1945 General Election Flashcards
What did the Beveridge report suggest?
Social reform including: a welfare state, nationalized healthcare, funded education, full employment policy and a new housing policy.
In an opinion poll what did the majority of people cite as the main issue facing the country that was a major Labour policy?
In the same opinion poll, what percent of people cited a major Conservative policy?
41% of people citied Housing
5% cited International Security
What was the Conservative campaign strategy leading up to the 1945 election and why was it flawed?
They heavily relied on Churchill’s status as a popular war hero with an approval rating of 83% in May 1945.
They then ignored potential new programs to keep up with Labor’s proposed reforms.
Many saw a distinction between Churchill and his party.
What was the Conservative party’s main poster and what did this reveal about the Conservative campaign strategy?
An image of Winston Churchill with the text: “Help him finish the job”
This shows the overreliance on Churchill as a figurehead for the party
What did Churchill claim in his first peacetime speech on the 4th of June 1945?
Clement Atlee ‘would have to fall back on some form of Gestapo’ to bring about socialist change
Labour campaigning made efforts to differentiate between Churchill and his party. Why were the Conservatives unpopular in 1945?
The Conservatives were associated with the politics of the interwar period.
Chamberlain’s and Baldwin’s governments became associated with appeasement which was blamed for allowing Nazi Germany to become too powerful, inflation and unemployment.
Why did Soldiers tend to support Labour?
Soldiers feared the homelessness and unemployment faced by the soldiers of WWI under the Conservative interwar governments.
