Chronology: Key Events in The Making of Modern Britain, 1951–2007

1951 Defeat of the Attlee government in the General Election.

1952 Accession of Queen Elizabeth II.

1955 Winston Churchill replaced as prime minister by Anthony Eden; Conservative victory in General Election.

1956 Suez Crisis.

1957 Resignation of Anthony Eden and emergence of Harold Macmillan as Conservative leader in preference to Rab Butler.
Treaty of Rome signed, bringing about the European Economic Community, without Britain.

1958 Formation of CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament).

1959 Decisive Conservative victory in General Election.

1961 Britain’s application to join the EEC.

1963 Rejection of Britain’s application to join the EEC.
Harold Wilson elected Labour leader after the death of Hugh Gaitskell.
The Profumo Affair.
Resignation of Macmillan and the emergence of Lord Home as Conservative leader.

1964 Narrow Labour victory in General Election.

1966 Labour victory, with a Parliamentary majority, in General Election.

1967 Rejection of Britain’s second application to join the EEC.

1969 Outbreak of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland.

1970 Surprise victory of the Conservatives, led by Edward Heath, in General Election.

1973 Success of Britain’s third application to join the EEC – now enlarged from six states to nine.
Major economic problems following the OPEC oil-price crisis.
National Miners’ Strike and imposition of the Three Day Week.

1974 Heath’s government defeated in General Election, February; return of Harold Wilson as prime minister.
Narrow victory for Wilson in new General Election.

1975 British membership of the EEC confirmed by clear ‘Yes’ vote in referendum.

1976Surprise resignation of Wilson and emergence of Jim Callaghan as prime minister.
Heath replaced as Conservative leader by Margaret Thatcher.

1979 ‘Winter of Discontent’; Conservative victory in General Election.

1980–81 Economic crisis and imposition of ‘Thatcherite’ policies.

1983 Decisive victory for Mrs Thatcher in General Election.

1984–85 Bitter social and political divisions exacerbated by prolonged Miners’ Strike.

1987 Third sweeping electoral victory for Mrs Thatcher.

1990 Resignation of Margaret Thatcher caused by opposition within her own party; emergence of John Major as prime minister.

1992 Victory for Major and the Conservatives in General Election.
Serious financial crisis and ‘Black Wednesday’.

1994 Emergence of Tony Blair as Labour leader; beginning of the rise of ‘New Labour’.

1997 Landslide Labour victory in General Election.

2001 Decisive victory for Blair and Labour in General Election.

2003 Invasion of Iraq led by USA and Britain.

2005 Third successive election victory for Tony Blair; emergence of David Cameron as new Conservative leader.

2007 Resignation of Tony Blair, replaced as prime minister by Gordon Brown. Collapse of confidence in Northern Rock, foreshadowing a coming banking crash.