Why did the Labour party lose power between in 1970

When tackling a question which asks you why a historical process or event occurred, the first thing to remember is that any answer you give must approach the question from a variety of different angles; no one event had one sole cause and, in an exam, the more you indicate a wide knowledge of coalescing factors, then the greater your chances to success.

In this instance, the question is one of why the Labour party saw diminished electoral success following the loss of Harold Wilson in 1964.The most basic binary answer to this question begins with pointing out two things - firstly, that Labour may have lost due to their own failings, and secondly they may have lost due to the improvements/successes of the Conservative government. In addition to these options one should attempt to go beyond the binary and consider multiple forces at play. For example, always try to think about what else affects an election apart from the two dominant parties themselves. These factors can be simplified and split into categories, usually social, political, economic and foreign/military. Once you have selected a number of different angles to approach the question from, the second piece of the puzzle (and the most crucial when studying history) is to supplement your argument with evidence. When pointing out Labour's failings, suggest it may have been the result of their ineffective economic 'National Plan' which was officially scrapped in 1965 or the stress of Devaluation and Union strikes from 1967 onward. When pointing out Conservative success you could make a general point that, in comparison to the relative issues under Labour's economic policy, the Conservatives had a long legacy of economic success, using the affluent 1950s as an example. You may also point out that Heath pushed hard for EEC entry in 1970. Following these two party considerations you may want to try and expand your answer by discussing social, economic or political issues that did not relate strictly to the actions of either policy such as people may have wanted a return to traditional values, and therefore may have supported the Conservatives.

One final option is to provide counter points within or following your initial points to illustrate the depth of your knowledge does not only cover one side of the argument. When discussing Labour failings, for example, after stating that the National Plan, Devaluation and Unions were sources of failure you could argue to the contrary and point out that, following 1969, with Roy Jenkins as Chancellor, economic policy improved.