United Kingdom, 1970–1979
Democracy · Monarchy · Western Europe · Détente Era era
Britain in the crisis-ridden 1970s, a democracy beset by stagflation, industrial conflict and the "Winter of Discontent" before a decisive political turn.
Britain in the 1970s struggled with high inflation and unemployment, recurrent industrial disputes, a three-day week and, in 1976, an IMF loan, amid entry into the European Community and conflict in Northern Ireland. Governments of both parties failed to master "stagflation". The "Winter of Discontent" of 1978–79 preceded a decisive change of political direction, within stable democratic institutions.
Dominant patterns
- Democratization
- Economic Crisis
Political-science factor profile
Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).
| Centralization of Power | 48 |
| Media Control | 28 |
| Repression | 32 |
| Nationalism | 52 |
| Militarization | 50 |
| Economic Stress | 72 |
| External Conflict | 40 |
| Cult of Personality | 28 |
| Elite Fragmentation | 55 |
| Institutions | 70 |
| Social Polarization | 62 |
| Corruption & Patrimonialism | 30 |
| Ideological Mobilization | 48 |
| External Sovereignty | 95 |
Economy & society
| GDP per capita | $18k (intl-$) |
| GDP growth | +2%/yr |
| Population | 56.0M people |
| Share of world population | 1.4% |
| Urban share | 78% |
| Territory | ~245k km² |
| Capital population | ~7.4M |
Closest historical twins
The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles United Kingdom 1970–1979, by similarity score (0–100).
- United Kingdom, 2010–2016 – similarity 95/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- United Kingdom, 1918–1931 – similarity 90/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- India, 1947–1966 – similarity 90/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- United Kingdom, 1979–1990 – similarity 87/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- France, 1919–1932 – similarity 86/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- South Africa, 1994–2008 – similarity 84/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- Germany, 1990–2005 – similarity 81/100 · shared: Democratization, Economic Crisis
- United States, 1789–1815 – similarity 78/100 · shared: Democratization
What followed
- Stagflation, strikes and an IMF loan.
- A sharp political realignment after 1979.