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- James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, was a British statesman and Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970 and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He was the Leader of the Labour Party from 1963 to 1976, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1945 to 1983.
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James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, PC, FRS, FSS (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970 and again from March 1974 to April 1976.
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May 20, 2024 · In full: James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx. Born: March 11, 1916, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England. Died: May 24, 1995, London (aged 79) Title / Office: prime minister (1974-1976), United Kingdom. prime minister (1964-1970), United Kingdom. Political Affiliation: Labour Party. Notable Works: “New Deal for Coal”
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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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”.
Apr 27, 2019 · Harold Wilson served as prime minister for almost eight years, then a peacetime record. For 13 years he led the Labour Party, winning four general elections and losing one. In 1976 he gave...
