Abstract

The historiography of the 1964-70 Wilson governments has provided in depth analysis of the Vietnam War within the context of transatlantic relations, while other studies have examined the anti-war movement within British society. But there has been relatively little focus on British public opinion towards the Vietnam War and UK-US relations in the 1960s. To address this gap in scholarship, this article undertakes secondary analysis of opinion poll datasets covering the period 1960-69. It provides new insights into the patterning of public opinion. First, it finds that views supportive of the US war effort and of British government policy were more prevalent amongst men, younger people, and Conservative Party voters. Second, critical appraisals of Wilson as prime minister were not linked with a tendency to hold more negative views of the Vietnam War, either within the general public or Labour voters in particular. Third, a strongly favourable climate of opinion towards broader transatlantic relations deteriorated to some extent in the mid-to-late-1960s, and this shift occurred across societal groups, including supporters of the main parties. Growing opposition to the Vietnam War may have contributed to this shift.

摘要

1964-70 年威尔逊政府的史学在跨大西洋关系的背景下提供了对越南战争的深入分析，而其他研究则研究了英国社会的反战运动。但在 1960 年代，英国公众对越南战争和英美关系的关注相对较少。为了解决这一学术差距，本文对 1960-69 年期间的民意调查数据集进行了二次分析。它为公众舆论的模式提供了新的见解。首先，它发现支持美国战争努力和英国政府政策的观点在男性、年轻人和保守党选民中更为普遍。第二，对威尔逊作为总理的批判性评价与对越南战争持有更多负面看法的倾向无关，无论是在公众中还是在工党选民中。第三，在 1960 年代中后期，对更广泛的跨大西洋关系的强烈支持的舆论气氛在某种程度上恶化，这种转变发生在包括主要政党支持者在内的社会团体之间。对越南战争的日益反对可能促成了这种转变。