Harold WilsonHarold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (March 11, 1916 - May 24, 1995) was one of the more successful Labour Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and a 1960s icon.
Wilson won notoriety when, as President of the Board of Trade, he was one of a group of MPs who resigned from the government in 1951 in protest at the introduction of NHS medical charges in order to meet the financial demands imposed on the budget by the Korean War. He was soon restored to a leading position in the shadow Cabinet, and, following the death of the party leader, Hugh Gaitskell, in 1963, he became leader of the opposition. Shortly afterwards, the Conservative government was brought down in the wake of the Profumo affair.
In addition to the damage done to its reputation by devaluation, Wilson's government suffered from the perception that its response to industrial relations problems was inadequate and by 1969 the Labour Party was suffering serious mid-term electoral reverses. In June 1970, Wilson responded to an apparent recovery in his government's popularity by calling a general election, but, to the surprise of almost all observers, was swept from power on a tide of anti-Labour feeling. Despite the shock defeat, Wilson survived as leader of the party and returned to Downing Street in 1974, after his successor, Heath, had failed to deal adequately with similar problems to those he had faced. As described in the article on Edward Heath, Wilson was responsible for coining the term Selsdon Man. This is the genesis of the habit of British political commentators of describing political developments by suffixing the word man (eg Essex Man), which is comparable with the (originally American) practice of identifying scandals by suffixing the word gate. Other memorable phrases attributed to Wilson include the phrase "the white heat of technology" describing the technology boom in Britain in the 1960s and, less favourably, the comment he made to attempt to reassure the British public after the 1967 devaluation of the pound: "This does not mean that the pound here in Britain -- in your pocket or purse -- has been devalued less...", usually now quoted as "the pound in your pocket".
Six candidates stood in the first ballot to replace him Tony Benn, James Callaghan, Anthony Crosland, Michael Foot, Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins. Jenkins was initially tipped as the favourite but only came third on the initial ballot. In the final ballot, on the evening of 5 April, Callaghan defeated Foot by 176-137 parliamentary votes and became Wilson's successor as Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party. Wilson regarded the foundation of the Open University as his own greatest achievement. Ironically, Callaghan, besides being several years older than Wilson, was the first prime minister for many years not to have the benefit of a higher education.
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