Selsdon Man

The term 'Selsdon Man' was coined by Labour Party Prime Minister Harold Wilson to describe the free-market economic policy of his principal rival, Conservative leader Edward Heath.

[5] Edward Heath's Conservative Party won the 1970 general election in a surprise victory, securing a majority of 30 seats.

In its 1970 manifesto,[6] the Conservative Party pledged to:[7] Chancellor of the Exchequer Anthony Barber cut direct taxation and public spending during his first few years in office.

[18] The 1970 promise to avoid wage controls was abandoned by September 1972, when Heath's government introduced a compulsory prices and incomes policy.

[19] 1972 also saw John Davies removed from his role as Secretary for Trade and Industry[20] and considerable increases in public spending on health, education, and welfare.

Prime Minister Harold Wilson was strongly critical of the policies formulated at the Selsdon Park conference, repudiating the Conservative Party's support of free-market reform in several speeches:What they are planning is a wanton, calculated and deliberate return to greater inequality.