Labour government, 1974–1979
Office Name Dates
Prime Minister , First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service Harold Wilson 4 March 1974 - 5 April 1976
Prime Minister , First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service James Callaghan 5 April 1976 - 4 May 1979
Minister of State , Civil Service Department Robert Sheldon 7 March 1974
Minister of State , Civil Service Department Charles Morris 18 October 1974
Parliamentary Secretary , Civil Service Department John Grant 7 March 1974 - 18 October 1974
Lord Chancellor The Lord Elwyn-Jones 5 March 1974
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons Edward Short 5 March 1974
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons Michael Foot 8 April 1976
Minister of State for the Privy Council Office Gerald Fowler 18 October 1974
Minister of State for the Privy Council Office The Lord Crowther-Hunt 23 January 1976
Minister of State for the Privy Council Office John Smith 8 April 1976
Minister of State for the Privy Council Office The Baroness Birk 3 January 1979
Parliamentary Secretary to the Privy Council Office William Price 18 October 1974
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords The Lord Shepherd 7 March 1974
Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords The Lord Peart 10 September 1976
Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey 5 March 1974
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Joel Barnett 7 March 1974
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Robert Mellish 5 March 1974
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Michael Cocks 8 April 1976
Financial Secretary to the Treasury John Gilbert 7 March 1974
Full list of ministers
Members of the Cabinet are in bold face .
The Labour Party governed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1974 to 1979. During this period, Harold Wilson and James Callaghan were successively appointed as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II. The end of the Callaghan ministry was presaged by the Winter of Discontent, a period of serious industrial discontent. This was followed by the election of Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher in 1979. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan states:
The government consisted of three ministries: the third and fourth Wilson ministry, and then the Callaghan ministry.