1974 General Elections

February election: Hung parliament

  • called by Heath who was facing crises such as widespread strikes by miners and high inflation

  • Heath used the slogan ‘Who governs Britain?’ which put the issue of trade unions at the centre of his campaign

  • the election resulted in a hung parliament so no single party had an overall majority of seats. This left both parties scrambling to see if they could form a government with the support of smaller parties

  • Heath soon resigned and Wilson became Prime Minister of a minority labour government so he had to rely on informal support from smaller parties to govern

October election: Wilson’s narrow victory

  • Wilson didn’t have enough power with a minority government so he called another general election hoping to win a majority

  • Labour managed to win a majority of 3 seats and although the victory was narrow, it gave Wilson enough stability to form a functioning government without relying on other parties

Why did Heath lose the February 1974 elections?

Trade Union conflict and U turns: -the election took place during the 3 day week which summed up Heath’s inability to control the trade unions

-the Industrial Relations Act of 1971 failed to restrict the power of the trade unions and Heath found it difficult to enforce. Example: many unions refused to register so avoided being bound by some of the restrictions imposed by the act

-despite his promise not to bail out ‘lame duck’ industries, he went back on this and bailed out the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders and Rolls-Royce

Heath’s domestic record: -his legislative record was mixed in success: whilst he encouraged homeownership, his policies led to a decline in the availability of council housing. Also, raising the school leaving age to 16 was accompanied by overcrowding and funding shortfalls

-3 days before the election, trade figures showed a £383 million deficit for January which was reflective of the economic downturn seen during Heath’s time in office

Heath’s campaign: -his campaign focused on ‘one nation’ which looked old fashioned in an increasing age of individualism

Wilson’s campaign: -in the campaign, Wilson emphasized high prices which was a key issue for swing voters with posters such as ‘We can’t afford another tory government’. There had been a 50% increase in food prices since 1970

-Wilson promised a referendum on the EEC and in response Powell recommended the nation should vote labour in the election.