United Kingdom General Election, 1964

United Kingdom General Election, 1964

The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen 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 had chosen Alec Douglas-Home (then the Earl of Home) as their new leader after Harold Macmillan announced his resignation (Home shortly after 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". This helped him secure victory with a small overall majority of five. In addition, the resurgence of the Liberal Party, which doubled its share of the vote in this election, arguably contributed to the scale of the Conservative defeat as well as to the modest gains of the Labour party.

The election night was broadcast live on the BBC, and was presented by Richard Dimbleby, with Robin Day, Cliff Michelmore and David Butler.