Harold Wilson

This article is about the British politician. For the Olympic silver medallist, see Harold A. Wilson.

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. In the meantime, he conducted an inquiry into the Labour Party's organisation following its defeat in the 1955 general election, which made several useful 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.

Related Topics:
1955 - 1956 - Gnomes of Zurich - Speculation - 1959

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Wilson was still identified with the Left, and launched an opportunistic but unsuccessful challenge to the leader Hugh Gaitskell in 1960 after the Labour Party's 1959 defeat and Gaitskell's unpopular move to ditch Clause Four. He also challenged for the deputy leadership in 1962 but was defeated by George Brown. Because of these challenges, he was moved to the position of Shadow Foreign Secretary.

Related Topics:
Hugh Gaitskell - 1960 - Clause Four - 1962 - George Brown

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Hugh Gaitskell died unexpectedly in January 1963, just as the Labour Party had begun to unite and look like it had a good chance of being elected to government. Wilson became the left candidate for the leadership, and defeated Brown. He coordinated Labour's response to the Profumo Affair, in which he made some political capital without getting the party involved in the less salubrious aspects. At the Labour Party conference later in 1963, he made a very significant speech in which he claimed "the Britain that will be forged in the white heat of revolution will have no place for restrictive practices and outdated measures on either side of industry". This speech did much to set Wilson's reputation as a classless technocrat.

Related Topics:
1963 - Profumo Affair

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