Portrait of the Year- 1 1965 Was THE YEAR of Declarations
of Intent. The United States declared that Communism should spread no further in Southern Asia, Mr. George Brown declared a limit to rising incomes. and Mr. Ian Smith declared Rhodesia indepen- dent. In Asia, North Vietnam failed to quail before the US challenge and the US bombs; in Britain, incomes went on rising; and in Rho- desia, after two months of increasing sanctions, Mr. Smith held on. There were wars on several fronts and several people came lorward to try to stop them. The United Nations achieved a precarious cease-fire between India and Pakistan. the Organisation of American States temporarily interrupted the revolution in the Dominican Re- public and Mr. Harold Davies went to Hanoi without being followed by a Commonwealth peace mission.
IT WAS A GREAT YEAR for visits: the Pope went to the United Nations, the Queen went to West Germany, including West Berlin, and Mr. Wilson went to Bonn, Paris, Salisbury and Washington (twice). There were coups in Bulgaria (abortive), Algeria (successful), Indonesia (continuing), and the Congo (routine). Singapore seceded from Malaysia, Britain imposed direct rule on Aden, and France kept up the empty-chair policy in the Common Market from June 30. Chancellor Erhard, President de Gaulle and Prime Minister Levi Eshkol survived elections and Harold Wil- son survived without them.
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TURBULENT TIMES AT HOME: Mr. James Callaghan introduced his third budget within a year, the Liberals won an extra seat at the Roxburgh by- election, but lost the advantage of it when Mr. Roderic Bowen, QC, agreed to become Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means, and Sir Alec Douglas-Home resigned as Leader of the Opposition. Mtn. Heath was duly elected in his place. The Government postponed the nationalisa- tion of steel, scrapped the TSR-2 et al., introduced a National Plan with a growth target of 25 per cent by 1970 and is still working on a defence review. Mr. Julian Amery emerged as top Tory rebel, while in a vote on oil sanctions against Rhodesia the party split three ways.
PARLIAMENT HAD ITS 700th anniversary, West- minster Abbey •its 900th, in came the fourpenny post and The Times coined the word `frivial.' The Beatles were awarded the MBE and the remains of Sir Roger Casement were removed to Dublin. The world mourned Sir Winston Churchill and there also died Lord Morrison of Lambeth, Mr. Adlai Stevenson, Mr. Albert Schweitzer, Mr. Somerset Maugham. Queen Salute of Tonga, Dr. Syngman Rhee. Mr. Richard Dimbleby and Mr. Henry Solomons, MP. whose 1,100 majority for Labour at Hull North is to be contested early in the New Year.
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