A Tale of Two Smiths: the Transformation of Commonwealth Policy, 1964–70

The 1964 Labour election manifesto declared the party's intention to revitalise the Commonwealth, but this plan was undermined by the dire state of Britain's finances and by the political fallout from the unilateral declaration of independence by the Ian Smith regime in Rhodesia, in November 1965. Harold Wilson referred to the September 1966 Commonwealth prime ministers' meeting, which was overshadowed by Rhodesia, as 'the worst ever held up to that time'. He rebuffed requests for a further meeting until January 1969. Yet Wilson recalled this latter conference as 'the most successful ever held'. It is possible to identify a shift in the balance of power within the party and the cabinet, which enabled left-wing MPs to champion issues including development aid and conflict prevention among poorer Commonwealth states, setting a benign context for the 1969 prime ministers' meeting.