Editing Michael Foot (section)

===In government===
After 1970, Labour moved to the left and Wilson came to an accommodation with Foot. Foot served in the [[Second Shadow Cabinet of Harold Wilson]] in various roles between 1970 and 1974. In [[1972 Labour Party deputy leadership election|April 1972]], he stood for the [[Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK)|Deputy Leadership]] of the party, along with [[Edward Short, Baron Glenamara|Edward Short]] and [[Anthony Crosland]]. The first ballot saw Foot narrowly come second to Short winning 110 votes to the latter's 111. Crosland polled 61 votes and was eliminated. It was reported in the next day's ''[[Glasgow Herald]]'' that Short was the favourite to pick up most of Crosland's votes.<ref name="GH21041972p1">{{cite news |last1=Warden |first1=John |title=Short leads by one vote in first ballot |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19720421&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=23 March 2021 |work=The Glasgow Herald |date=21 April 1972 |page=1}}</ref> The second ballot saw Short increase his total to 145 votes, while Foot's only rose to 116, giving Short victory by 29 votes.<ref name="GH26041972p1">{{cite news |last1=Warden |first1=John |title=Unity call as Short wins by 29 votes |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19720426&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=23 March 2021 |newspaper=The Glasgow Herald |date=26 April 1972 |page=1}}</ref>

When, in 1974, Labour returned to office under Wilson, Foot became [[Secretary of State for Employment]]. According to Ben Pimlott, his appointment was intended to please the left of the party and the Trade Unions. In this role, he played the major part in the government's efforts to maintain the trade unions' support. He was also responsible for the [[Health and Safety at Work Act]], as well as the [[Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1974|Trade Union and Labour Relations Act]] that repealed the [[Heath ministry]]'s [[Industrial Relations Act 1971|trade union reforms]], and the [[Employment Protection Act 1975|Employment Protection Act]], which introduced legal protections against being sacked for becoming pregnant and legislated for maternity pay. His time as Employment Secretary also saw [[Acas]] adopt its current name and modern form as a body with independence from government.<ref name=tribune>{{cite web |url=https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/07/the-life-and-legacy-of-michael-foot |title=The Life and Legacy of Michael Foot |last=Johnson |first=Richard |date=23 July 2021 |website=[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]] |access-date=31 July 2021}}</ref>

Foot was one of the mainstays of the "no" campaign in the [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|1975 referendum]] on [[United Kingdom membership of the European Economic Area|British membership of the European Communities]]. When Wilson retired in 1976, Foot [[1976 Labour Party leadership election|contested the party leadership]] and led in the first ballot, but was ultimately defeated by [[James Callaghan]]. Later that year Foot [[1976 Labour Party deputy leadership election|was elected]] Deputy Leader, and during the [[Labour government, 1974–1979|Callaghan government]] Foot took a seat in [[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]] as [[Leader of the House of Commons]], which gave him the unenviable task of trying to maintain the survival of the Callaghan government as its majority evaporated. However, he was able to steer numerous government proposals through the Commons, often by very narrow majorities, including increases in pension and benefit rates, the creation of the [[Police Complaints Board]], the expansion of [[Comprehensive school (England and Wales)|comprehensive schools]], the establishment of a statutory responsibility to provide housing for the homeless, [[Child benefits in the United Kingdom#Child Benefit and the end of child tax allowance|universal Child Benefit]], the [[British Shipbuilders|nationalisation of shipbuilding]], abolishing pay beds in [[Hospital trust|NHS hospitals]], and housing security for agricultural workers, before the government fell in a [[1979 vote of no confidence in the Callaghan ministry|vote of no confidence]] by a single vote.<ref name=tribune /> Whilst Leader of the Commons, Foot simultaneously held the post of [[Lord President of the Council]].

In 1975, Foot, along with [[Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge|Jennie Lee]] and others, courted controversy when they supported [[Indira Gandhi]], the [[Prime Minister of India]], after she prompted the declaration of [[The Emergency (India)|a state of emergency]]. In December 1975, ''[[The Times]]'' ran an editorial titled 'Is Mr Foot a Fascist?' — their answer was that he was —<ref>{{cite news |title=Is Mr. Foot a Fascist? |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=2 December 1975}}</ref> after [[Norman Tebbit]] accused him of 'undiluted fascism' when Foot said that the [[Ferrybridge Six]] deserved dismissal for defying a [[closed shop]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Spectator Volume 237, Part 2 |year=1976 |publisher=F.C. Westley |location=London |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?ei=e6ukTcCYC9S1hAewzrDfCQ }}</ref>