The
Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, sometimes abbreviated as "
MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of
Harold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC was a British Labour Party politician; one of the most prominent British politicians of the latter half of the 20th century, he served two terms as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, firstly from 1964 to 1970, and again from 1974...
in October 1964 as part of Wilson's ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to be the needs of the 1960s. The pledge was included in the
Labour Party'sThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
1964 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after its predecessor, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had first taken power...
manifestoA manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. However, manifestos relating to religious belief are rather referred to as credo. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
: "A Labour Government will .. [set] up a Ministry of Technology to guide and stimulate a major national effort to bring advanced technology and new processes into industry."
Wilson chose to appoint
Frank CousinsFrank Cousins PC was a British trade union leader and Labour politician.He was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, and became a full-time official in the road transport section of the Transport and General Workers' Union in July 1938...
, General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, who had not previously sat in Parliament.
The
Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, sometimes abbreviated as "
MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of
Harold WilsonJames Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC was a British Labour Party politician; one of the most prominent British politicians of the latter half of the 20th century, he served two terms as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, firstly from 1964 to 1970, and again from 1974...
in October 1964 as part of Wilson's ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to be the needs of the 1960s. The pledge was included in the
Labour Party'sThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
1964 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after its predecessor, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had first taken power...
manifestoA manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. However, manifestos relating to religious belief are rather referred to as credo. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
: "A Labour Government will .. [set] up a Ministry of Technology to guide and stimulate a major national effort to bring advanced technology and new processes into industry."
Wilson chose to appoint
Frank CousinsFrank Cousins PC was a British trade union leader and Labour politician.He was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, and became a full-time official in the road transport section of the Transport and General Workers' Union in July 1938...
, General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, who had not previously sat in Parliament. However, Cousins' performance in the role was disappointing, partly because Cousins was new to the political scene but also because he disagreed with Government economic policy in general. By the time of the
1966 general electionThe 1966 UK general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected only two years previously in 1964 had an unworkable small majority of only 4 MPs...
, Wilson was telling
Tony BennAnthony "Tony" Neil Wedgwood Benn , formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British, democratic socialist politician, and the current President of the Stop the War Coalition....
to prepare to take over because "I can't think Frank Cousins will stay long. He's not fit anyway." In the event, Cousins resigned on 3 July 1966 when the Prices and Incomes Bill was published, and was duly replaced by Benn.
Benn was then closely associated with Wilson and worked with him to build the Ministry into a powerful voice within
WhitehallWhitehall is a road in Westminster in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards traditional Charing Cross, now at the southern end of Trafalgar Square and marked by the statue of Charles I, which is often regarded as the heart of London...
. Both he and Wilson believed in government assistance to industry to adopt new technology. The Ministry gradually gained extra functions, taking over those of the
Ministry of AviationMinistry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government, established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply....
on 15 February 1967 and also absorbed the
Ministry of PowerThe Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy.The Ministry of Power was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade...
on 6 October 1969; it therefore became one of the largest and most powerful in government. However, when
Edward HeathSir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE , often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975...
took over as Prime Minister after the
1970 general electionThe United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
, he had no commitment to maintain Wilson's new Ministries. In October 1970, Heath merged the Ministry with the
Board of TradeThe Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
to create the
Department of Trade and IndustryThe Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills is a cabinet position in the United Kingdom government. Its secondary title is the President of the Board of Trade...
.
Ministers of Technology
- 18 October 1964 - 3 July 1966: Frank Cousins
Frank Cousins PC was a British trade union leader and Labour politician.He was born in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, and became a full-time official in the road transport section of the Transport and General Workers' Union in July 1938...
(resigned)
- 4 July 1966 - 19 June 1970: Tony Benn
Anthony "Tony" Neil Wedgwood Benn , formerly 2nd Viscount Stansgate, is a British, democratic socialist politician, and the current President of the Stop the War Coalition....
- 20 June 1970 - 28 July 1970: Geoffrey Rippon
Geoffrey Frederick Rippon, Baron Rippon of Hexham, PC, was a British Conservative politician. He was Chairman of the European-Atlantic Group....
- 28 July 1970 - 15 October 1970: John Davies
John Emerson Harding Harding-Davies PC MBE was a successful British businessman who served as Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry during the 1960s. He later went into politics and served in the Cabinet of Edward Heath as the first Secretary of State for Trade and Industry...