419. Britain in 1974: Countdown to a Coup (Part 3)

About this episode

Following a tumultuous election in February 1974, Labour’s Harold Wilson has been re-elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Wilson, an unpretentious, kind man, has inherited a nation in crisis: train strikes in Norfolk, students fighting in Oxford, inflation, an ongoing oil crisis, a terrible cost of living crisis, striking miners, and weekly IRA terrorist attacks. He’s further hindered by his divided minority government, and the dysfunctional environment in Downing Street, in part due to his strange relationship with his private secretary and “political wife”, the frenzied Marcia Williams. What’s more, Wilson is suspected of being a KGB agent by the security services, and increasingly succumbs to paranoia. Is a right wing coup brewing, to put an end to industrial action? Will Wilson really be the man to drag Britain out of these trying circumstances? Join Dominic and Tom as they discuss the first Wilson government of 1974, featuring imploding economies, psycho-sexual dramas, communist conspiracies, madness-inspired nudity, baying unions, and attempted murder…  *The Rest Is History LIVE in 2024* Tom and Dominic are back onstage this summer, at Hampton Court Palace in London!  Buy your tickets here: therestishistory.com Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices