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Fielding Prelims.P65 1 10/10/03, 12:29 the LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70 fielding jkt 10/10/03 2:18 PM Page 1 The Volume 1 Labour andculturalchange The LabourGovernments1964–1970 The Volume 1 Labour Governments Labour Governments 1964–1970 1964–1970 This book is the first in the new three volume set The Labour Governments 1964–70 and concentrates on Britain’s domestic policy during Harold Wilson’s tenure as Prime Minister. In particular the book deals with how the Labour government and Labour party as a whole tried to come to Labour terms with the 1960s cultural revolution. It is grounded in Volume 2 original research that uniquely takes account of responses from Labour’s grass roots and from Wilson’s ministerial colleagues, to construct a total history of the party at this and cultural critical moment in history. Steven Fielding situates Labour in its wider cultural context and focuses on how the party approached issues such as change the apparent transformation of the class structure, the changing place of women, rising black immigration, the widening generation gap and increasing calls for direct participation in politics. The book will be of interest to all those concerned with the Steven Fielding development of contemporary British politics and society as well as those researching the 1960s. Together with the other books in the series, on international policy and Fielding economic policy, it provides an unrivalled insight into the development of Britain under Harold Wilson’s premiership. Steven Fielding is a Professor in the School of Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford MANCHESTER MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY PRESS THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70 volume 1 fielding prelims.P65 1 10/10/03, 12:29 THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70 Series editors Steven Fielding and John W. Young volume 1 Labour and cultural change Steven Fielding volume 2 International policy John W. Young volume 3 Economic policy Jim Tomlinson fielding prelims.P65 2 10/10/03, 12:29 THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1964–70 volume 1 Labour and cultural change Steven Fielding Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave fielding prelims.P65 3 10/10/03, 12:29 Copyright © Steven Fielding 2003 The right of Steven Fielding to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA Distributed exclusively in Canada by UBC Press, University of British Columbia, 2029 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z2 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 0 7190 4364 6 hardback First published 2003 111009080706050403 10987654321 Typeset by R. J. Footring Ltd, Derby Printed in Great Britain by CPI, Bath fielding prelims.P65 4 10/10/03, 12:29 For my parents with love. fielding prelims.P65 5 10/10/03, 12:29 fielding prelims.P65 6 10/10/03, 12:29 Contents List of tables page viii Series foreword ix Acknowledgements x 1 Introduction. Cultural and political change in 1960s Britain 1 2 Labour’s organisational culture 35 3 Responding to affluence 61 4 Reconciling the classes 86 5 Appealing to women 113 6 Integrating black immigrants 139 7 Instilling ‘responsibility’ in the young 165 8 Engaging with participation 191 9 Conclusion. The 1970 general election 217 Bibliography 236 Index 252 vii fielding prelims.P65 7 10/10/03, 12:29 Tables 1.1 The distribution of economically active men by occupational category, 1951 and 1971 6 1.2 The distribution of economically active women by occupational category, 1951 and 1971 6 1.3 Labour and Conservative votes compared, 1950–70 21 2.1 Labour’s official membership, 1955–70 43 2.2 Proportion of constituency Labour parties affiliating the minimum number of members, revised membership and average CLP membership, by region, 1965 44 2.3 Proportion of constituency Labour parties affiliating the minimum number of members, revised membership and average CLP membership, by region, 1968 45 2.4 Official and ‘actual’ memberships compared in the South West Region, 1965 46 2.5 Numbers of members and activists in Glasgow, 1961 and 1968 49 3.1 Labour’s vote by social category, 1955–66 63 5.1 Labour’s official female membership, 1960–70 115 5.2 Women’s section delegates attending the national conference of Labour women, 1960–70 117 7.1 Labour’s youth and student organisations: numbers of branches, members and officers, 1955–70 170 9.1 The composition of the Labour vote, 1964–70 222 9.2 Women and Labour voting, by social class and age, 1964–70 225 9.3 Men and Labour voting, by social class and age, 1964–70 225 viii fielding prelims.P65 8 10/10/03, 12:29 Series foreword Before the Labour Party entered government in October 1964 its leader, Harold Wilson, raised hopes of creating a ‘new Britain’, based on further- ing the ‘white heat’ of technological change and aiming to pursue egalitarianism at home and abroad. In June 1970 Labour was ejected from office having lived up to few of these aspirations. Most analysts of the party’s period in power consequently characterise it as a miserable failure. The majority focus on the Labour leadership’s lack of ambition and reserve much of their censure for Wilson’s strategic shortcomings. Present-day ‘New’ Labour, for which the 1960s are clearly an embarrass- ment, effectively endorses this glum assessment. The three volumes in this series tackle different aspects of the 1964–70 Wilson governments’ record and assume contrasting approaches to their subjects. Each, however, benefits from access to recently released govern- ment files housed in the Public Record Office, as well as other documents lately made available to historians. Together the volumes constitute the most complete record of these governments currently obtainable. While not denying Labour in office was a disappointment when measured against party rhetoric, the authors assume a more nuanced view compared with most previous accounts. In particular, they highlight a wider range of reasons for the governments’ relative lack of achievement. If the dis- position of Labour’s leaders played its part, so did the nature of the party, the delicate state of the economy, the declining place of Britain in the world order and the limited ambitions of the British people themselves. In testing some well entrenched assumptions about these govern- ments in light of new evidence, the authors dispute their status as the black sheep of Labour history and establish some new perspectives. In this respect, these volumes therefore mark an important stage in the permanent revisionism to which all historians should subject the past. It is hoped they will encourage more research on Labour’s period in office and challenge their overly grim reputation among both academics and lay readers alike. ix fielding prelims.P65 9 10/10/03, 12:29 Acknowledgements This book has been a long time in the making, considerably longer, in fact, than the duration of the 1964–70 Wilson governments. During the course of the research and writing I have incurred debts, too many to fully recall and mention here. I would therefore like to take the oppor- tunity to thank everybody who helped me on the way. In particular, I want to record my appreciation for the help, advice, knowledge and/or accommodation provided by Lindsay Abbott, Alan Bell, Stephen Bird, Lawrence Black, John Bochel, Stephen Brooke, John Callaghan, David Coates, Andy Davies, Pat Fielding, John Garrard, Andrew Geddes, Iain Maciver, Janette Martin, Chris Nicholls, Nigel Parker, Judith Read, Susan Sims, Jill Spellman, Jeremy Stokes, Duncan Tanner, Richard Temple, Jane Thorniley-Walker, Nick Tiratsoo, Jim Tomlinson, Richard Weight, Mark Wickham-Jones, Christine Woodland and John Young. I should also apologise to Abby, Jack, Tom and Anna for being such a pain while finishing this book, and thank them for their support. For permission to cite from the John P. Mackintosh papers I should thank Una Maclean-Mackintosh; similarly, I need to thank the Scottish National Party for allowing me to refer to their papers. Every effort has been made to obtain permission to reproduce copyright material in this book. If any proper acknowledgement has not been made, copy- right holders are invited to contact the publisher. I received invaluable financial assistance from the British Academy in undertaking my archival work; the Arts and Humanities Research Board’s research leave scheme helped me finalise my research and writ- ing; and Salford University enabled me to purchase a laptop PC that is now due for early retirement. x fielding prelims.P65 10 10/10/03, 12:29 1 Introduction. Cultural and political change in 1960s Britain If they are to prosper, political parties must successfully engage with change. For the British Labour Party during the 1960s, this imperative seemed especially acute because, like other advanced capitalist societies, the country underwent what has been described as a ‘cultural revolution’. The viability of what many took to be immutable identities and divisions based on class, gender, generation and ethnicity was widely questioned; in addition, the relationship between individuals and political authority was subject to sweeping critique. This book examines the nature of Labour’s response during the 1964–70 governments led by Harold Wilson. Yet, while a work of history, it views its subject with one eye on the debate that began in the 1990s regarding how parties should react to what was believed to be another period of flux.
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