Topic 2, Lesson 17: Why did Britain decide to withdraw from the 'East of Suez'?

Topic 2, Lesson 17: Why did Britain decide to withdraw from the 'East of Suez'?

Wilson’s Withdrawal from ‘East of Suez’

• Who announced the Labour government’s plans to withdraw British troops from all bases that were ‘East of Suez’?

• Give examples of these bases

• When was this announcement made?

• By which year was the withdrawal of British troops to take affect by?

In 1967, the Labour Defense Secretary under Wilson, Denis Healey, announced plans for Britain to withdraw its troops from all bases (except Hong Kong) that were ‘East of Suez’.

This was to take affect by 1971 and included military bases in Borneo, Malaya, Singapore and the Arabian Gulf.

Topic 2, Lesson 17: Why did Britain decide to withdraw from the 'East of Suez'?

Reasons for a Withdrawal from ‘East of Suez’

• What major international relations event in 1956 led to an undermining British confidence as a world power?

• How did the Labour government’s approach to decolonisation differ from that of its Conservative predecessor?

• What was the economic reasons for Britain withdrawing its troops from military bases ‘East of Suez’?

• Military engagements of the 1950s and 1960s stretched Britain’s military resources to their limits. Give an example of some of these military engagements.

• The 1956 Suez Crisis had undermined Britain’s confidence as a world superpower

• The Labour government was simply continuing the process of decolonisation that had been set out and started under the Conservatives, following MacMillan’s Winds of Change speech in 1960.

• The economic cost of maintaining foreign bases was difficult for Britain especially after the 1967 Devaluation of Sterling.

• Exhausting military engagements in the 1950s and 1960s, such as those in Malaya, Cyprus, Kenya (Mau Mau rebellion) and Aden (Yemen), had stretched Britain’s military resources to their limit.

Topic 2, Lesson 17: Why did Britain decide to withdraw from the 'East of Suez'?

US Reaction to Britain’s Withdrawal from ‘East of Suez’

• What stance did the US hold toward British withdrawal from its military bases that were ‘East of Suez’?

• Why did they choose this stance?

• How did Britain’s East of Suez withdrawal impact the special relationship between Britain and America?

The United States strongly opposed British withdrawal from military bases East of Suez.

This was because America believed that there needed to be a greater (certainly not lesser) commitment to the defense of the world’s strategic areas due to Cold War tensions at the time.

Remember, the Vietnam War escalated in 1964

British withdrawal from the East of Suez added additional strain to the ‘special relationship’, which had already been tarnished by Wilson’s refusal to send British troops into Vietnam.

Topic 2, Lesson 17: Why did Britain decide to withdraw from the 'East of Suez'?

Labour MPs Reaction to Britain’s Withdrawal from ‘East of Suez’

• How did left-wing Labour MPs react to Britain’s withdrawal from East of Suez?

• On the other hand, what did they not agree with?

Left-winged Labour MPs supported a British withdrawal from the East of Suez.

However, they continued to express their discontent with Britain’s continuing commitment to the development of nuclear weapons and Wilson’s public moral support toward US military involvement in Vietnam.

Topic 2, Lesson 17: Why did Britain decide to withdraw from the 'East of Suez'?

Conservative MPs Reaction to Britain’s Withdrawal from ‘East of Suez’

• How did the Conservative party initially react to the announcement of a British withdrawal from the East of Suez by the Labour Government?

• When they came into power in the 1970 election, did the Conservative government take any actions to reverse the withdrawal from East of Suez?

At the time of British withdrawal from the East of Suez, the Conservative party had condemned the government’s actions and aligned themselves with the United States and the Atlantic Alliance who believed that there needed to be military presence in the world’s most strategic places during the Cold War tensions. However, Edward Heath’s Conservative government made no attempt to reverse the staged withdrawal after coming into power in 1970.