What were the key economic issues from 1964-79?

Britain – Politics, 1964-79

In this course, Dr Aled Davies (University of Oxford) explores British politics from 1964-79. In the first lecture, we think about the key economic issues facing the governments in Britain from 1964-79. In the second lecture, we think about how the Labour Party worked towards regaining power in 1964. In the third lecture, we think about how Harold Wilson’s Labour government worked towards improving the British economy. Next, we think about how Edward Heath’s Conservative government differed from Wilson’s Labour government in their economic policies and implementation. In the fifth lecture, we think about the debates around EEC, and later EC, membership during this period. In the sixth and final lecture, we think about how James Callaghan’s government differed in economic policy from Harold Wilson’s.

What were the key economic issues from 1964-79?

In this lecture, we think about the key economic issues facing British governments from 1964-79, focusing in particular on: (i) the economy as the central issue which decided Labour’s victory in 1964 and Conservative victory in 1979; (ii) Welsh and Scottish nationalism, violence in Northern Ireland, and immigration as other key issues at the fore of politics during this period; (iii) three key economic challenges in this period being the maintenance of full employment, the maintenance of the pound sterling value, and overcoming Britain’s perceived economic decline; (iv) the post-war political consensus that Britain should not return to its interwar state of high unemployment; (v) the use of monetary policy, inspired by Keynesian economics, to seek full employment but avoid high inflation; (vi) the post-war agreement to fix exchange rates, to provide international economic stability; (vii) the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), established after the war, to lend to governments if they could not balance their trading economy through trade itself or international investment; (viii) the conflict during this period between economic strategy to improve the quality of life of British people and the effects those strategies might have on exchange rates, which had to remain fixed; (ix) the fact that, despite Britain’s huge economic growth in the 1950s, it was losing its lead over other European countries like France and Germany.