Harold Wilson: the rock 'n' roll prime minister
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Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC History magazine. Harold Wilson is as central to the story of 60s Britain as the Beatles profumo. and mini skirts. Admirers applauded the social reforms he introduced during his tenure as Prime Minister, while his critics accused him of being Machiavellian. Here, in conversation with Spencer Mizen, former Labour politician and Home Secretary Alan Johnson, who recently wrote a biography of Wilson, reveals how he rode the wave of the cult of youth sweeping the nation.
You joined the Labour Party back in the early 70s when Harold Wilson was, of course, leader of the party. In fact, he'd already served one stint as Prime Minister and would, of course, go on to enter Downing Street again. What do you remember of him back then? And was he a factor in in your decision to join the party? What do I remember?
He was enormously popular. He was the Prime Minister when I left school, he was the Prime Minister when I got married, he was the Prime Minister when I moved with my first wife to our first council home. Ironically, in the year when the government provided 400,000 houses, a record that's never been matched before or since. And he brought down a voting age. So the reason I
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