#haroldwilson — Public Fediverse posts

Just finished (re-)reading The History of the #Runestaff by #MichaelMoorcock

I love his 1960s British pop-culture references, but I don't get all of them:

• Jhone, Jhorg, Phowl, Rhunga are the #Beatles
• Chirshil is #Churchill
• Bjrin Adass — #BrianAdliss ? Why is he the Singing God?
• Jeajee Blad — #JGBallard
• Jh'Im Slas — Jim ??
• Aral Vilsn — #HaroldWilson

Wilson is father of Squeeze(?) and Balance of Credit. I need to look up the specific events of c.1968 to see what he's referring to.

Though #HaroldWilson’s government rejected US requests to send British troops to Vietnam, Britain did not stay out of the war.

🔓 This archive article is free for 7 days

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/history-matters/britain-vietnam-war-and-special-relationship

I was tempted to post a simple "Ignore Tony, follow Harold!" message to Starmer, but as this article suggests, Wilson's "keeping the UK out of Vietnam" story is not quite that straightforward.

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/britain-vietnam-and-special-relationship

#Iran #USUKRealtions #VietnamWar #HaroldWilson #SpecialRelationship #LBJ #LyndonBainesJohnson

Keir Starmer’s collapse exposes Labour’s deeper crisis of purpose and argues that the party needs a new governing philosophy modeled on the activist, security-minded liberalism of Britain’s early 20th-century reformers. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2026/02/13/world/uk-needs-more-than-new-pm/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #worldnews #keirstarmer #uk #morganmcsweeney #labourparty #davidcameron #liztruss #margaretthatcher #tonyblair #haroldwilson #winstonchurchill

"Taxman" is a song by the English rock band #theBeatles from their 1966 album #Revolver. Written by the group's lead guitarist, #GeorgeHarrison, with some lyrical assistance from #JohnLennon, it protests against the higher level of #progressiveTax imposed in the United Kingdom by the #Labour government of #HaroldWilson, which saw the Beatles paying over 90 per cent of their earnings to the #Treasury. The song was selected as the album's opening track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyu5sFzWLk8

OK, so new on my blog is one for you all to argue over ... I Blame Harold Wilson. YMMV.

https://zenmischief.com/2025/09/i-blame-harold-wilson/

#HaroldWilson #history #politics #thoughts #zenmischief

This story says to me,
1) #SocialCare still hasn't been fixed, all these years later. I somehow doubt that it ever will be in this capitalist rich country.
2) Unlike more recent PMs, #HaroldWilson obviously didn't abuse his position and connections to amass a lot of wealth. Despite all the flaws he was an underrated PM.

Former PM Harold Wilson sold private papers to help fund his care | Harold Wilson | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/23/former-pm-harold-wilson-sold-private-papers-fund-care-alzheimers
#history #dementia

#TakingABreakFromFilming
#TheSpyWhoLovedMe (1977)
#JamesBond investigates the hijacking of British & Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a KGB agent whose lover he killed.

British Prime Minister #HaroldWilson #RogerMoore #BarbaraBach at the 007 Stage in Pinewood Studios, UK (1976).
#FilmMastodon 📽️ 🎬

How many of you read the headline, and thought we were talking about Marcia Williams again? Yeah, me too.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/11/harold-wilson-confessed-to-secret-love-match-while-pm-former-aide-reveals

#HaroldWilson #Labour

“This party is a moral crusade or it is nothing.” - Harold Wilson, 1962

I wonder if David Lammy (bombing refugee camps is ok) or Keir Starmer (cutting off all supplies to besieged people is ok) have ever heard of that guy Wilson. He was quite important… twice Prime Minister and all.

Just as some people (not me…!) seemed to be moving on from the Blair years and the Iraq war, Labour helpfully reminds everyone that they have no moral compass whatsoever.

#Labour #Israel #Palestine #Gaza #genocide #DavidLammy #KeirStarmer #HaroldWilson

🗞️Harold Wilson: the political craftsman

The first subject in an occasional series of short biographies of former prominent Yorkshire politicians is Huddersfield-born Harold Wilson | John Heywood

Read more ⤵️ #History #politics #huddersfield #haroldwilson

https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/harold-wilson-the-political-craftsman/

@orangutanwriter

Well I guess if we had a world war and mobilised several hundred thousand into the army..... the conditions for a second #attlee might obtain.

But we are more in a state like that #haroldWilson had to face - and it looks like #labour could use a leader more like him. Failing that, I think #starmer will do

#left are pushing myth current labour leadership are some sort of tories in disguise - this says we will find out they are not after #nextGE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election

Interestingly, the interest in #HaroldWilson as the #LabourParty leader whose experiences & actions might be the best template for #KeirStarmer continues (with today's column by William Keegan in The Observer) - certainly for my parents generation Wilson along with Barbara Castle, were the heroes that rescued us from 13 wasted years of #tory government
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/22/wilson-won-after-13-wasted-tory-years-starmer-can-do-exactly-the-same