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Sir Alec Douglas-Home Conservative
Harold Wilson Labour
The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was won by the Labour Party with a majority of four seats. It was held on 15 October 1964, just over five years after the previous election, and 13 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 Sir Alec Douglas-Home (then the Earl of Home) after Harold Macmillan announced his resignation. (Douglas-Home shortly afterwards 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 revolution" would sweep away "restrictive practices... on both sides of industry". The Liberal Party enjoyed a resurgence and doubled its share of the vote, primarily at the expense of the Conservatives. Although Labour did not increase its vote share significantly, the fall in support for the Conservatives led to Wilson securing a overall majority of four seats.[1] This proved to be unworkable and Wilson called a snap election in 1966.
The election night was broadcast live on the BBC, and was presented by Richard Dimbleby, with Robin Day, Cliff Michelmore and David Butler.[2]
The pre-election campaign was prolonged, as Douglas-Home delayed calling a gaffe, and Quintin Hogg for the Conservatives responded in kind. The image of Hogg lashing out at a 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: in particular Douglas-Home was treated very roughly at a meeting in Birmingham.
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)
The election resulted in a very slim majority of four seats for the Labour Party, and led to their first government since 1951. Labour achieved a swing of just over 3%, although its vote rose by only 0.2%. The main shift was the swing from the Conservatives to the Liberals of 5.7%. The Liberals won nearly twice as many votes as in 1959, partly because they had 150 more candidates. Wilson became Prime Minister, replacing Douglas-Home. The four-seat majority was not sustainable for a full Parliament, and Wilson called another general election in 1966. In particular, the small majority meant the government could not implement party policy of nationalising the steel industry, due to the opposition of two of its backbenchers, Woodrow Wyatt and Desmond Donnelly.
The election was also the only time in Britain's recent history when all seats were won by the three main parties: no minor parties, independents or splinter groups won any seats.
Headline Swing: 3.1% to Labour
These declarations were covered live by the BBC where the returning officer was heard to say "duly elected".
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