Editing Barbara Castle (section)

==Member of Parliament (1945–1979)==
In the [[1945 United Kingdom general election|1945 general election]], which Labour won by a landslide, Castle was elected as the [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Blackburn]].<ref name = ODNB/> As Blackburn was then a [[Multi-member constituencies in the Parliament of the United Kingdom|two-member constituency]],<ref name="DailyTelegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3576224/Sacred-monster.html|title=Sacred monster – Barbara Castle: 1910–2002|first=Gerald|last=Kaufman|date=5 May 2002|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828035855/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3576224/Sacred-monster.html|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> she was elected alongside fellow Labour candidate [[John Edwards (Labour politician)|John Edwards]]. Castle had secured her place as a parliamentary candidate through the women of the Blackburn Labour Party, who had threatened to quit unless she was added to the otherwise all-male shortlist.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1393098/Lady-Castle-of-Blackburn.html|title=Lady Castle of Blackburn|date=4 May 2002|access-date=28 August 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072306/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1393098/Lady-Castle-of-Blackburn.html|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Castle was the youngest of the handful of women elected.<ref name="StatueBBC">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-43325442|title=Barbara Castle: Statue Plan to Honour Former Blackburn MP|date=8 March 2018|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[BBC]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124054237/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-43325442|archive-date=24 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Throughout Castle's parliamentary career (1945–1979), women Members of Parliament consistently represented less than 5% of all MPs.<ref name= women>{{cite web|url=https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01250/|title= Women in Parliament and Government|date= 20 July 2018|publisher= House of Commons Library|access-date= 1 October 2024}}</ref>}} Although she had grown up in similar northern industrial towns, she had no prior connection to Blackburn.<ref name="Derby"/> Eager not to appear as a [[parachute candidate]], she studied [[weaving]] and [[Spinning (textiles)|spinning]], and spent time living with a local family.<ref name="Derby"/> In her [[maiden speech]] she highlighted the problems facing servicemen then going through [[demobilization]].<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/>

Immediately upon her entering the House of Commons Castle was appointed [[Parliamentary private secretary]] (PPS) to [[Stafford Cripps]], [[President of the Board of Trade]],<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/> who had known her as a member of the pre-war [[Socialist League (UK, 1932)|Socialist League]]. [[Harold Wilson]] succeeded Cripps in 1947 and retained Castle as his PPS, marking the beginning of the pair's lengthy political relationship.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/> She gained further experience as the UK's alternate delegate to the [[United Nations General Assembly]] for 1949–1950, when she displayed particular concern for social and humanitarian issues.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/> She soon achieved a reputation as a left-winger and a rousing speaker. She was an early advocate for [[equal pay]] and supported the [[Equal Pay Campaign Committee]] in their cross-party efforts. In 1954 she joined [[Patricia Ford (politician)|Patricia Ford]], [[Irene Ward]] and[[Edith Summerskill]] to submit the 'Equal Pay in the public services' petition, with over 80,000 signatures, to Parliament. The four policiticians arrived together in a horse drawn carriage decorated in suffragette colours.<ref name="uk1002">{{Cite web |last=ukvote100 |date=2017-11-09 |title=Women Demand Equal Pay! |url=https://ukvote100.org/2017/11/09/women-demand-equal-pay/ |access-date=2021-01-17 |website=UK Vote 100: Looking forward to the centenary of Equal Franchise in 2028 in the UK Parliament |language=en}}</ref>  During the 1950s she was a high-profile [[Bevanite]], and made a name for herself as a vocal advocate of [[decolonisation]] and the [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]].

===Cabinet minister===
====Minister for Overseas Development, 1964–1965====
[[File:Mr John Tembo, Malawian Minister of Finance and Mrs Barbara Castle, British Minister of Overseas Development.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Castle as Minister for Overseas Development meeting [[John Tembo]], [[Malawi]] Minister of Finance, 1965]]
Labour returned to government under [[Harold Wilson]] in October 1964 following a [[1964 United Kingdom general election|general election]], defeating [[Alec Douglas-Home]]'s Conservative government by winning a slim majority of four seats, thus ending 13 years of successive Conservative governments. Wilson had selected his core Cabinet four months prior to the election;{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=161}} Castle knew Wilson intended to place her within his Cabinet, which would make her the fourth woman in British history ever to hold position in a Cabinet, after [[Margaret Bondfield]], [[Ellen Wilkinson]] and [[Florence Horsbrugh]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m04c.pdf|title=Women in the House of Commons House of Commons: Information Office Factsheet M4|chapter=Appendix C: Women MPs who have held Ministerial office|access-date=30 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108070346/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons-information-office/m04c.pdf|archive-date=8 November 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

Castle entered the Cabinet as the first [[Minister for Overseas Development]], a newly created ministry for which she, alongside the [[Fabian Society]], had drawn up the plans.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=161}} For the previous year she had acted as the opposition spokeswoman on overseas development.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=161}} Castle's plans were extensive, though the ministry's budget was modest.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=163}} She set about trying to divert powers from other departments related to overseas aid, including the [[Foreign Office]] and [[HM Treasury|the Treasury]]. She was only partially successful in her aims and provoked an internal Whitehall dispute in the process.{{sfnp|Mitchell|Wienir|1997|p=87}}

In June 1965 Castle announced interest-free aid loans would be available to certain (not exclusively [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]) countries.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=197}} She had previously criticised the Conservative government for granting loans that only waived interest for up to the first seven years, which she considered to be counter-productive.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=175}}

In August, Castle published the government [[white paper]] ''Overseas Development: The Work of a New Ministry''.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=178}} The financial commitments of the ministry were omitted from the report, after a protracted clash between Castle and her cabinet colleagues [[James Callaghan]] ([[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]) and [[George Brown, Baron George-Brown|George Brown]] ([[Secretary of State for Economic Affairs]]). Labour had made a [[manifesto]] promise to increase aid spending to 1% of [[gross national product]], almost double Conservative spending.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|pp=197–198}} However, the national economy was unstable, public resentment towards the Commonwealth was growing due to immigration, and within Cabinet aid was viewed with either indifference or contempt.{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=175}} Castle grappled with Callaghan and Brown over the department's budgetary allocation; they reached a compromise following Wilson's intervention,{{sfnp|Martineau|2000|p=177}} but the sum only amounted to a small increase in spending.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|pp=199}}

====Minister of Transport, 1965–1968====
Initially reluctant to head up the department, Castle accepted the role of [[Secretary of State for Transport|Minister of Transport]] (23 December 1965 – 6 April 1968) in a [[Cabinet reshuffle]] after Wilson proved persuasive.<ref name="NewStatesman">{{cite web|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/node/150817|title=The New Statesman Interview – Barbara Castle|first=Steve|last=Richards|date=28 February 2000|access-date=28 August 2018|work=[[New Statesman]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829072149/https://www.newstatesman.com/node/150817|archive-date=29 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 1966, Castle addressed Parliament, calling for "a profound change in public attitudes" to curtail increasing road fatality figures, stating: "[[Hitler]] did not manage to kill as many civilians in Britain as have been killed on our roads since the war".<ref name="Hansard1">{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/feb/10/road-safety-bill|title=ROAD SAFETY BILL|date=10 February 1966|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[Hansard]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153329/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1966/feb/10/road-safety-bill|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The statistics bore out; between 1945 and the mid-1960s approximately 150,000 people were killed and several million injured on Britain's roads.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/history/postgraduate/road-safety|title=Science, Technology and Road Safety in the Motor Age|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[University of Leicester]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417120710/http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/history/postgraduate/road-safety|archive-date=17 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

She introduced the [[breathalyzer]] to combat the then recently acknowledged crisis of [[drink-driving]]. Castle said she was "ready to risk unpopularity" by introducing the measures if it meant saving lives.<ref name="FT">{{cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/470a8d67-8f94-3361-a223-30c3bfa37e65|title=BBC to Barbara Castle: "You're only a woman... what do you know about it?"|first=Jim|last=Pickard|date=1 March 2010|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[Financial Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075559/https://www.ft.com/content/470a8d67-8f94-3361-a223-30c3bfa37e65|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> She was challenged by a [[BBC]] journalist on ''[[The World This Weekend]]'', who described the policy as a "rotten idea" and asked her: "You're only a woman, you don't drive, what do you know about it?"<ref name="FT"/> In the 12 months following the introduction of the breathalyser, Government figures revealed road deaths had dropped by 16.5%.<ref name="NYT2">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/05/archives/breath-tests-cut-british-auto-deaths-breath-tests-cut-british-auto.html|title=Breath Tests Cut British Auto Deaths|first=John|last=Lee|date=5 October 1968|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153232/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/10/05/archives/breath-tests-cut-british-auto-deaths-breath-tests-cut-british-auto.html|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Castle also made permanent the [[Road speed limits in the United Kingdom|national speed limit]] (70&nbsp;mph). Having been introduced as a four-month trial by outgoing Transport Minister [[Tom Fraser]] in December 1965, Castle first extended the limit period in 1966 and in 1967 made the limit permanent, following a controversial report from the [[Road Research Laboratory]] concluding that motorway casualties had fallen 20% since its introduction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://moneyweek.com/419950/22-december-1965-70mph-speed-limit-introduced/|title=22 December 1965: 70mph speed limit introduced|first=Ben|last=Judge|date=22 December 2015|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[MoneyWeek]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075555/https://moneyweek.com/419950/22-december-1965-70mph-speed-limit-introduced/|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jun/09/archive-casualties-70mph-speed-limit|title=From the archive, 9 June 1967: Casualties down 20 p.c. under 70 m.p.h. speed limit|date=9 June 2012|access-date=27 August 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827110408/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/jun/09/archive-casualties-70mph-speed-limit|archive-date=27 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

During a tour of New York City in October 1966, where Castle was examining the impact of traffic problems in American cities, she vocalised plans to introduce a [[London congestion charge]], which was to be introduced as soon as the technical details of fee collection were solved.<ref name="NYT1">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/16/archives/london-to-set-fees-on-cars-entering-city-in-rush-hours.html|title=London to Set Fees on Cars Entering City in Rush Hours|first=Murray|last=Schumach|date=16 October 1966|access-date=14 January 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114153239/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/10/16/archives/london-to-set-fees-on-cars-entering-city-in-rush-hours.html|archive-date=14 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Castle urged New York's [[New York City Department of Transportation|Transport Commissioner]] to adopt the same policy, describing plans for more roadways as "self-defeating", stating the solution was "more and better mass transit systems".<ref name="NYT1"/>

[[File:Humber Bridge under construction - geograph.org.uk - 1599900.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Castle authorised the construction of the [[Humber Bridge]] (pictured in 1980, prior to completion)]]

Castle also sanctioned the construction of the [[Humber Bridge]],<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> which was the world's longest suspension bridge upon its opening in 1981.<ref name="HumberBridge">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/sep/17/strachan-stockwell-humber-bridge|title=How we made the Humber Bridge|first=Dave|last=Simpson|date=17 September 2012|access-date=28 August 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828071137/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/sep/17/strachan-stockwell-humber-bridge|archive-date=28 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In late 1965, the Labour MP for nearby [[Kingston upon Hull North]] died, [[1966 Kingston upon Hull North by-election|triggering a by-election]]. The marginal seat was of critical importance to the government and its loss would have reduced Labour's majority in the House of Commons to just one.<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> Harold Wilson invoked Castle to find the necessary funding and promise the bridge's construction as an 'election sweetener'.<ref name="DailyTelegraph"/> The move paid off, with Labour holding the seat.

She presided over the closure of approximately 2,050 miles of railways as she enacted her part of the [[Beeching cuts]]—a betrayal of pre-election commitments by the Labour party to halt the proposals. Nevertheless, she refused closure of several lines, one example being the [[Looe Valley Line]] in Cornwall, and introduced the first Government [[rail subsidies]] for socially necessary but unprofitable railways in the [[Transport Act 1968]].

One of her most memorable achievements as Transport minister was to pass legislation decreeing that all new cars had to be fitted with [[seat belt]]s. Despite being appointed to the Ministry of Transport, a role which she was originally unenthusiastic about, Castle could not actually drive herself, and was chauffeured to functions. (The Labour politician [[Hazel Blears]] recalled driving Castle at one time as a young Labour Party activist in the 1980s.<ref>[http://www.labourhistory.org.uk/?p=63 Hazel Blears' memories of Barbara Castle] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319125818/http://www.labourhistory.org.uk/?p=63 |date=19 March 2008 }}, The Labour History Group, 20 June 2007</ref>) Despite her lack of a driving licence,<ref name = ODNB/> she attracted controversy when she told local government leaders to give added emphasis to motor vehicle access in urban areas, as "most pedestrians are walking to or from their cars."{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

Castle and her husband, Edward Castle, bought a new flat in [[John Spencer Square]] in late 1967<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.roads.org.uk/ringways/ringway1/north-cross-route|title=North Cross Route|website=Roads.org.uk|language=en|access-date=17 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117105010/http://www.roads.org.uk/ringways/ringway1/north-cross-route|archive-date=17 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> while she was the Minister of Transport.

====First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Employment, 1968–1970====
As [[Secretary of State for Employment]], Castle was also appointed [[First Secretary of State]] by Wilson, bringing her firmly into the heart of government. She was never far from controversy which reached a fever pitch when the trade unions rebelled against her proposals to reduce their powers in her 1969 [[white paper]], '[[In Place of Strife]]'. This also involved a major cabinet split, with threatened resignations, hot tempers and her future nemesis [[James Callaghan]] breaking ranks to publicly try to undermine the bill. The whole episode alienated her from many of her friends on the left, with the ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'' newspaper railing very hard against the bill, which they held to be attacking the workers without attacking the bosses. The split is often said to have been partly responsible for Labour's defeat at the [[1970 United Kingdom general election|1970 general election]]. The eventual deal with the unions dropped most of the contentious clauses.

Castle also helped make history when she intervened in the [[Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968|Ford sewing machinists' strike of 1968]], in which the women of the [[Dagenham Ford Plant]] demanded to be paid the same as their male counterparts. She helped resolve the strike, which resulted in a pay rise for Ford's female workers bringing them to 92 per cent of what the men received. Most significantly, as a consequence of this strike, Castle put through the [[Equal Pay Act 1970]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unionhistory.info/timeline/Tl_Display.php?Where=Dc1Title+contains+'Ford+sewing+machinists,+1968'|title=TUC {{!}} History Online|website=www.unionhistory.info|access-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114184346/http://www.unionhistory.info/timeline/Tl_Display.php?Where=Dc1Title+contains+%27Ford+sewing+machinists%2C+1968%27|archive-date=14 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2010 British film, ''[[Made in Dagenham]]'', was based on the Ford strike. She was portrayed by [[Miranda Richardson]].

In April 1970, Castle's husband, Ted, lost his position as an alderman of the [[Greater London Council]]. He was devastated and although he was supportive of his wife's achievements, he considered himself a failure compared to her.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=339}} Upset and concerned by her husband's distress, Barbara persuaded Wilson to grant Ted a peerage.<ref name="DailyTelegraph2"/>

===Opposition===
In May 1970, Wilson [[1970 United Kingdom general election|called a general election]], held on 18 June. The [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]], led by [[Edward Heath]], enjoyed a surprise victory, despite opinion polling indicating a steady lead for Labour in the run-up.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=344}} Castle privately blamed complacency within Labour for their loss and had expressed scepticism about their poll lead, writing in her diaries: "I have a haunting feeling there is a silent majority sitting behind its lace curtains waiting to come out and vote Tory."{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=344}}

In the immediate aftermath of the government's defeat, Castle found she was out of favour with Wilson. The day following the general election, Wilson held a final inner Cabinet meeting at [[Downing Street]], to which Castle was not invited.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=345}} Eager to make contact, she later called him at [[Chequers]], where Wilson engaged in a brusque telephone conversation with her.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=345}}

Refusing to acknowledge her career had been curtailed, Castle proposed to run for deputy leadership of the [[Parliamentary Labour Party]].{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=347}} When she informed Wilson of her plans he was furious; Castle's reputation within the party had been damaged by the failure of ''[[In Place of Strife]]'' and Wilson censured her, claiming her plan would split the party.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=347}} In an act of retribution for her challenge to the deputy leadership, Wilson impeded Ted Castle's peerage, which he had all but promised prior to the general election.{{sfnp|Perkins|2003|p=348}}

Despite not being elected to the Shadow Cabinet, Castle remained as the Labour shadow spokesperson on Employment. The new Government introduced many of her policy suggestions as part of their Industrial Relations Act. When she was attacking the Conservative bill, the government simply pointed to her own white paper, following which Wilson reshuffled her first to the health portfolio and then out of the shadow cabinet.

===Return to Cabinet===
====Secretary of State for Social Services, 1974–1976====
Despite having been on the Labour back benches since 1972 and not part of the shadow cabinet, in 1974, following [[Harold Wilson]]'s defeat of [[Edward Heath]], Castle became [[Secretary of State for Social Services]]. While serving in this position, Castle introduced a wide range of innovative welfare reforms, including the introduction of the mobility allowance, the [[Invalid Care Allowance]] (July 1976) for single women and others who give up their jobs to care for severely disabled relatives, the introduction of a non-contributory invalidity pension for disabled persons who had not qualified for invalidity pension, reforms in child allowances, and the linking of most social security benefits to earnings rather than prices.<ref>[[Anthony Seldon]] and Kevin Hickson (eds), ''New Labour, Old Labour: The Wilson and Callaghan Governments, 1974–79''.</ref> She sought to remove private "pay beds" from the NHS, in conflict with the British Medical Association.<ref>{{Cite web|title=National Health Service (Private Practice) – Monday 8 July 1974 – Hansard – UK Parliament|url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1974-07-08/debates/8c957739-b545-405b-990f-0d6393a2a3e6/NationalHealthService(PrivatePractice)|access-date=2021-04-18|website=hansard.parliament.uk|language=en}}</ref>

In the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 referendum debate]] she took a [[Eurosceptic]] stance. During a debate with Liberal leader [[Jeremy Thorpe]] he asked her whether, if the vote would be yes, she would stay on as a minister. To this she replied: "If the vote is yes my country will need me to save it."<ref>{{YouTube|Nj0u_pnAw_s|Barbara Castle Labour's Greatest Woman, video}}</ref> Despite her views she later became a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (1979–1989). Her public support of leaving the EEC infuriated Wilson. Castle recorded in her diary and in her subsequent autobiography that Wilson summoned her to Downing Street where he angrily accused her of disloyalty and that, as he had brought her back into the cabinet against others' wishes and advice, he deserved better from her. Castle claimed she offered to resign, but Wilson calmed down and she continued to campaign for leaving in the referendum.<ref name="Castle, Barbara 1976">Castle, Barbara. The Castle Diaries 1964–1976. Macmillan (Abridged version 11 Jun. 1993). {{ISBN|978-0333499498}}</ref><ref name="Castle, Barbara 1994">Castle, Barbara. Fighting All The Way. Pan; Main Market Edition (9 Sept. 1994). {{ISBN|978-0330328869}}</ref>

[[File:James Callaghan.JPG|thumb|right|200px|James Callaghan removed Castle from his Cabinet]]In 1975, Castle introduced the Child Benefit Act, superseding the [[Family Allowances Act 1945]].<ref name="BBCchildbenefit">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11465116|title=Q&A: Child benefit changes|date=13 January 2012|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023071617/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11465116|archive-date=23 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The act provided new support for families' first child, unlike the previous system in place, which provided benefit for second and subsequent children.<ref name="BBCchildbenefit"/> Castle also ensured [[Child benefits in the United Kingdom|child benefit]] would be paid directly to mothers, not fathers, unlike Family Allowance, the previous system in place.<ref name="RedQueenPink">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/sep/25/1|title=Red queen in the pink|first=Anne|last=Perkins|date=25 September 1999|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[The Guardian]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903082119/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/1999/sep/25/1|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The legislation faced opposition from unions whose male members would receive less take-home pay with the loss of Family Allowance.<ref name="RedQueenPink"/>

Castle remained in cabinet until Wilson's resignation in March 1976. The head of the [[Downing Street policy unit]], [[Bernard Donoughue]], records in his diary that he warned Wilson that Castle's dogged pursuit of personal policy stances on public health would "wreck the NHS". Donoughue claims that Wilson agreed, but admitted he would leave it to his successor to resolve.<ref>''Downing Street Diary: with Harold Wilson at no.10''. Jonathan Cape, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-224-04022-8}}.</ref>

Castle lost her place as a Cabinet minister when her bitter political enemy [[James Callaghan]] succeeded Wilson as prime minister following a [[1976 Labour Party leadership election|leadership election]]. Although he left Wilson's Cabinet virtually unchanged, he dismissed Castle almost immediately upon taking office, in the midst of a complex health bill that she was steering through the House of Commons at the time.<ref name="CallaghanObit">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1486556/Lord-Callaghan-of-Cardiff.html|title=Lord Callaghan of Cardiff|date=28 March 2005|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903082058/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/1486556/Lord-Callaghan-of-Cardiff.html|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Although he had not yet decided on her successor at the time he fired her, Callaghan removed her under the pretext he wanted to lower the average age of his Cabinet,<ref name="WashingtonPost">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/05/06/barbara-castle-91/7ad94886-d4c5-4d59-b33c-c82257653aa0|title=Barbara Castle, 91|first=Richard|last=Pearson|date=6 May 2002|access-date=3 September 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903114826/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2002/05/06/barbara-castle-91/7ad94886-d4c5-4d59-b33c-c82257653aa0/|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> which she regarded as a "phoney reason".<ref name="BBC2000">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/946997.stm|title=Barbara Castle: Scaling the ramparts|first=Chris|last=Jones|date=29 September 2000|access-date=3 September 2018|work=[[BBC]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031101163008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/946997.stm|archive-date=1 November 2003|url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview years later, she remarked that perhaps the most restrained thing she had ever achieved in her life was not to reply with "Then why not start with yourself, Jim?" (Callaghan was four years older than Wilson, the man he was replacing, and less than 18 months younger than Castle). Castle was angry to discover that Wilson had broken a private confidence in informing Callaghan that she had intended to retire from the cabinet before the next election.<ref name="Castle, Barbara 1976"/><ref name="Castle, Barbara 1994"/>