Labour and Conservative governments 1964–1979

This episode explores the turbulent years between 1964 and 1979, beginning with Harold Wilson’s Labour governments as they grappled with economic crises, rising inflation, strained relations with the trade unions and deepening party divisions, before examining the 1970 Conservative victory and Edward Heath’s ambitious but troubled programme of reform, industrial relations battles and the miners’ strike that defined his premiership. We then trace the return of Labour under Wilson and Callaghan from 1974, charting their struggles with unemployment, inflation, union unrest and the mounting pressures that culminated in the Winter of Discontent. Across these years of instability, shifting leadership and economic turmoil, the episode reveals how Britain moved from optimism to crisis, setting the stage for a dramatic political shift at the end of the 1970s.