In October 1964 the Labour party won the British general election after more than a decade in the political wilderness. Labour regained power under a young, technocratic and charismatic leader, whose personality and political beliefs seemed more in tune with contemporary society than those of his uninspiring Conservative rival. The new prime minister claimed that his government would harness the ‘white heat’ of the technological revolution to transform the UK's economy and society, halting the process of decline that the country had suffered in comparison with its European competitors. Labour portrayed itself to the electorate as the party of progressive, evolutionary change, in contrast with a Conservative party hobbled by class prejudice, economic incompetence and the taint of scandal and corruption. The successful implementation of Labour's domestic agenda would have external implications, as international policies progressed beyond the worst years of Cold War hostilities towards East-West détente. Britain's claim to a major role on the world stage would no longer rest solely on the outdated basis of an imperial legacy – rendered obsolete by the process of decolonisation – but through the transformative effect of applying modern technology and managerial procedures to British industry and commerce.

Four years later, the Labour government was widely condemned for having broken its election pledges. Britain's economic performance had worsened, the balance of payments deficit remained unbridgeable and a prime minister who prided himself on his fiscal expertise devalued the pound in November 1967.