Soon after Labour's landslide victory at the 1966 general election, the seamen's strike was a particularly important factor in the conflict. On that issue, Gunter took the same tough line as Wilson. Looking back, he described his stint as Minister of Labour as a "bed of nails". He sought to complete his work by bringing in a new bill drawn from the findings of the Donovan Commission report on trade union power, but Wilson reshuffled him to the post of Minister for Power in April 1968.