Wilson, Harold (1916–1995)

Harold Wilson was British prime minister from 1964 to 1970 and again from 1974 to 1976, serving as leader of the Labour Party from 1963 to 1976. His career demonstrates both the importance and limitations of political communications. Born to lower-middle-class parents in Huddersfield, Wilson studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Jesus College, Oxford. After a period in academia he became a temporary civil servant during World War II. He returned as a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Ormskirk in the 1945 General Election, remaining in the Commons until 1983. He quickly rose to become a member of Clement Attlee's cabinet in 1947.

Wilson came to political activism and the Labour Party relatively late in life (though he made rapid progress once he arrived). During ...