Harold Wilson’s 'White Heat' Speech That Redefined Politics in the 60s

[@theipaper]

Is this one of the most important political speeches in British history?

[@LydiaLulu]

Yes!! Great video

[@CantIiseverythingtomee]

Yes ❤❤❤

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

Got a soviet styled socialist? Yes.

[@MS-19]

@@syedadeelhussain2691 MI5 maintained a file on Wilson under the name of Henry Worthington. It repeatedly investigated him over the course of several decades, before officially concluding that Wilson had had no relationship with the KGB. Nor did it ever find evidence of Soviet penetration of the Labour Party.

[@davidharwood9552]

1976. Grange Farm. Interesting time and location

[@roydavidlivermore4664]

Something he did,but is never mentioned,in that he refused several times to get involved in the Vietnam war.This must have saved more Uk lives than any Prime minister.

so what the VW was nothing to do with us why should we get involved. should just do his job and get on with running the UK.

[@davidwarren202]

Hw was under a lot of pressure from LBJ which he resisted. The UK was still heavily in debt to the USA at the time

[@DIEMLtdTV]

I'm not a fan of Wilson but this did save lots of British troops' lives with this. Or was it his (alleged) KGB handlers instructing him?

[@somestalecontent]

@@DIEMLtdTVHaha

[@heinkle1]

“Stagnant backwater” is a pretty good description of the economy in 2024 relative to our peers

[@Da1Dez]

Wilson was the last, and possibly only, prime minister we had who really understood the people of Britain and valued what it meant to be British.

[@Nick-io9uk]

Wilson was probably the best prime minister in....well, a long time. In a century where the unspoken rule seems to be 'every current prime minister must be slightly worse than the last, every next prime minister slightly worse than the current' he broke the mould. He combined those important values of socialism and nationalism. If only we'd followed his example for the next 60 years. He was also reputedly our glorious Queens most favourite PM.

[@tedgreensmith631]

Completely agree. Wilson was an incredible Prime Minister.

[@davidluck4608]

Tis a Great Travesty of Justice that the Labour Party doesn’t have someone as popular as Harold Wilson as their Leader🧐

[@MoodyWatters]

A great, great man indeed.

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

Open university was his brain child

[@JupiterThunder]

@@syedadeelhussain2691 A crap university.

[@YvesLorenzoChuaValenzuela]

Where can we find the full speech of the "White Heat" speech

[@barryballsit4944]

Should have devalued the pound much earlier than he did, not an easy decision to take but delay damaged the economy a lot

[@mowogfpv7582]

I fear that the customs union may be similar for Starmer

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

British balance of payments problem was due to excessive public spending on housing, and the high growth rate of the 1960s. Devaluation is akin to an import tariff!

[@rory4605]

I’d say the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the legalisation of abortion was more Roy Jenkins’ work than Wilson’s.

[@npe1]

Neither - they were both private members bills. Leo Abse on decriminalisation of homosexuality and David Steele on abortion.

[@rory4605]

@@npe1 Thanks! I love this era of British politcs.

[@Josh2312-v5n]

I think he was well liked by the Queen as Prime Minister

[@WhataDubHead]

And yet what came of it? Industries continued to decline, being inefficient, bloated, and not dynamic to market competition. I think people are running on vibes here. The only true structural changes came in the 80s and because of Wilson’s and other governments inactions made the necessary changes that much more painful. People like to romanticise - don’t look at intentions, but outcomes.

[@kiwikiwi1779]

It was a bit of a half-ass. He made the effort, but for the most part, it wasn't enough. It was in times like that, with things generally going well, that "managed decline" took effect and Britain's outdated and strange government really failed to push forwards an ambitious project. Why do it, when "good enough" was (apparently) working so well? Not to mention the setbacks, the scandals, and the internal conflicts. It was the first party of personality, not the party of old boy cliques. Reminds you of today, almost.

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

The UK with Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, LBS, and Imperial College had the potential to turn into a true knowledge economy. That did not happen, sadly.

[@californiadreamin8423]

Hello Hello. The country was near bankrupt and prior to his second election victory , he included a manifesto promise to hold and stand by the first referendum ever in this country, to settle the matter of EEC membership once and for all . After renegotiating new terms of membership, the country decided by a significant majority to remain in the EEC. By 2016 the U.K. was the 5th richest country in the world, and leaving the EU has put the U.K. economy into significant decline.

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

@@californiadreamin8423 UK Economy had an average growth rate of 4% in the 1960s So correct me if my figure is incorrect plz. Thx.

[@californiadreamin8423]

@@syedadeelhussain2691 What I can tell you is that the Labour government had to go to the International Monetary Fund to arrange a loan, which is why I said the U.K. was nearly bankrupt.

[@flachi32]

Crossland the real moderniser

[@williamwaynflete6336]

08:14 Ena Sharples

[@ThomasBoyd-mn8ht]

Rest private schools are excellent in England. Massimio Zimbardi Italian Age 27 went private school in Italy Piedmont his home he a Friend Thomas. PR voting Italy telling England change tactics politically to win PR for House of Commons UK general election. Never get with Tories.

[@syedadeelhussain2691]

An avid pipe smoker. Stylish man but couldn't understand why he resigned in the 1970s? Remains a mystery. Also, he was under Lady Falklander's domination. That is another story for another day!!

[@californiadreamin8423]

It’s not a mystery. He recognised that his once prodigious memory was failing among other things.

[@williamwaynflete6336]

*Falkender*

[@davidharwood9552]

I met Harold Wilson in 1975 in Great Missenden. After he resigned. Smoking his pipe but was nervous. Looking over his shoulder. He was living a double life maybe 🤔

[@californiadreamin8423]

@ How old were you ?

[@davidharwood9552]

@@californiadreamin8423 I was born 1954

[@TheNotrac]

One of our greatest Prime Ministers! One of the very worst.

[@rupes3618]

This such poor and biased vid of Wilson. Wilson failed. We got Concorde. The French got airbus. The US got the market for civil aerospace sector to themselves. Wilson was actually a huge missed opportunity. The white heat of technology failed.

[@californiadreamin8423]

France and the U.K. got Concorde. Airbus Industries is widespread throughout Europe and wings are made in Cheshire. The US got the market for civil aerospace to themselves……you don’t think the ignorance of Duncan Sandys had anything to do with that. Your post is unbalanced nonsense.

[@rupes3618]

@@californiadreamin8423 my uncle designed the landing gear so yes I know of what I speak. We got lesson 20% of airbus where we could have had more like the French share of near 40%. They got airiane we got nothing because Wilson cancelled blue streak. The us got fighter jet market to themselves for the phantom and f104 because Wilson cancelled the TSR2. My uncle he ended up working on the the 737 because the white heat of technology meant cancelled programs. Just like dozens he had to take his talents learnt at dowty engineering in the 50s to ‘help’ the us Aerospace industry. Wilson was a total failure.

[@californiadreamin8423]

@ No one person designs an undercarriage. I worked at Warton. The country was bankrupt and your assertion that it was Wilson’s fault is absurd.

[@JupiterThunder]

@@californiadreamin8423 Yeah but it's a Dutch company owned by France and Germany.

[@californiadreamin8423]

@@JupiterThunder Thanks for the information.

[@ThomasBoyd-mn8ht]

Harold Wilson Labour Prime minister excellent politically pity did last longer as Margaret Sweeney said when resigned 1976 Labour party in England went down tubes politically for next 18 years. Please VAT 20% Fees on Eton college remove charitable business relief from Eton college Tory Toffs gravy train finished politically Keir starmer delivered it. His Labour government with 412 Labour MPs. David Cameron took England out EU referendum Brexit mistake. No chance for Britain with Brexit politically.

[@infrasleep]

Schoolboy drivel. The country went bankrupt in 1976-forced to beg to the IMF. Reeves has created the exact same scenario of 70's stagflation-zero investment; the evil 1% who paid 30% of all tax revenue will -as in the 70's-leave. In the 70's BASIC rate tax was 33%-Reeves WILL raise basic rate tax as there is no one but the plebes left to tax (and she wil do another 70's scheme-BEG firms to stay in the UK by offering them....TAX BREAKS! Only this time they've got the option of relocating elsewhere to reduce the costs which will blow another hole in Reeves' fantasy tax raising figure. You're so screwed up with childish hates you fail to question anything. You failed to read up on 70's economics-obviously as only a half wit like Reeves thinks doing the same will result in a different outcome. You only spot a crime if the tories do it and go all in denial-think its a great idea-when labour do exactly the same. Labour died in 1994 with John Smith-your hero Starmer is a born Tory elitist snob-like Reeves, like you-trying to be terribly left wing and labour. FYI OLD REAL LABOUR-"Means tests mean poverty traps" and they debunked the tory urban myths of millionaires on benefits. YOU and STARMER who celebrated cutting the OAP fuel allowance-so full of hate and spite you born tory "labour" are today not only created the means test poverty traps-you made up the urban myths to go with it. If you want to know what a truely obnoxious Tory looks like-look at yourself in the mirror or your poster of Starmer.

[@Prasutagucaster]

Not been a decent, even average, Labour leader since. It’s regressed 80 years recently. Joke of a cabinet. Student politicians and politics

[@robertguildford]

Having lived through this age, I cannot disagree with your more. The problems of today are caused by the decisions of yesterday. Look no further than the Labour Parties lmmigration acts of 1948 and Wilsons open door Act of 1968.

they were bad but UK seem to go down the drain in freefall immigration wise from 1997 when TB opened the flood gates. i remember London only having 1 or 2 'no go' areas in 2002. now it has 1 or 2 'go' areas..!

[@tomwinchester8209]

Utter nonsense probably coming from someone outside of London

[@JupiterThunder]

@@tomwinchester8209 One doesn't need to visit a pig sty to know it stinks.

[@archie7218]

Immigration was in the 10s of thousands throughout the 20th century. It was around the 2000s under Blair the floodgates opened, and its been the same ever since

[@robertguildford]

@archie7218 I agree with your comment. As the seed of the common man, I have always had my eyes open. Immigration into this country is all down to the Labour party, In all its disguises, ( Blair). That is the cause of today's problems.