OU founder tv programme

BBC Parliament presents a night of programming to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Harold Wilson’s 1963 election to Labour Party leader. Peter Snow will present a studio discussion talking to contemporaries of the former Prime Minister as they assess his reputation and political legacy.A few months after Harold Wilson became leader of the Labour Party., at Easter 1963, he jotted down an outline of his ideas about a University of the Air and soon afterwards he contributed to a report on Labour’s Higher Education policy. By the autumn, without consultation with his Cabinet colleagues, he launched the idea in speeches. Even though it was not Party policy he pushed and organised and, despite the opposition from within the civil service, the BBC and his own Shadow Cabinet and later Cabinet, he persevered. Moreover, he knew when to let others develop the idea. The OU which opened in 1969 did not look exactly like his original plans, but it owned a great deal to him. The programming is broadcast Thursday 14 February  6.00-11.00pm BBC PARLIAMENT. One of the elements of it is Harold saying that he felt one of his greatest achievements was the OU.

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