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- Title
The Birth of a Politician: Harold Wilson and the Bonfires of Controls, 1948–9.
- Authors
Irving, Henry
- Abstract
This article uses a detailed examination on the 1948 and 1949 Bonfires of Controls to reassess Harold Wilson’s development as a politician and examine the broader relationship between popular politics and economic policy. Whilst acknowledging the continued importance of the latter within Wilson’s self-identification as a modernizing ‘specialist’, it contends that these events are best viewed as representing the birth of a professional politician. It will show that, although economically motivated, there was a marked disparity between each Bonfire’s illusion and reality. Far from being entirely rational, each announcement straddled the gap between politics and economics. Within a post-war political landscape that had seen debates about controls become increasingly emotive, Wilson used the Bonfires to seize advantage. As a result, they can be seen to signify the point of his development from a self-identified professional economist to an astute political actor.
- Subjects
UNITED Kingdom; WILSON, Harold, 1916-1995; LABOUR Party (Great Britain) -- History -- 20th century; PRACTICAL politics; GOVERNMENT regulation; BRITISH economic policy -- 1945-1964; BRITISH politics &; government, 1945-1964; GREAT Britain. Board of Trade; TWENTIETH century; HISTORY
- Publication
Twentieth Century British History, 2014, Vol 25, Issue 1, p87
- ISSN
0955-2359
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/tcbh/hws044