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A number of liberalising social reforms were passed through parliament during Wilson's first period in government. These included the near abolition of capital punishment, decriminalisation of sex between men in private, liberalisation of abortion law and the abolition of theatre censorship.
Several liberalising social reforms were passed through parliament during Wilson's first period in government. These dealt with the death penalty, homosexual acts, abortion, censorship and the voting age .
what social reforms were passed during wilson's first period in government? near abolition of capital punishment, decriminalisation of sex between men in private, liberalisation of abortion law, abolition of theatre censorship
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Labour 1964 to 1970, 1974 to 1976
As Prime Minister Harold Wilson enacted social reforms in education, health, housing, gender equality, price controls, pensions, provisions for disabled people and child poverty.
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965: suspended the death penalty in England, Wales and Scotland. Sexual Offences Act 1967: decriminalisation of certain homosexual offences.
In 1969 he was struck in the eye by a stink bomb thrown by a schoolboy. Wilson’s response was "with an arm like that he ought to be in the English cricket XI″
Harold Wilson, the son of a chemist and teacher, was born in Yorkshire during the First World War. In 1924, aged 8, he visited 10 Downing Street, which would eventually become his home.
He studied Modern History for a year before transferring to Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford University, graduating with a first class BA.
The Labour politician entered Parliament in 1945 as MP for Ormskirk and later becoming MP for Huyton. In 1947, then Prime Minister Clement Attlee made Wilson President of the Board of Trade. Aged 31, he had become the youngest member of the Cabinet in the 20th century.
Under Hugh Gaitskell’s leadership of the Labour party, Wilson served as Shadow Chancellor from 1955 to 1961, then as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 1961 to 1963. After Gaitskell passed away suddenly, Wilson fought and won a leadership contest against George Brown and James Callaghan. As Labour leader, he won 4 of the 5 General Elections he contested, although this includes a minority government.
His first election victory on 15 October 1964 saw him win with a small majority of 4, which increased significantly to 98 after a second General Election on 31 March 1966. As Prime Minister from 1964 to 1970, his main plan was to modernise. He believed that he would be aided by the “white heat of the technological revolution”. His government supported backbench MPs in liberalising laws on censorship, divorce, abortion, and homosexuality, and he abolished capital punishment. Crucial steps were taken towards stopping discrimination against women and ethnic minorities, and Wilson’s government also created the Open University.
In comparison, his outlook on foreign affairs was less modernising. He wanted to maintain Britain’s world role by keeping the Commonwealth united and nurturing the Anglo-American alliance. For example, his approach to the Vietnam War saw him skilfully balance modernist ambitions with Anglo-American interests when, despite repeated American requests, he kept British troops out while still maintaining good relations. Wilson biographer Philip Ziegler characterises his role as “honest broker”.
Domestic policy of Wilson's 1964–70 government: Wilson created the Open University in 1969, and his government passed a wealth of social reforming legislation. On the other hand, Wilson also struggled to keep the unions under control.
Aug 18, 2006 · The reforms attempted can be placed within a long British socialist tradition, flavoured by Fabian elitism and containing intellectual contradictions. The ideological basis for the objectives being pursued, such as economic expansion, was never properly explored or developed.
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Dec 15, 2015 · The bureaucratic segregation and discrimination that metastasized in Wilson’s government involved a new racial system, one that just a few years later would seem timeless.
