line. The Tarka Line (named after the animal hero in Henry Williamson's book Tarka the Otter) is a railway line from Exeter to Barnstaple in

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. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including See also Bureaucrat The term civil service has two distinct meanings Branch of governmental service in which individuals are hired on the basis Most of his war was spent as a statistician and economist for the coal industry. Statisticians work with theoretical and applied Statistics in both the private and public sectors He was Director of Economics and Statistics at the Ministry of Fuel and Power 1943–4. 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. The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 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. Claus Adolf Moser Baron Moser, KCB, CBE (born November 24, 1922 in Berlin) is a British Statistician who has The Royal Statistical Society (RSS is a Learned society for Statistics and a Professional body for Statisticians in the UK.

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. Ormskirk was a County constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Sir William Stephen Richard King-Hall Baron King-Hall of Headley ( 21 January 1893 - 1 June 1966) was a British journalist politician 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. A praelector is a traditional role at the colleges of either the Universities of Cambridge or Oxford. 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. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government

In the 1945 general election, Wilson won his seat in line with the Labour landslide. Results |} Total votes cast 24073025 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Reason for Labour victory To his surprise, he was immediately appointed to the government as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works. A Parliamentary Secretary is a member of a Parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with their duties The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943 during World War II, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use 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. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Conspiracy-minded critics would later seek to raise suspicions about these trips.

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. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 He took a lead in abolishing some of the wartime rationing, which he referred to as a "bonfire of controls". Rationing is the controlled distribution of resources and scarce goods or services In the general election of 1950, his constituency was altered and he was narrowly elected for the new seat of Huyton, Merseyside. Huyton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, in Merseyside, England. Merseyside is a Metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1365900

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. Aneurin Bevan, usually known as Nye Bevan ( 15 November 1897 &ndash 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour The National Health Service is the name commonly used to refer to the four Publicly-funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom collectively or individually (although The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the 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.

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. Gnomes of Zürich is a disparaging term for Swiss bankers Swiss bankers are popularly associated with extremely secretive policies while gnomes in Fairy tales Speculation, in a financial context is making an investment that increases the overall risk in a portfolio 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. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The 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. Aneurin Bevan, usually known as Nye Bevan ( 15 November 1897 &ndash 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 Clause IV of the United Kingdom Labour Party constitution sets out the aims and values of the party and has been the object of political fights over its direction Wilson also challenged for the deputy leadership in 1962 but was defeated by George Brown. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Following these challenges, he was moved to the position of Shadow Foreign Secretary. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the

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. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was 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. 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 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British 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. The title Earl of Home (pronounced "Hume" was created in 1605 in the Peerage of Scotland for Alexander Home of that Ilk who was already the 6th Lord Home Wilson is the fourteenth Mr. Wilson".

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. Technocracy: A form of government in which scientists and technical experts are in control "technocracy is described as that society in which those who govern justify themselves

Prime Minister

Labour won the 1964 general election with a narrow majority of four seats, and Wilson became Prime Minister. Campaign The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom 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.

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. The balance of trade (or net exports, sometimes symbolized as NX) is the difference between the monetary value of Exports and imports in an 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. A planned economy or directed economy is an Economic system in which the Government or Workers' councils manages the Economy. " 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").

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. Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 Clause IV of the United Kingdom Labour Party constitution sets out the aims and values of the party and has been the object of political fights over its direction 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.

Wilson made periodic attempts to mitigate inflation through wage-price controls, better known in the UK as "prices and incomes policy". Incomes policies in Economics are Wage and Price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to Inflation. 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. The National Union of Seamen was the principal Trade union of merchant seafarers in the United Kingdom from the late 1880s to 1990 National opinion poll summary Research Services: 3% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 101National Opinion Polls: 3 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". In Place of Strife ( Cmnd 3888) was a UK Government White paper written in 1969 Following a confrontation with the Trades Union Congress, however, which strongly opposed the proposals, the government substantially backed-down from its proposals. The Trades Union Congress (TUC is a national trade union centre, a federation of Trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade Some elements of these reforms were subsequently to be revived (in modified form) as a centerpiece of the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925

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. Rhodesia was the name adopted when the formerly British colony of Southern Rhodesia declared itself independent ( Unilateral Declaration of Independence 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. Ian Douglas Smith GCLM ID ( 8 April 1919 &ndash 20 November 2007) served as the Prime Minister of the British Smith in response proclaimed Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence on November 11, 1965. The Unilateral Declaration of Independence ( UDI) of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965 by the administration Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. 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.

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. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia 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. Robert Michael Maitland Stewart Baron Stewart of Fulham, CH PC ( 6 November 1906 &ndash 13 March 1990) was a British 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). The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, or the War in Iraq, is an ongoing Military campaign

In 1967, Wilson's Government lodged the UK's second application to join the European Economic Community. The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 Like the first, made under Harold Macmillan, it was vetoed by the French President Charles de Gaulle. (Maurice Harold Macmillan 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894 &ndash 29 December 1986 was a British Conservative Politician Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French

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. The phrase East of Suez is used in British military and political discussions in reference to imperial interests beyond the European theatre (sometimes including sometime excluding

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 ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British

Wilson's 1966-70 term witnessed growing public concern over the level of immigration to the United Kingdom. Since the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1922 there has been substantial Immigration from other parts of The world. 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. The Rivers of Blood speech was a speech about Immigration and anti- Discrimination legislation in the United Kingdom made on 20 April, 1968 Brigadier John Enoch Powell, MBE ( June 16 1912 &ndash February 8 1998) was a British Politician, 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. Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was 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. The Robbins Report was commissioned by the British government in the 1960s to look into the future of Higher education in the United Kingdom. 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.

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. Open University is also the name of other institutions See Distance education or the Open Universities category for a list 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. Jennie Lee may refer to Jennie Lee (actor (1848-1925 American silent film actress Jennie Lee Baroness Lee of Asheridge (1904-88 British Aneurin Bevan, usually known as Nye Bevan ( 15 November 1897 &ndash 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Clement Richard Attlee 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC ( 3 January 1883 &ndash 8 October 1967

Wilson's record on secondary education is, by contrast, highly controversial. A fuller description is in the article Education in England. Education in England is the responsibility of the Department for Children Schools and Families and the Department for Innovation Universities and Skills of the 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. The Education Act 1944 changed the education system for secondary Schools in England and Wales. Technical school is a general term used for Two-year college which provide mostly Employment -preparation skills for trained labor, such as Welding A Secondary Modern School is a type of Secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s under the Tripartite System 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). In the United Kingdom the Eleven Plus or Transfer Test is an Examination administered to some students in their last year of primary education A comprehensive school is a Secondary school and State school for children from the age of 11 to at least 16 that does not select children on the basis of academic The debate about the British Tripartite System, also known as the grammar school system still continues years after its abolition was initiated and has evolved into a debate about the Comprehensive education became Labour Party policy.

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. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 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.

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 (born 13 October 1925 Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar)

In 1966, Wilson was created the first Chancellor of the newly created University of Bradford, a position he held until 1985. Chancellor or chancellour (archaic ( Latin: cancellarius) is an official Title used in countries whose civilization has arisen The University of Bradford (est 1966 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. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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. Results |} Total votes 31321982 All parties are shown The seats won by the Ulster Unionists are compared with those won by Unionist MPs in the 1970 election He gained a majority in another election shortly afterwards, in October 1974. Results |} Total number of votes 29189104 All parties shown Votes summary Seats summary

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 European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 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 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. The United Kingdom referendum of 1975 was a post-legislative Referendum held on 5 June 1975 in the whole of the United Kingdom over whether there was support for it Events 70 - Titus and his Roman Legions breach the middle wall of Jerusalem in the Siege of Jerusalem Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. In the event, continued membership passed.

Northern Ireland

In the late 1960s, Wilson's government witnessed the outbreak of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of 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. Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces ' campaign in Northern Ireland between August 1969 and July 2007

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. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The proposal was welcomed in principle by the Heath government at the time, but never put into effect.

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". Unionism in Ireland, is a belief in the desirability of a full constitutional and institutional relationship between Ireland and Great Britain based on the terms and The Ulster Workers Council (UWC Strike was a General strike that took place between Wednesday 15 May 1974 and Tuesday 28 May 1974 Sectarianism is Bigotry, Discrimination, Prejudice or Hatred arising from attaching importance to perceived differences between subdivisions As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar However he refused to pressure a reluctant British Army to face down the loyalist paramilitaries who were intimidating utility workers. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. Ulster loyalism is a militant unionist ideology held mostly by Protestants in Northern Ireland. 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. Northern Ireland (Tuaisceart Éireann Ulster Scots: Norlin Airlann) is a Country within the United Kingdom, lying in the northeast of

Resignation

On 16 March 1976, Wilson surprised the nation by announcing his resignation as Prime Minister (taking effect on 5 April 1976). Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. Joseph Ellis Stone Baron Stone ( 27 May 1903 – 17 June 1986) was an officer in the British Army, and a doctor most notably to 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. Alzheimer's disease ( AD) also called Alzheimer disease or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of Dementia.

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). The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients Jesus College (in full Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874

Wilson's Prime Minister's Resignation Honours included many businessmen and celebrities, along with his political supporters. The 1976 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were announced on 27 May 1976 to mark the resignation of Prime Minister Harold Wilson. 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"). Marcia Matilda Falkender Baroness Falkender CBE (born March 10, 1932) formerly Marcia Williams, previously Marcia Field is a British 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. Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British "^[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. Joseph Kagan Baron Kagan ( June 6, 1915 &ndash January 17, 1995) was a British industrialist and the founder of Kagan Textiles of In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual Sir Eric Miller (1927 &ndash 22 September 1977) was an Anglo-Jewish Businessman who committed Suicide while under investigation for

Tony Benn, James Callaghan, Anthony Crosland, Michael Foot, Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins stood in the first ballot to replace him. 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 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 a British politician and writer Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British 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. Events 456 - St Patrick returns to Ireland as a missionary bishop

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. The Peerage is a system of Titles of Nobility in the United Kingdom, part of the British honours system. The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an Order of chivalry, or Knighthood, originating in Medieval England, and presently bestowed on recipients 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. The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Rievaulx Abbey is a former Cistercian Abbey, headed by the Abbot of Rievaulx, located in the small village of Rievaulx (pronounced 'Ree-voh'

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. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) He died of colon cancer in May 1995, at the age of 79. Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes Cancerous growths in the colon, Rectum and He is buried on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. St Mary's (Ennor is the largest Island of the Isles of Scilly. His epitaph is Tempus Imperator Rerum (Time Commands All Things). His memorial service was held in Westminster Abbey on 13 July. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to

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. HP Sauce is a Condiment; a popular brown sauce formerly produced in Aston, Birmingham, England, by HP Foods but now produced Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types The Yorkshire dialect refers to the varieties of English used in the Northern England historic county of Yorkshire. 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. Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical Magazine, edited by Ian Hislop. Prime Minister parodies are a long-running feature of British satirical magazine Private Eye, which have been included in the majority of issues since the magazine's

Wilson exhibited his populist touch in 1965 when he had The Beatles honoured with the award of MBE. Year 1965 ( MCMLXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. (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. National opinion poll summary Research Services: 3% swing to Labour (forecast majority of 101National Opinion Polls: 3 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, naming both him and his opponent Edward Heath in George Harrison's song "Taxman", the opener to 1966's Revolver—recorded and released after the MBEs. George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author "Tax man" redirects here For the profession see Tax collector. Revolver is the seventh album by English rock band The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966.

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). The Move were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s from Birmingham, England, and were among the most popular British bands to not find any success Tony Secunda ( 24 August 1940 - 12 February 1995) was a British manager of rock groups in the 1960s 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. Roy Wood (born Roy Adrian Wood 8 November 1946, Kitts Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, England) is a Songwriter

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. The Selsdon Group is a British Free-market economics pressure group closely associated with the Conservative Party. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Selsdon is an area located in the southern suburbs of the London Borough of Croydon. 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. The "Piltdown Man" is a famous hoax consisting of fragments of a skull and jawbone collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown a village near Uckfield Homo erectus ( Latin: "upright man" is an extinct species of the genus Homo, believed to have been the first hominin 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".

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. The "Winter of Discontent" is a term used to describe the British Winter of 1978 &ndash 1979, during which there were widespread 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. Thatcherism is the system of political thought attributed to the governments of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 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. Neil Gordon Kinnock Baron Kinnock PC (born 28 March 1942 is a British Politician. John Smith QC (13 September 1938&ndash12 May 1994 was a Scottish Politician who served as leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to

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. The Institute of Economic Affairs ( IEA) styles itself the UK's pre-eminent Free-market Think-tank, founded in 1955 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). Keith Sinjohn Joseph Baron Joseph, CH, PC ( 17 January 1918 &ndash 10 December 1994) was a British Barrister Margaret Hilda Thatcher Baroness Thatcher LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925 Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair (born 6 May 1953 is a British Politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 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.

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. Since the mid-1970s a variety of conspiracy theories have emerged centering around Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. In Politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another Anatoliy Mikhaylovich Golitsyn CBE (Анатолий Михайлович Голицынborn August 25, 1926 in Piryatin, Ukrainian SSR KGB ( Transliteration of "КГБ" is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security ( Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty ^[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. James Jesus Angleton (December 9 1917 &ndash May 12 1987 known to colleagues as Jim and nicknamed "the Kingfisher" was a long-serving chief of the Central Intelligence This article is a subset article of Intelligence cycle security. S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and factional strife broke out between the two groups. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all The book Spycatcher (an exposé of MI5) alleged that 30 MI5 agents then collaborated in an attempt to undermine Wilson. SpyCatcher is an anti- Spyware program developed by Tenebril, for Microsoft Windows. The author Peter Wright (a former member of MI5) later claimed that his ghostwriter had written 30 when he had meant 3. Peter Maurice Wright ( August 9, 1916 — April 27, 1995) was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence A ghostwriter is a professional Writer who is paid to write books articles stories reports or other content which are officially credited to another person 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.

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. 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 See also: Walter Walker and David Stirling. General Sir Walter Colyear Walker KCB, CBE, DSO & bar PMN PSNB ( 11 November 1912 &ndash 12 August Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling DSO OBE (15 November 1915 - 4 November 1990 was a Scottish Laird, Mountaineer, World 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. Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945 is a British Socialist Politician. A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly- elected members of a Legislature or Parliament. John Colin Wallace is a former British soldier and Psychological warfare operative who was one of the members of the 'Clockwork Orange' project which is 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]

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). Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, He also claimed that ex-military leaders had been building up private armies in anticipation of "wholesale domestic liquidation".

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. Richard Hough is a British Author and Historian specializing in maritime history The approach was made by Cecil Harmsworth King, the chairman of the International Printing Corporation (IPC), which published the Daily Mirror newspaper. Cecil Harmsworth King ( 20 February 1901 – 17 April 1987) was owner of Mirror Group Newspapers, and later a Director at the The Daily Mirror, often referred to simply as The Mirror, is a British Tabloid daily Newspaper founded in 1903 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. Hubert "Hugh" Kinsman Cudlipp Baron Cudlipp OBE (born at 118 Lisvane Street Cardiff, on 28 August, 1913 - May 17, Solly Zuckerman Baron Zuckerman OM KCB FRS ( May 30, 1904 - April 1, 1993) was a UK Public servant Cudlipp arranged for Mountbatten to meet King on 8 May 1968. Events 589 - Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 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. Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 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). John Ulick Knatchbull 7th Baron Brabourne, CBE ( 9 November 1924 &ndash 23 September 2005) was a British peer 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. Downing Street is the street in London, England, which for over two hundred years has contained the official residences of two of the most senior British cabinet ministers

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. Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician 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. Marcia Matilda Falkender Baroness Falkender CBE (born March 10, 1932) formerly Marcia Williams, previously Marcia Field is a British

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. Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. MI5 found no evidence of this, but told him not to use a walkie-talkie. A walkie-talkie (more formally known as a handheld transceiver) is a hand-held portable Two-way radio Transceiver.

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. The Church of Scientology is the largest organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. 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. Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13 1911 &ndash January 24 1986 was a fiction writer who devised a self-help technique called Dianetics and philosophy known as Scientology Wilson's Minister of Health, Kenneth Robinson, subsequently won a libel suit against the Church and Hubbard. The Rt Hon Kenneth Robinson ( 19 March 1911 - 16 February 1996) was a British Labour politician who served as Minister

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

• January 1965 - Michael Stewart succeeds Patrick Gordon Walker as Foreign Secretary. George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific. The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was briefly an office of Her Majesty's government in the United Kingdom. Gerald Austin Gardiner Baron Gardiner, CH, QC, PC ( 30 May 1900 - 7 January 1990) was Lord Chancellor The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor is a senior and important functionary in the Government of the United Kingdom. Herbert William Bowden Baron Aylestone, CH CBE PC ( 20 January 1905 &ndash 30 April 1994) was a British The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above Francis Aungier Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford, KG, PC ( 5 December 1905 &ndash 3 August 2001) was a The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker Baron Gordon-Walker CH, PC ( 7 April, 1907 &ndash 2 December The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Frank Soskice Baron Stow Hill ( 23 July 1902 &ndash 1 January 1979) was a British lawyer and Labour Party politician The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office Thomas Frederick "Fred" Peart Baron Peart, PC ( 30 April 1914 &ndash 26 August 1988) was a British Labour The Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Arthur William James Anthony Greenwood Baron Greenwood, known as Anthony Greenwood, (14 September 1911 &ndash 12 April 1982 was a prominent British Labour 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 Baron Bottomley, OBE PC ( 7 February 1907 &ndash 3 November 1995) was a British Labour The Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations was a British Cabinet office existing between 1947 and 1966, responsible for dealing with British relationship with Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. Robert Michael Maitland Stewart Baron Stewart of Fulham, CH PC ( 6 November 1906 &ndash 13 March 1990) was a British The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Richard Howard Stafford Crossman, known as Dick Crossman, ( 15 December 1907 &ndash 5 April 1974 was a British Labour Party The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of Housing Barbara Castle Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (6 October 1910 &ndash 3 May 2002 was a British left-wing politician born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas and for the Raymond Jones Gunter, ( 30 August 1909 &ndash 12 April 1977) British Labour Party politician was born in Wales and had Arthur Leslie Noel Douglas Houghton Baron Houghton of Sowerby PC CH ( August 11, 1898 &ndash May 2, 1996) was a British The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is in modern times a Sinecure office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Frederick Lee Baron Lee of Newton PC ( 3 August 1906 &ndash 4 February 1984) was a British Labour Party politician and The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy William 'Willie' Ross Baron Ross of Marnock, MBE ( 7 April 1911 - 10 June[[ 988]] was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland The Secretary of State for Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba) is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the Frank Cousins PC ( 8 September 1904 &ndash 11 June 1986) was a British trade union leader and Labour The Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as " MinTech " Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay Baron Jay, PC ( 23 March 1907 &ndash 6 March 1996) was a British Labour Party politician The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 Tom Fraser PC ( 18 February 1911 &ndash 21 November 1988) was a Labour MP for the Hamilton constituency between The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. See also James Griffith James "Jim" Griffiths CH ( 19 September 1890 &ndash 7 August The Secretary of State for Wales (Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. Margaret McCrorie Herbison ( 12 March 1907 &ndash 29 December 1996) 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. Anthony Crosland succeeds Stewart as Education Secretary. Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977 was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist
• December 1965 - Barbara Castle succeeds Thomas Fraser as Minister of Transport. Anthony Greenwood succeeds Castle as Minister of Overseas Development. Arthur William James Anthony Greenwood Baron Greenwood, known as Anthony Greenwood, (14 September 1911 &ndash 12 April 1982 was a prominent British Labour Lord Longford succeeds Greenwood as Colonial Secretary. Sir Frank Soskice succeeds Lord Longford as Lord Privy Seal. Roy Jenkins succeeds Soskice as Home Secretary. Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British
• 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. Richard William Marsh Baron Marsh PC (born 14 March 1928) is an English Politician and business executive 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. Cledwyn Hughes Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, CH, PC, ( 14 September 1916 &ndash 22 February 2001) was a Welsh
• July 1966 - Tony Benn succeeds Frank Cousins as Minister of Technology. Anthony "Tony" Neil Wedgwood Benn (born 3 April 1925 formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British Socialist Politician.

After reshuffle, August 1966

• 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

• January 1967 - Lord Shackleton and Patrick Gordon Walker enter the cabinet as Ministers without Portfolio. Robert Michael Maitland Stewart Baron Stewart of Fulham, CH PC ( 6 November 1906 &ndash 13 March 1990) was a British First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific. The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was briefly an office of Her Majesty's government in the United Kingdom. Gerald Austin Gardiner Baron Gardiner, CH, QC, PC ( 30 May 1900 - 7 January 1990) was Lord Chancellor The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor is a senior and important functionary in the Government of the United Kingdom. Richard Howard Stafford Crossman, known as Dick Crossman, ( 15 December 1907 &ndash 5 April 1974 was a British Labour Party The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above Francis Aungier Pakenham 7th Earl of Longford, KG, PC ( 5 December 1905 &ndash 3 August 2001) was a The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office Thomas Frederick "Fred" Peart Baron Peart, PC ( 30 April 1914 &ndash 26 August 1988) was a British Labour The Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Herbert William Bowden Baron Aylestone, CH CBE PC ( 20 January 1905 &ndash 30 April 1994) was a British The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and 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 was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Arthur William James Anthony Greenwood Baron Greenwood, known as Anthony Greenwood, (14 September 1911 &ndash 12 April 1982 was a prominent British Labour The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of Housing Arthur George Bottomley Baron Bottomley, OBE PC ( 7 February 1907 &ndash 3 November 1995) was a British Labour In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for promoting development overseas and for the Raymond Jones Gunter, ( 30 August 1909 &ndash 12 April 1977) British Labour Party politician was born in Wales and had Richard William Marsh Baron Marsh PC (born 14 March 1928) is an English Politician and business executive The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy William 'Willie' Ross Baron Ross of Marnock, MBE ( 7 April 1911 - 10 June[[ 988]] was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland The Secretary of State for Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba) is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the 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 " Douglas Patrick Thomas Jay Baron Jay, PC ( 23 March 1907 &ndash 6 March 1996) was a British Labour Party politician The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 Barbara Castle Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (6 October 1910 &ndash 3 May 2002 was a British left-wing politician born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield 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, ( 14 September 1916 &ndash 22 February 2001) was a Welsh The Secretary of State for Wales (Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton Baron Shackleton, KG OBE PC ( July 15, 1911 &ndash September 22, 1994) Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker Baron Gordon-Walker CH, PC ( 7 April, 1907 &ndash 2 December
• August 1967 - Peter Shore succeeds Michael Stewart as Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. Peter David Shore Baron Shore of Stepney PC ( 20 May, 1924 &ndash 24 September, 2001) was a British Labour Stewart remains First Secretary of State. George Thomson succeeds Herbert Bowden as Commonwealth Secretary. George Morgan Thomson Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT, PC, DL (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008 was a journalist and Labour politician Anthony Crosland succeeds Douglas Jay as President of the Board of Trade. Charles Anthony Raven Crosland (29 August 1918 - 19 February 1977 was a member of the Labour Party and an important socialist theorist Patrick Gordon Walker succeeds Anthony Crosland as Education Secretary. Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker Baron Gordon-Walker CH, PC ( 7 April, 1907 &ndash 2 December 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. Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton Baron Shackleton, KG OBE PC ( July 15, 1911 &ndash September 22, 1994)

After reshuffle, April 1968

• 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

• July 1968 - Roy Mason succeeds Ray Gunter as Minister of Power. Barbara Castle Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (6 October 1910 &ndash 3 May 2002 was a British left-wing politician born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield First Secretary of State is an occasionally used title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific. The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Gerald Austin Gardiner Baron Gardiner, CH, QC, PC ( 30 May 1900 - 7 January 1990) was Lord Chancellor The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor is a senior and important functionary in the Government of the United Kingdom. Richard Howard Stafford Crossman, known as Dick Crossman, ( 15 December 1907 &ndash 5 April 1974 was a British Labour Party The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above Thomas Frederick "Fred" Peart Baron Peart, PC ( 30 April 1914 &ndash 26 August 1988) was a British Labour The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Peter David Shore Baron Shore of Stepney PC ( 20 May, 1924 &ndash 24 September, 2001) was a British Labour The Secretary of State for Economic Affairs was briefly an office of Her Majesty's government in the United Kingdom. Robert Michael Maitland Stewart Baron Stewart of Fulham, CH PC ( 6 November 1906 &ndash 13 March 1990) was a British The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office Cledwyn Hughes Baron Cledwyn of Penrhos, CH, PC, ( 14 September 1916 &ndash 22 February 2001) was a Welsh 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, DL (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008 was a journalist and Labour politician The position of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs was created on 1 August 1966 by the merger of the old positions of Secretary of State for Commonwealth Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and 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, CH, PC (born 17 December 1912) is a former Labour Member of Parliament The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Arthur William James Anthony Greenwood Baron Greenwood, known as Anthony Greenwood, (14 September 1911 &ndash 12 April 1982 was a prominent British Labour The Ministry of Housing and Local Government was a United Kingdom government department formed after the Second World War, covering the areas of Housing Raymond Jones Gunter, ( 30 August 1909 &ndash 12 April 1977) British Labour Party politician was born in Wales and had Raymond Jones Gunter, ( 30 August 1909 &ndash 12 April 1977) British Labour Party politician was born in Wales and had The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy William 'Willie' Ross Baron Ross of Marnock, MBE ( 7 April 1911 - 10 June[[ 988]] was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland The Secretary of State for Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba) is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the 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 " 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 Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 Richard William Marsh Baron Marsh PC (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. Thomas George Thomas 1st Viscount Tonypandy PC ( 29 January 1909 &ndash 22 September 1997) was a British Labour The Secretary of State for Wales (Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. Edward Arthur Alexander Shackleton Baron Shackleton, KG OBE PC ( July 15, 1911 &ndash September 22, 1994) HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the United Kingdom. Roy Mason Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC (born 18 April 1924) is an English Labour Politician and former Cabinet minister
• October-November 1968 - Fred Peart succeeds Richard Crossman as Lord President. Thomas Frederick "Fred" Peart Baron Peart, PC ( 30 April 1914 &ndash 26 August 1988) was a British Labour Lord Shackleton succeeds Fred Peart as Lord Privy Seal. Judith Hart succeeds Shackleton as Paymaster-General. Judith Hart Baroness Hart of South Lanark DBE PC ( 18 September 1924 &ndash 8 December 1991) was a British 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. Jack Diamond may refer to Jack Diamond (architect Jack Diamond (Canadian businessman Jack Diamond (gangster The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the second most senior ministerial position in HM Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The office of Secretary of State for Social Services is created, with Richard Crossman as Secretary. The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is a position in the UK cabinet responsible for the Department for Work and Pensions. George Thomson enters the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio. George Morgan Thomson Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT, PC, DL (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008 was a journalist and Labour politician
• October 1969 - Anthony Greenwood, Minister of Housing and Local Government, leaves the cabinet. George Thomson becomes Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. George Morgan Thomson Baron Thomson of Monifieth, KT, PC, DL (16 January 1921 – 3 October 2008 was a journalist and Labour politician 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. (Norman Harold Lever Baron Lever of Manchester, PC ( 15 January 1914 &ndash 6 August 1995) was a Barrister and Labour Richard Marsh resigns as Minister of Transport. His successor is not in the cabinet.

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

Changes

• October 1974 - John Silkin although working to the Secretary of State for Environment enters the cabinet as Minister of Planning and Local Government. Frederick Elwyn Elwyn-Jones Baron Elwyn-Jones, CH PC ( 24 October 1909 &ndash 4 December 1989) was a British The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor is a senior and important functionary in the Government of the United Kingdom. Edward Watson Short Baron Glenamara, CH, PC (born 17 December 1912) is a former Labour Member of Parliament The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Treasurer and above Malcolm Newton Shepherd 2nd Baron Shepherd of Spalding and also Baron Shepherd of Spalding Peerage PC ( 27 September 1918 &ndash The Lord Privy Seal or Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is the fifth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom ranking beneath the Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all Economic and Financial Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, commonly referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a member of the United Kingdom Government heading the Roy Harris Jenkins Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM PC ( 11 November 1920 &ndash 5 January 2003) was a British The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office Thomas Frederick "Fred" Peart Baron Peart, PC ( 30 April 1914 &ndash 26 August 1988) was a British Labour The Minister of Agriculture Fisheries and Food was a UK cabinet position responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Roy Mason Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC (born 18 April 1924) is an English Labour 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 ( 16 July 1923 &ndash 18 January 2001) was a politician in the United Kingdom The Secretary of State for Education and Skills was the chief minister of the Department for Education and Skills in the United Kingdom government Michael Mackintosh Foot (born 23 July 1913 is a British politician and writer The Secretary of State for Employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. 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 responsible for the Department of the Environment. Barbara Castle Baroness Castle of Blackburn PC (6 October 1910 &ndash 3 May 2002 was a British left-wing politician born Barbara Anne Betts in Chesterfield 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 Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 (Norman Harold Lever Baron Lever of Manchester, PC ( 15 January 1914 &ndash 6 August 1995) was a Barrister and Labour The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is in modern times a Sinecure office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Merlyn Rees, later Merlyn Merlyn-Rees Baron Merlyn-Rees, PC ( 18 December 1920 &ndash 5 January 2006) was a The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is the chief minister in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Northern Ireland William 'Willie' Ross Baron Ross of Marnock, MBE ( 7 April 1911 - 10 June[[ 988]] was the longest serving Secretary of State for Scotland The Secretary of State for Scotland ( Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba) is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the Shirley Williams Baroness Williams of Crosby PC (born 27 July 1930) is a British Politician and academic The Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was a short-lived United Kingdom government department created by the incoming Labour government in 1974 Peter David Shore Baron Shore of Stepney PC ( 20 May, 1924 &ndash 24 September, 2001) was a British Labour The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 John Morris Baron Morris of Aberavon, KG, PC, QC (born 5 November 1931) is a retired British Politician. The Secretary of State for Wales (Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru is the head of the Wales Office within the United Kingdom cabinet. Robert Joseph Mellish Baron Mellish, PC ( 3 March 1913 &ndash 9 May 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 Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. John Ernest Silkin, ( 18 March 1923 &ndash 26 April 1987) was an English Politician and Solicitor. The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of the Environment.
• June 1975 - Fred Mulley succeeds Reginald Prentice as Secretary for Education and Science. Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Frederick William Mulley Baron Mulley PC ( 3 July, 1918 – 15 March 1995) was a British Labour politician barrister-at-law Prentice becomes Secretary for Overseas Development. Tony Benn succeeds Eric Varley as Secretary for Energy. Varley succeeds Benn as Secretary for Industry.

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)

Wilson on television

• Shortly after resigning as Prime Minister Wilson was signed by David Frost to host a series of interview/chat show programmes. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 657 - Battle of Siffin. 811 - Battle of Pliska; Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 215 BC - A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Events 53 - Roman Emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia 62 - Claudia Octavia commits Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Events 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr is declared Prince of Wales by his followers Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE (born 7 April 1939) is an English Satirist and Television presenter, famed as both a 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'. Friday Night Saturday Morning was a BBC2 chat show with a revolving guest host that ran from 28 September 1979 to 2 April 1982 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 and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, were a British comic Double act, working in variety, radio Film 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. Francis James Baird Wheen (born 22 January 1957) is a British journalist writer and broadcaster BBC Four is a BBC Television channel available to digital television ( Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable) viewers in the The Lavender List is a Docudrama broadcast on BBC Four in March 2006 about the events that led to the drafting of the "Lavender List" Kenneth Cranham played Wilson, Gina McKee Marcia Williams and Celia Imrie has a supporting role as Wilson's wife. Kenneth Cranham (born December 12, 1944) is a film television and stage Actor who has appeared in Layer Cake, Gangster Gina McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress, known for her starring roles in the TV dramas Our Friends in the North Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952 is an Olivier Award-winning English actress. The play concentrated on Wilson and Williams' relationship and her conflict with the Downing Street Press Secretary Joe Haines. This article is about the journalist For the speedway rider see Joe Haines (speedway rider Joseph Thomas William Haines (born 29 January
• Also in 2006, The Plot Against Harold Wilson aired on BBC Two at 2100GMT on Thursday 16 March. In mathematics Two has many properties in Mathematics. An Integer is called Even if it is divisible by 2 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. James Bolam (born 16 June 1938) is an English Actor and Singer, best known for his roles as Jack Ford in When the Boat Comes

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. An urban legend or urban myth is a form of modern Folklore consisting of stories thought to be factual by those circulating them The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the
• Wilson was a supporter of Huddersfield Town Football Club^[8]
• Wilson was an Honorary Fellow of Columbia Pacific University [1]. Fans in Little Italyjpg|thumb|right|Fans in Little Italy Manhattan celebrating the victory of the Italian association football team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup]][[Image Wm-oly-de-cr 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. 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. Pipe Smoker of the Year was an Award given out annually by the British Pipesmokers' Council to honour a famous pipe-smoking individual
• 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. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom George Harrison, MBE (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001 was an English rock Guitarist Singer - Songwriter, Author "Tax man" redirects here For the profession see Tax collector. Revolver is the seventh album by English rock band The Beatles, released on 5 August 1966. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960
• A viking in the Asterix story Asterix and the Great Crossing is named Haraldwilssen, and shares his physical features. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas The Adventures of Asterix ( French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois) is a series of French Asterix and the Great Crossing is the twenty-second volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories and Albert

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. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC ( 11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May

Notes

See also

• Lord Goodman
• War on Want

External links

• Wilson, Harold Chronology World History Database
• More about Harold Wilson on the Downing Street website. Arnold Goodman Baron Goodman, CH, QC (1913–1995 was a British lawyer and political advisor War on Want is an anti-poverty charity based in London, England, which highlights the needs of Poverty -stricken areas around the world
• 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

Political offices
Preceded by Reginald Manningham-Buller	Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works 1945 – 1947	Succeeded by Evan Durbin
Preceded by Hilary Marquand	Secretary for Overseas Trade 1947	Succeeded by Arthur Bottomley
Preceded by Sir Stafford Cripps	President of the Board of Trade 1947 – 1951	Succeeded by Hartley Shawcross
Preceded by Hugh Gaitskell	Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer 1955 – 1961	Succeeded by James Callaghan
Preceded by Denis Healey	Shadow Foreign Secretary 1961 – 1963	Succeeded by Patrick Gordon Walker
Preceded by George Brown Acting Leader after the death of Hugh Gaitskell	Leader of the Opposition 1963 – 1964	Succeeded by Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Preceded by Sir Alec Douglas-Home	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 16 October 1964 – 19 June 1970	Succeeded by Edward Heath
Preceded by Edward Heath	Leader of the Opposition 1970 – 1974
	Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 4 March 1974 – 5 April 1976	Succeeded by James Callaghan
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Stephen King-Hall	Member of Parliament for Ormskirk 1945 – 1950	Succeeded by Ronald Cross
New constituency	Member of Parliament for Huyton 1950 – 1983	Constituency abolished
Party political offices
Preceded by Richard Crossman	Chair of the Labour Party National Executive Committee 1961 – 1962	Succeeded by Dai Davies
Preceded by George Brown Acting Leader after the death of Hugh Gaitskell	Leader of the British Labour Party 1963 – 1976	Succeeded by James Callaghan
Academic offices
New institution	Chancellor of the University of Bradford 1966 – 1985	Succeeded by John Harvey-Jones

Persondata
NAME	Wilson, James Harold
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Baron Wilson of Rievaulx
SHORT DESCRIPTION	British politician
DATE OF BIRTH	11 March 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH	Huddersfield, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH	24 May 1995
PLACE OF DEATH	London, United Kingdom

Reginald Edward Manningham-Buller 1st Viscount Dilhorne KC PC ( August 1, 1905 - September 7, 1980) was as the 1st The Ministry of Works was a department of the UK Government formed in 1943 during World War II, to organise the requisitioning of property for wartime use Evan Frank Mottram Durbin (1906-1948 was a British economist and left-wing politician whose writings combined a belief in central economic planning with a conviction that the price mechanism Hilary Adair Marquand PC ( 24 December 1901 &ndash 6 November 1972) was a British Labour Party politician The Secretary for Overseas Trade was a junior Ministerial position in the United Kingdom government from 1917 until 1953 subordinate to the President of the Arthur George Bottomley Baron Bottomley, OBE PC ( 7 February 1907 &ndash 3 November 1995) was a British Labour Sir Richard Stafford Cripps ( 24 April 1889 &ndash 21 April 1952) was a British Labour politician and Chancellor The Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (formerly the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry before the June 28, 2007 Hartley William Shawcross Baron Shawcross, GBE, PC, KC ( 4 February 1902 &ndash 10 July 2003) was a British Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician In British politics, the shadow foreign secretary is a position within the opposition 's shadow cabinet that deals mainly with issues surrounding the Patrick Chrestien Gordon Walker Baron Gordon-Walker CH, PC ( 7 April, 1907 &ndash 2 December George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 The Leader of the Opposition (sometimes known as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons) in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC (2 July 1903 - 9 October 1995 14th Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 was a British The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The Leader of the Opposition (sometimes known as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons) in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Sir William Stephen Richard King-Hall Baron King-Hall of Headley ( 21 January 1893 - 1 June 1966) was a British journalist politician A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Ormskirk was a County constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Results |} Total votes cast 24073025 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Reason for Labour victory Results |} Total votes cast 28771124 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Votes summary Seats summary Sir Ronald Hibbert Cross 1st Baronet, KCMG, KCVO, PC ( May 9, 1896 – June 3, 1968) was a British A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament. Huyton was a County constituency in the United Kingdom. Created in 1950 it comprised the area of Huyton in the county of Lancashire, and Results |} Total votes cast 28771124 All parties shown Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists Votes summary Seats summary Results The Conservatives won with a majority of 144 seats|} Total votes cast 30661309 Richard Howard Stafford Crossman, known as Dick Crossman, ( 15 December 1907 &ndash 5 April 1974 was a British Labour Party The National Executive Committee or NEC is the chief administrative body of the UK Labour Party. Dai Davies may refer to Dai Davies (politician Dai Davies (footballer George Alfred George-Brown Baron George-Brown, PC (2 September 1914 &ndash 2 June 1985 was a British Politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Hugh Todd Naylor Gaitskell ( 9 April 1906 &ndash 18 January 1963) was a British politician leader of the Labour Party from 1955 The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the Leonard James Callaghan Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005 was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 The University of Bradford (est 1966 is a University in Bradford, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. Sir John Harvey-Jones MBE ( 16 April 1924 &ndash 9 January 2008) was chairman of ICI from 1982 to 1987 Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Huddersfield ( is a large Market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, 190 miles (306km north The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995

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