The “Limit of What is Tolerable”: British Defence Cuts and the “Special Relationship,” 1974–1976

Abstract

This article focuses upon the British defence cuts undertaken during the final governments of Harold Wilson, 1974–1976, within the broader context of the Anglo–American “special relationship.” Utilising previously classified material, it shows how the United States attempted to negate the severity of Britain's defence cuts. Such efforts were largely futile in preventing such reductions. Moreover, Anglo–American co-operation in a number of highly sensitive areas remained largely unaffected. Rather, the consequence for Anglo–American relations was for Britain to lose political standing in the opinion of the Nixon-Ford administrations. In the short term, this process was to have little discernable impact. Rather the repercussions of this became clear once Wilson had left office, most notably during the International Monetary Fund Crisis of 1976.