United Kingdom general election, 1964

The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power. Both major parties had changed leaders in 1963: after the sudden death of Hugh Gaitskell, Labour chose Harold Wilson (who was then thought of as being on the party's centre-left), and the Conservatives had chosen Alec Douglas-Home (then the Earl of Home) as their new leader after Harold Macmillan announced his resignation (Home shortly after disclaimed his title under the Peerage Act 1963 in order to lead the party from the Commons). Macmillan's government had been increasingly unpopular in the mid-term, and Douglas-Home faced a difficult task in rebuilding the party's popularity. Wilson had begun to try to tie the Labour Party to the growing confidence of Britain in the 1960s, asserting that the "white heat of [the] revolution" would sweep away "restrictive practices... on both sides of industry". This helped him secure victory with a small overall majority of four.^[1] In addition, the resurgence of the Liberal Party, which doubled its share of the vote in this election, arguably contributed to the scale of the Conservative defeat as well as to the modest gains of the Labour party.

The election night was broadcast live on the BBC, and was presented by Richard Dimbleby, with Robin Day, Cliff Michelmore and David Butler.^[2]

Campaign

The pre-election campaign was prolonged as Douglas-Home delayed calling a general election in order to try to give himself the maximum time to improve the prospects of his party. The starting gun of the campaign was fired on 15 September 1964 when Douglas-Home saw the Queen and asked for a dissolution of Parliament. The campaign was dominated by some of the more voluble characters on the political scene: George Brown, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, toured the country making energetic speeches and the occasional gaffe, and Quintin Hogg for the Conservatives responded in kind. The image of Hogg lashing out at a Harold Wilson poster with his walking stick was one of the most striking of the campaign. Many party speakers, especially at televised rallies, had to deal with hecklers: Sir Alec Douglas-Home in particular was treated very roughly in a meeting at Birmingham.

National opinion poll summary

NOP: Lab swing 3.5% (Lab majority of 12)
Gallup: Lab swing 4% (Lab majority of 23)
Research Services: Lab swing 2.75% (Con majority of 30)
Daily Express: Lab swing of 1.75% (Con majority of 60)

Results

The election resulted in a very slim majority for the Labour Party, of four seats, and led to their first government since 1951. Labour achieved a swing of just over 3% although its own vote rose by only 0.2%. The Liberal Party won nearly twice as many votes as in 1959, but did so partly by nominating 150 more candidates. Harold Wilson became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, replacing Sir Alec Douglas-Home. The majority was not sustainable for a full Parliament and Wilson called another general election in 1966. In particular, the small majority of Wilson's government resulted in its being unable to implement the party's policy of nationalising the steel industry, due to the opposition of two of its back benchers: Woodrow Wyatt and Desmond Donnelly.

The election also saw the only time in the UK's recent history where all seats were divided between only the three main parties; that is, no minor parties, independents or splinter groups were able to obtain a seat.

All parties are shown. Conservative total includes Ulster Unionists and National Liberals.

Votes summary

Headline Swing: 3.10% to Labour

Seats summary

Incumbents defeated

Conservative

• Ernest Partridge (Battersea South)
• Sir Douglas Marshall (Bodmin)
• Edwin Taylor (Bolton East)
• Sir William Taylor, 1st Baronet (Bradford North)
• David James MBE, DSC (Brighton Kemptown)
• Robert Maxwell (Buckingham)
• John Bidgood (Bury and Radcliffe)
• Donald McIntosh Johnson (Carlisle)
• Anthony Bourne-Arton (Darlington)
• Anthony Barber (Doncaster) - Minister of Health
• John Arbuthnot MBE (Dover)
• Graeme Finlay (Epping)
• Frank Lilley (Glasgow Kelvingrove)
• Peter Michael Kirk (Gravesend) - Under-Secretary of State for War
• Maurice Macmillan (Halifax)
• Tony Leavey (Heywood and Royton)
• Martin Madden (Hitchin)
• Denys Bullard (King's Lynn)
• Michael Coulson (Kingston upon Hull North) - Parliamentary Private Secretary
• Norman Pannell (Liverpool Kirkdale)
• Reginald Bevins (Liverpool Toxteth) - Postmaster General
• Sir Kenneth Thompson, 1st Baronet (Liverpool Walton)
• John Woollam (Liverpool West Derby)
• Eric Johnson (Manchester Blackley)
• Eveline Hill (Manchester Wythenshawe)
• Geoffrey Rippon (Norwich South)
• John Cordeaux (Nottingham Central)
• Alan Green (Preston South) - Financial Secretary to the Treasury
• Sir Hugh Linstead (Putney)
• Wing Commander Sir Norman John Hulbert DL (Stockport North)
• Sir Harold Macdonald Steward ((Stockport South)
• Paul Williams (Sunderland South)
• Michael Hughes-Young (Wandsworth Central) - Treasurer of the Household
• Frederick Farey-Jones (Watford)
• Colin Turner (Woolwich West)
• Philip Holland (Acton)
• William Compton Carr (Barons Court)
• John Hollingworth (Birmingham All Saints)
• Leslie Seymour (Birmingham Sparkbrook)
• Leonard Cleaver (Birmingham Yardley)
• Sir Alan Glyn (Clapham)
• Wilf Proudfoot (Cleveland)
• Philip Hocking (Coventry South)
• Geoffrey Johnson Smith (Holborn and St Pancras South)
• Marcus Worsley (Keighley)
• Gordon Matthews CBE (Meriden)
• Fergus Montgomery (Newcastle upon Tyne East)
• Peter Tapsell (Nottingham West)
• Julian Critchley (Rochester and Chatham)
• Hugh Rees (Swansea West)
• Commander John Kearns (The Hartlepools)
• Michael hamilton (Wellingborough) - Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
• Trevor Skeet (Willesden East)
• Lieutenant-Colonel Neil McLean DSO and Two Bars (Inverness)
• Sir John MacLeod TD (Ross and Cromarty)

Labour

• Charles Howell (Birmingham Perry Barr)
• Fenner Brockway (Eton and Slough)
• Albert Hilton (South West Norfolk)
• Patrick Gordon Walker (Smethwick) - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

Liberal

• Arthur Holt (Bolton West)
• Donald Wade (Huddersfield West) - Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party

Televised declarations

These declarations were covered live by the BBC where the returning officer was heard to say "duly elected".

• Orpington was won by the Liberals in a by-election in 1962 and held in the general election. When this happens, it is described as a "win" as opposed to a "gain" or "hold".

See also

• MPs elected in the UK general election, 1964

References

• F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987
• United Kingdom election results - summary results 1885-1979

Manifestos

• "PROSPERITY WITH A PURPOSE" - 1964 Conservative manifesto.
• "THE NEW BRITAIN" - 1964 Labour Party manifesto.
• "THINK FOR YOURSELF" - 1964 Liberal Party manifesto.