Why did Harold Wilson win the 1964 Election

In 1951 Winston Churchill's Conservative party, won the general election, and this would be the start of 13 years of Conservative rule spanning three prime ministers. This rule was ended in 1964 by Harold Wilson’s reunited Labour party. In this essay, I will look at the factors which led to the Labour victory.Whilst in power the Conservative government made many mistakes, a key example of a Conservative mistake would be the 1957 Suez crisis in Egypt, when its leader (Nasser) wanted to nationalise the Suez Canal, an important trade route from Northern Africa and Middle East for France and Great Britain, which would force any ships using it to pay large taxes. This led to Sir Anthony Eden having to take military action to secure the canal, and stop the nationalisation.However he could not just invade the Suez Canal, so instead he hatched up a plan with France and Israel secretly. This plan involved Israel invading parts of egypt and France and Great Britain acting as peace keepe rs, securing the Canal for themselves. The plan went off militarily perfect and the Canal was secured. However, Great Britain did this without the consent of the US and UN.The US, perhaps seeing this as Imperialism, threaten to halt economic aid unless Eden was to withdraw his troops from Egypt, of which GB was reliant on, so reluctantly Eden was forced to remove his troops. Meaning a failure to stop the nationalisation of the Suez canal and leading Great Britain isolated on the world scale, and Anglo-American relations at a low. It was now clear that GB was no longer a dominant power in the world, and could not do much without the support of the Americans and would have to stop its Imperialism.However it is likely that the crisis would have had a much less domestic impact, as the labour opposition were unable to capitalize on this Conservative failure without looking unpatriotic and Harold Macmillan was quickly able to mend Anglo-American relations in his time in power, leaving lit tle lasting effect. This realisation of the UK losing its world power status, however was accepted by Harold Macmillan, who is quoted saying â€Å"The dinosaur was the largest beast, but it was inefficient and therefore disappeared. The bee is efficient, but it is too small to have much influence.The British Empire was a dinosaur and didn't last. Britain's most useful role is somewhere between bee and dinosaur. ’’ This meant that Macmillan saw that Great Britain had to strike up a role powerful enough to have an influence, but know when to let things go and when to not get involved, it would no longer have to play the role of world policeman like it did in times of empire. This was a success of the Conservative government in acknowledging this and Macmillan viewed it as a defeat, but one from which the country could learn from like Dunkirk in 1940.Britain did learn from this, as it reduced its defence budget (which was 10% of its GDP), one significantly higher than ot her similar european countries and pushed towards decolonisation of its empire. Another key mistake of the Conservative government was its abuse of the economy, resulting in stop go economics which is expanding economy with low interest rates and rising consumer spending meaning the economy overheats with wages and imports exceeding productivity and exports meaning the economy has to go through a ‘’stop’’ phase or need for slowing down or deflation through higher interest rates and spending cuts.This lead to investors being unsure on what the economy would do, and therefore did not invest as much as other more stable economies and therefore Britain economic growth being much lower than countries like Japan, Germany and France that had only years before been devastated by World War II.This stop-go economics was caused by the government not being able to decide on a budget, and them being too often used as short term measures to buy votes in general election s, for example before elections the conservative government would reduce taxes and after they won the election, would be forced to raise them again and policy lagging behind events. This in the end led to the failure of the government to develop policies that encouraged consistently performing economies, resulting in ‘’Stagflation’’ meaning the economy felt both the impacts of industrial decline and inflation.This would have led to the people feeling worse off, and when it comes to elections, its not foreign policy that wins, its whether the government has made them richer or poorer than counts, and if it has made them poorer, it is unlikely that they will vote for that party again. Macmillian’s plan to improve the economy was to get Great Britain into the European Economic Community, or EEC, which would later become the European Union.This would make it easier to trade with Europe, increasing exports, something that was in deficit as at the time Br itain had a balance of payments issue, exporting much less than imported. This could have worked, but Macmillian failed to get entry into the EEC because France’s President De Gaulle vetoed against GB’s entry, because he felt that it would be an awkward member, and that it already had strong ties to America and the Commonwealth, and did not want them getting involved in his EEC.However it is also argued that De Gaulle vetoed against GB because he was still spiteful of the jokes made to him by British and American Generals during World War II and the occupation of France by the Nazis. In the end, this failure to gain entry, meant that Macmillians one stop pill for curing the economy was scraped and GBs balance of payments issue was not resolved. This was criticized a lot by the labour opposition, and faith in Macmillian was decreasing both in his party and the public, meaning it was likely this lead to increased numbers of labour voters.The 60s were a much more liberal decade than the 50s and a lot of the people we starting to get more left wing in their political views. Events such as the Ally Pally Potheads Rally and emergence of Hippy culture and the cultural revolution showcased this shift in beliefs. The Labour party were able to take advantage of this shifting in the spectrum, by having Roy Jenkins promise to make society much more ‘’Civil’’ by removing the death penalty, legalizing abortion and homosexuality over the age of 21 and reducing media censorship.This would have gained a lot of the younger voters and showed that the Labour Party was able to keep up with this revolution in the British culture, unlike the Conservative Party which was unable to fully understand why scandals such as the Profumo Affair and Vassal Spy Scandal were so interesting to the media and general public, leaving the conservatives looking out of touch and out dated. The Labour party was also much stronger in 1964 than it was in previouse lections. Harold Wilson was a much stronger leader than Gaitskell, and a more skilled campaigner. The split between the party of Bevanites and the Gaitskellites ,which once meant that Labour had many conflicts in ideology and therefore policies in earlier elections which caused weakness post atlee, was reduced giving the Labour party clearer directions for the future and more direct policies to vote on.This meant that the Labour party had a much better chance for winning the election than previous ones, regardless of the conservative mistakes. In conclusion, It could be argued that ‘’thirteen years of conservative misrule’’ was a factor in the Labour victory, especially since the conservatives failed at optimising the economy and dealing the the balance of payments issue and inflation, which lead the people to feel worse off, and it is how well off the people feel under a government that decides elections.But the labour party were not able to capitalize on other failures such as the Suez Crisis meaning the victory cannot all be blamed on the conservative misrule as the labour party were a much stronger and more focused opposition that was adapting to the times much better than the Conservatives this election, winning them the majority of the younger voters and therefore the election.

The Boxer Rebellion and the Christian Response

The Boxer Rebellion was a vicious uprising against non-Chinese in China during the final years of the 19th century, from November 1899 to September 7, 1901. The areas of conflict included the commercial market, political domain, religious concerns and technological advancements. This extremely unique and glaring because in a very short span of time, thousands of Christians, both Chinese and foreign were killed as a result of the revolt and its suppression. Then ironically, the revolt itself was crushed by the very thing it stood against – foreign influence. About 20,000 troops came from outside to thwart this movement forever.â€Å"Thus as 1900 dawned, China was swept by a movement known as ‘Yao rebels’ who believed that they had been made invulnerable by sorcery and incantation. Screaming mobs, determined to kill every Westerner, were egged on by the Yao society whose title, â€Å"The Fist of Righteous Amity† was translated by Americans and English into B oxers† (Guy, 2006). It is not possible to highlight where this anti-western sentiment in China was actually born, but one may refer back to the opium war between Britain and China (1839-1842) for some indication. In 1839, the First Opium War broke out, and China cut a sorry figure in front of Britain.Eyeing the weakness of the Chinese, not only the British, but the Russians and the French as well started to exert their respective pressures upon the country. Due to their lack of power and ability to impose their will, China was forced into a number of treaties that subjugated its interest against others. These include: the Treaty of Nanking (1842), the Treaty of Aigun (1858), the Treaty of Tientsin (1858), the Convention of Peking (1860), the Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895), and the Second Convention of Peking (1898). Obviously, the public voice was against these treaties at large.Their ego was hurt badly, and their pride seemed to falter in front of the might of the foreigners. A s is common in such times, rumors also began to spread away. The foreigners were considered to be responsible for much crime and lawlessness that was prevalent. It was believed that the Church had started exercising more power than the state. It was also felt the Church had started to impose certain Christian practices, and had excluded certain tradition Chinese practices from the society. Thus in the late 19th century, feelings of unrest against the Chinese and the foreigners started to develop at a very rapid pace.Another major event was a row over a temple. The Catholics claimed that it was originally a church that had later been abandoned. The local court ultimately gave the verdict in favor of the Church. The locals could not tolerate this, as it was their place of worship and also a place to practice martial arts. To add to that, the colonization during the following decades did no good to boost up the morale of China. What was more, Asian powerhouses Russia and Japan also joi ned the rat-race for territorial supremacy. China came out as a good target for all those hungry to cut a slide of the earth’s map for their good.After the 1895 war of China with Japan, many European powers stepped forward to occupy Chinese territory. All of this mustered up into an intolerable feeling of hatred within the Chinese against their oppressors. â€Å"The conservatives then gave clandestine backing to the antiforeign and anti-Christian movement of secret societies known as Yihetuan (Society of Righteousness and Harmony). The movement has been better known in the West as the Boxers (from an earlier name–Yihequan, Righteousness and Harmony Boxers). In 1900 Boxer bands spread over the north China countryside, burning missionary facilities and killing Chinese Christians.Finally, in June 1900, the Boxers besieged the foreign concessions in Beijing and Tianjin, an action that provoked an allied relief expedition by the offended nations. The Qing declared war agai nst the invaders, who easily crushed their opposition and occupied north China. Under the Protocol of 1901, the court was made to consent to the execution of ten high officials and the punishment of hundreds of others, expansion of the Legation Quarter, payment of war reparations, stationing of foreign troops in China, and razing of some Chinese fortifications† (Onwar, 2000).While external forces were still contemplating a productive way out of the situation, the Chinese rulers came out with a message to the provinces. Given the circumstances and the options the rulers had, the message was by no means peaceful. It stated that the world was after Chinese resources and land, and that the time had come when the last resort should be adopted. Peace, therefore, was not an option to be considered. Meanwhile, in the northern Shandong province, a distressing drought was pushing people to the edge of starvation.There were not many who were thinking about peace anyways. All this energy had to be vented out somewhere, and hence came the time of catharsis, but in a violent way. Anti-foreign feelings caused the quick outburst of a Chinese secret society that was previously more docile. It was known as the I Ho Ch’uan, meaning the Righteous Harmonious Fists; hence the name ‘Boxers’. Understandably, with their name and mission, the Boxers asked for the expulsion of the external parties, more casually referred to as the ‘foreign devils’, along with their Chinese Christian converts.This was the time when conventional Chinese arts and skills thrived, especially martial arts and the use of traditional Chinese weapons. â€Å"At first, the Boxers wanted to destroy the Ch'ing dynasty (which had ruled China for over 250 years) and wanted to rid China of all foreign influence (which they considered a threat to Chinese culture). When the Empress Dowager backed the Boxers, the Boxers turned solely to ridding China of foreigners. By late 1899, ban ds of Boxers were massacring Christian missionaries and Chinese Christians† (Rosenburg, 2006).The resentment towards foreigners, Christians and Chinese converts started to rise immensely, with a greater tinge of violence. The circumstances forced the external lobbies to join hands, and they lodged strong protests with the government of China. However, the then Empress, Tzu Hsi’s response surprised many, when she declared that the Boxers were actually a part of the Chinese society, and hence should not be condemned as such. The reaction was also unexpected because it actually went against the local Chinese army, which was striving against the rebellion, and directed in favor of the Boxers.This made it inevitable for the external forces to make a show of military might close to China’s borders. â€Å"The empress dowager publicly opposed the Boxers, but her ministers quietly convinced them to join forces in order to drive foreigners from China. In the early months of 1900, thousands of Boxers roamed the countryside, attacking Christians. When an international force of 2,100 soldiers attempted to land in China, the empress dowager ordered her imperial army to stop the foreign troops.Throughout the summer of 1900 the Boxers burned churches and foreign residences and killed Chinese Christians on sight† (Dowling, 2001). Gradually, the Boxers started to gain autonomy over their beliefs and actions. The government was not ready to curb them, and their views were supported by many in the masses. The only effort that were going were in the direction of strengthening forces against the external attack. Finally, when the pressure was too much, the foreign elements inside started vocally seeking help from outside. It was then that the eight-country attack came into operation upon China.There were multiple operations, many of them fierce; gradually the Chinese rebellion started to weaken. Over the next several months, the forces from outside starte d to grow within China. They overtook Beijing (then Peking) and expanded into the country. Ultimately, the Boxers just a local might were no match for the military power of the industrial nations. Ultimately, in early 1901, the Chinese government gave in, and agreed to abolish the Boxer movement completely. Needless to mention, it was not merely an attack on the territory of China, but also on its ego.Succumbing to the demand of the external powers was worse than actually loosing a battle. Subsequently, due to its recent weakening in the region, China could do nothing in the war of Russia and Japan a couple of years later, and stood watching while Japan proclaimed supremacy in the East. In the entire episode, the United States played a very significant role. This is because it had a tactical advantage, having a major portion of its navy already established around the Philippines during the Spanish American War (1898) and the subsequent Philippine insurgent activity.This was actually a reinforcer for those policy makers in the US who were of the opinion that the US should maintain control in the Far East. It was a very unique time in the history of China, repeatedly, it had to face occasions when foreign invaders came in and took control of her land and might. The emperors were just too weak to make any resistance to this offer. An additional reason was that the foreign armies were far better equipped with warfare technologies and tactics than China was at that point in time. It was a time when the Empress began to reconsider her option regarding removal of these elements from her soil.