Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Map
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Politicians, officials and personalities
- Introduction
- 1 The evolution of British Cold War policy, 1945–1964
- 2 The UK and East-West relations, 1964–1965
- 3 The Wilson government and the Vietnam War, 1965–1968
- 4 British strategy and defence policy, 1964–1968
- 5 Détente, trade and espionage, 1966–1968
- 6 The ‘Prague Spring’ and its aftermath, 1968–1970
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - The UK and East-West relations, 1964–1965
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Map
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- Glossary
- Politicians, officials and personalities
- Introduction
- 1 The evolution of British Cold War policy, 1945–1964
- 2 The UK and East-West relations, 1964–1965
- 3 The Wilson government and the Vietnam War, 1965–1968
- 4 British strategy and defence policy, 1964–1968
- 5 Détente, trade and espionage, 1966–1968
- 6 The ‘Prague Spring’ and its aftermath, 1968–1970
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Labour won the 1964 general election with a bare majority of only three parliamentary seats. Moreover, soon after Wilson occupied 10 Downing Street on 16 October he had to address several pressing issues with a direct effect on Britain's economic and foreign policies:
The Chinese had, the previous day, exploded their first nuclear weapon … There was a telegram appraising the situation in the Soviet Union following the overthrow, less than twenty-four hours earlier, of Mr Khrushchev and the appointment of Mr Kosygin … There was anxious news of the ‘confrontation’, the war between Indonesia and Malaysia, … [and], grimmest of all, there was the economic news.
Throughout the election campaign Labour assailed the government of Sir Alec Douglas-Home for its mismanagement of the economy, but Wilson and his ministers later professed to be shocked by the scale of Britain's economic difficulties. Labour inherited a balance of payments deficit of £800 million which contributed to a prolonged struggle to prevent devaluation. The threat of devaluation not only dominated much of the government's term in office, but it also had important implications for the UK's defence policy and, indirectly, its Cold War strategy.
East-West relations were rarely mentioned during Labour's election campaign, aside from a few statements by Wilson and other senior shadow ministers which reflected the general impression that tensions between the USSR and other Western powers had eased perceptibly, and that the prospects for détente were promising.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Harold Wilson's Cold WarThe Labour Government and East-West Politics, 1964–1970, pp. 34 - 57Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2009