|
|
| 1916 | Birth |  |
| 11th Mar Huddersfield Birth of Harold Wilson |
| 1935 | Lecturer Economics Wilson |  |
| London Appointed lecturer in economics at Oxford University, age 21 |
| 1945 | Election |  |
| Ormskirk First elected to Parliament as MP for Ormskirk |
| 1947 | Diplomacy |  |
| London Visits Russia to agree an exchange of manafacured goods for grain |
| Dec Moscow Leads a trade mission & agrees to exchange manafactured goods for Russian grain |
| 1947 | President |  |
| Appointed President of the Board of Trade, 1st term |
| 1947 | Privy Council |  |
| London Appointed Member of the Privy Council |
| 1947 | Rationing |  |
| 5th Nov London Celebrates a "bonfire of controls" by making 200,000 permits & licences unecessary |
| 1948 | Economy |  |
| Exchange controls are removed, a trade surplus changes to a defecit |
| 1948 | Exchange Controls |  |
| Exchange controls are removed, a trade surplus changes to a defecit |
| 1948 | Reform |  |
| London Exchange controls are removed, a trade surplus changes to a defecit |
| London Gets the Monopolies Act passed & is responsible for its implementation |
| London The Development of Indus try Bill is passed, sponsored by the Board of Trade |
| London The Distribution of Indus try Bill is passed, sponsored by the Board of Trade |
| London The Export Guarantees Bill is passed, sponsored by the Board of Trade |
| London The Monopolies Act is passed, sponsored by the Board of Trade |
| 1949 | Rationing |  |
| Rations for clothing are abolished |
| 1950 | President |  |
| Appointed President of the Board of Trade, 2nd term |
| 1951 | Resignation |  |
| 22nd April Resigns from the Cabinet in protest against health service charges to pay defense |
| 1955 | Constitution |  |
| Heads an NEC working group into why Labour had lost the last 2 elections |
| Heads a subcommittee on the organization of the Labour Party |
| Reports that the Labour Partty is too centralized |
| 1955 | Election |  |
| At the General Election doubles his majority in Huyton to 2,558 |
| Decides not to stand for the leadership of the Labour Party but to support Gaitskell |
| 1955 | Shadow Chancellor Exchequer |  |
| Appointed Shadow Chancellor after Gaitskell wins the leadership election |
| 1956 | Speech |  |
| Birmingham Makes a speech condeming Anglo-French intervention, to his relief it is well received |
| 1956 | Suez Canal Crisis |  |
| Claims Eden lost lives Hungary as Russia invaded during the Suez crisis |
| Birmingham Makes a speech condeming Anglo-French intervention, to his relief it is well received |
| 1959 | Chairman Public Accounts Committee |  |
| London Appointed Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee |
| 1959 | Constitution |  |
| Nov Blackpool Describes reforming Clause IV as "taking Genisis out of the Bible" |
| Nov Blackpool Gaitskell accepts Wilson's Clause IV reform of the Labour Party for "common ownership" |
| 1959 | Election |  |
| Huyton At the General Election doubles his majority in Huyton to 5,927 |
| 1960 | Constitution |  |
| Clause IV, supporting "common ownership" |
| 1960 | Election |  |
| Nov Contests the party leadership, wins 81 votes to Gaitskell's 166 |
| 1960 | Reform |  |
| London Clause IV, "common ownership" |
| 1961 | Election |  |
| Unsuccessfully contests the deputy leadership of the party, defeated by George Brown |
| 1961 | Manifesto Labour Party |  |
| Calls for a national economic plan |
| Calls for capital gains tax, nationalization of building land & public schools |
| Calls for raising the school leaving age to 16 |
| Prepares the economic section of the Labour maifesto, "Signpost for the Sixties" |
| 1961 | Shadow Foreign Secretary |  |
| Appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary after the leadership election |
| 1963 | Conference of Labour Party |  |
| Oct London Speech about the "white heat" of scientific revolution |
| 1st Oct Scarborough Advocates policy of supporting science & technology for the future of Britain |
| 1963 | Election |  |
| 1st ballot for the party leadership, Wilson wins 115, Brown 88 & Callaghan 41 votes |
| 19th Jan Decides to stand for leadership of the Labour Party after the death of Hugh Gaitskell |
| 1963 | Lecture Wilson |  |
| London Goes on a lecture tour of the United States |
| 1963 | Party Leader |  |
| London Appointed Party Leader of the Labour Party |
| 1964 | Crisis |  |
| London Cromer, Governor of the Bank of England, raises $3,000 million to protect sterling |
| Nov London A sterling crisis |
| 1964 | CSO |  |
| London Wilson founds the Central Statistical Office |
| 1964 | Diplomacy |  |
| London Announces an immediate ban on arms shipments to SouthAfrica |
| A run on the œ causes Wilson to ask Johnson for an IMF loan, Johnson is non-committal |
| onvinces the USAthat a labour Government would not be anti USA |
| London Visits Kennedy, differences on nuclear weapons but supports the Nassau agreement |
| London Visits the USA & addresses the Chamber of Commerce |
| Moscow Wilson & Walker visit Khrushchev & reach a "friendly understanding" except for Berlin |
| 1964 | Economy |  |
| A run on the œ causes Wilson to ask Johnson for an IMF loan, Johnson is non-committal |
| 1964 | EFTA Import Surcharges |  |
| London Imposes import tax on everything except food, raw materials & tobacco |
| London The EFTA objection to import surcharges convinces Wilson Britain needs to join the EC |
| 1964 | Election |  |
| Launches a campaign in the Spring, convinced there will be a general election in May |
| April A National Opinion Poll shows Wilson with a commanding lead, 71% "brilliant" |
| 15th Oct The Labour Party win 44.1% of votes cast & 317 MPs |
| 15th Oct The Labour Party win the general election by 4 seats |
| 1964 | European Union |  |
| London The EFTA objection to import surcharges convinces Wilson Britain needs to join the EC |
| 1964 | Nationalization |  |
| 3rd April London Lays out a programm for Parliament including further nationalization |
| 1964 | Prime Minister |  |
| 16th Oct Appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain, 1st term |
| 1965 | Concorde |  |
| London Writes to Pompidou saying investment in Concorde is a luxury |
| 1965 | DEA |  |
| The Department for Economic Affairs is established under George Brown |
| 1965 | Death |  |
| 24th Jan An official announcement from 10 Downing Street at 8:55am by Harold Wilson |
| 1965 | Diplomacy |  |
| London Writes to Pompidou saying investment in Concord is a luxury |
| 1965 | Election |  |
| Jan Leyton Labour lose with an 8.7% swing to the Conservatives , produces political instability |
| 1965 | Independence |  |
| The OAU calls members to break with Britain if Smith's regime is not brought down |
| 30th Oct In a broadcast rules out military intervention if Rhodes ia declares UDI |
| 11th Nov Rhodes ia declares Unilateral Declaration of Independence |
| 1965 | Legislation |  |
| The Race Relations Act outlaws discrimination & establishes a Race Relations Board |
| 1965 | Publication |  |
| 16th Sep Labour's National Plan is published |
| 1965 | Reform |  |
| The Race Relations Act establishes a Race Relations Board |
| The Race Relations Act outlaws racial discrimination |
| The Redundancy Payments Act provides payments of workers who are made redundant |
| The Rent Act fixes fair rents for private tenants & provides security of tenure |
| London With a majority of 1 & by-election pending wins the Territorial & Reserve Forces Bill |
| 8th Nov London Abolition of capital punishment |
| 1965 | Sanctions |  |
| Falsely predicts Ian Smith's downfall as a result of sanctions |
| Launches oil sanctions against Rhodes ia for declaring UDI |
| 1965 | Vote Confidence |  |
| London With a majority of 1 & by-election pending wins the Territorial & Reserve Forces Bill |
| 1966 | Budget |  |
| 19th July London Announces a package of cuts in the House of Commons, in preference to devaluation |
| 19th July London HP controls are tightened, indirect taxes & post office charges raised |
| 19th July London Incomes & prices are frozen for 6 months |
| 19th July London Surtax introduced & public investments cut |
| 1966 | Conference of Commonwealth |  |
| Sep Lagos The Commonwealth Conference at Lagos attacks Wilson's handling of Rhodes ia's UDI |
| 1966 | Crisis |  |
| London Says a Daily Express article threatens security as defined by the D-Notice |
| London The Daily Express is cleared of acting against the national interest |
| July London Sterling crisis followed by a period of deflation |
| 1966 | Deflation |  |
| 20th July London Produces a deflationary package to stabalise the pound |
| 1966 | Diplomacy |  |
| London The body of Roger Casement is returned to Ireland |
| Sep OAU will sever relations with Britain if Smith's regime is not broken by Dec |
| 1966 | Disaster |  |
| Aberfan Visits Aberfan where a collapsed pit mound killed 116 schoolchildren at their school |
| Scilly Isles Visits the Isles of Scilly to lead clean up the oil spillage from the Torrey Canyon |
| 1966 | Election |  |
| Leyton The government majority falls to 4 when Labour loses the Leyton by-election |
| Jan Hull Labour win a by-election in Hull with a 4.5% swing in favour of the government |
| 28th Feb Announces a general election for the 31st of March in order to win a working majority |
| 11th Mar 1st day of the election campaign, Labour have a 9% lead in the polls |
| 31st Mar Labour win with 363 seats to 253 Tory, 12 Liberal & 2 others, a majority of 97 |
| 31st Mar The Labour Party win 48% of votes cast & 364 MPs |
| 1966 | European Union |  |
| Pompidou says Britain will have to devalue before being considerred for EU membership |
| 19th May London Agrees a working party to examine the Treaty of Rome & Britain's entry in the EU |
| 10th Nov The Labour government announces its intention to make a 2nd application to join the EU |
| 1966 | Independence |  |
| Gibraltar Holds talks on HMS Tiger with Ian Smith to discuss the future of Rhodes ia |
| Gibraltar On the Tiger offers Smith deferral of majority rule for a decade & legalizing Rhodes ia |
| Salisbury Rhodes ia rejects terms offerred on board the HMS Tiger by Harold Wilson |
| Sep OAU countries will break off relations if Smith's regime is not broken by Dec |
| Sep Wilson agrees to recognise Ian Smith & negotiate with him |
| 6th Dec Talks to resolve the Rhodes ia UDI break down |
| 1966 | Manifesto Labour Party |  |
| Jan Begins work on, "Time for Decision" |
| 1966 | Prices & Incomes |  |
| 20th July London Launches a 6 month freeze on prices & wages |
| 1966 | Prime Minister |  |
| Appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain, 2nd term |
| 1966 | Reform |  |
| 15th June London The Abortion Bill is passes it's 2nd Reading |
| 4th July London Companies & Unions must give advance waning of any wage or price increases |
| 4th July London The Prices & Incomes Bill is published |
| 5th July London The Sexual Offences Bill, legalizing homosexuality, passes its second reading |
| 1966 | Reshuffle Cabinet |  |
| July Brown is moved to the Foreign Office & Stewart takes over at the DEA |
| 1966 | Rule of Falklands |  |
| 14th Jan Falklands Britain agrees to UN resolution to find a "peaceful solution to the problem" |
| 1966 | Speech |  |
| 21st April London The Queen's Speech includes the nationalization of steel |
| 1966 | State of Emergency |  |
| 23rd May London A state of emergency is declared in response to the seamen's strike |
| 1966 | Strike |  |
| The strike causes a run on the pound |
| 13th May Summons the seamen's leaders to Downing St to avert a strike but the strike continues |
| 29th June The strike comes to an end when payscales are agreed |
| 31st Oct Strikes against redundancies close all British Motor Corporation factories |
| 1966 | Suez Canal |  |
| 18th July Suez Canal It is announced that British forces will withdraw from Suez by the mid 70's |
| 1967 | Budget |  |
| Suez The government publishes a White Paper to make defence cuts east of Suez |
| 1967 | Commission |  |
| London Appoints a Parliamentary Committee of 10 to give the government a more direction |
| 1967 | Conference of London |  |
| 28th Mar London 1st day of the Anglo-Maltese conference to discuss British withdrawal |
| 1967 | Demonstrations |  |
| 10th Feb A curfew is imposed in Aden after nationalist riots |
| 1967 | Devaluation |  |
| 16th Nov The pound sterling is devalued by 14.5% |
| 18th Nov The pound is devalued from $2.80 to $2.40 |
| 1967 | Diplomacy |  |
| London Britain cancels the F111A order from the USA |
| 6th Feb London Kosygin visits Wilson in Britain to discuss the Vietnam War |
| 1967 | Economy |  |
| 18th Nov The pound is devalued from $2.80 to $2.40 |
| 1967 | Independence |  |
| 28th Mar London 1st day of the Anglo-Maltese conference to discuss British withdrawal |
| 1967 | Legislation |  |
| 25th Oct London The Abortion Bill is passed by Parliament |
| 1967 | Referendum |  |
| 10th Sep Gibraltar The people of Gibraltar vote to remain British |
| 1967 | Reform |  |
| 25th Oct London The Abortion Bill is passed by Parliament |
| 1967 | Reshuffle Cabinet |  |
| Wilson takes over the DEA & Shore appointed Secretary of State |
| 1967 | Rule of Gibraltar |  |
| 10th Sep Gibraltar The people of Gibraltar vote to remain British |
| 1968 | Crisis |  |
| 6th Dec London Rumours of coalition government & abdication of the Queen cause stock market panic |
| 1968 | Demonstrations |  |
| 27th Oct London Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations are held in London |
| 1968 | Economy |  |
| 5th Sep The TUC rejects Statutory Incomes Policy & approves voluntary wage restraint |
| 1968 | Independence |  |
| Falklands The Falkland Islands Committee in Parliament stressing "wishes of the Islanders" |
| 9th Oct Gibraltar Holds talks with Ian Smith about Rhodes ia on board HMS Fearless at Gibraltar |
| 17th Nov Salisbury The Anglo-Rhodesian talks in Salisbury end in deadlock |
| 1968 | Invasion of Falklands |  |
| Falklands Agrees a "Memorandum of Understanding" to transfer sovereignty |
| 1968 | Panic Stock Market |  |
| 6th Dec London Rumours of coalition government & abdication cause stock market panic |
| 1968 | Rule of Falklands |  |
| Falklands Agrees a "Memorandum of Understanding" to transfer sovereignty |
| 1968 | Statutory Incomes |  |
| 5th Sep The TUC rejects Statutory Incomes Policy & approves voluntary wage restraint |
| 1969 | Concorde |  |
| 2nd Mar The first prototype of the Concorde makes it's maiden flight |
| 1969 | Declaration of Downing Street |  |
| Ulster Northern Ireland will not leave the UK without the consent of it's Parliament |
| 1969 | Demonstrations |  |
| 14th Aug Belfast Rioting besets Belfast for three days, 8 Catholics are killed and two hundred thirty-six people wounded, the British sent in the army in an effort to keep order in Northern Ireland |
| 14th Aug Londonerry Sends in the Army after a peaceful civil rights demonstration which is broken |
| 1969 | Diplomacy |  |
| Gibraltar Spain closes the border with Gibraltar after the latter is given self-government |
| 1969 | European Union |  |
| French minister Maurice Schumann declares that France would agree to Britain's membership if questions of agricultural finance were settled first |
| 1969 | Rule of Ulster |  |