1951-1957 (Never had it so good?)- Political

Question 1

how long did the conservatives rule for from 1951?

Answer 1

13 years

Question 2

who was pm between 1951 and 1955, but who was seen as the true leader and why?

Answer 2

pm=churchill

‘true leader’=eden- churchill was an absentee pm

Question 3

give 3 reasons why churchill was an absentee pm?

Answer 3

• stroke in 1953 and other ill health
• old (he was 80 when he retired in 1955)
• preferred international diplomacy to domestic, day to day running of gb

Question 4

who were the 3 main leaders of the government in churchills absence?

Answer 4

eden
butler
macmillan

Question 5

who was there tensions between in the government?

Answer 5

butler and macmillan

Question 6

what were the results of the 1955 election?

Answer 6

cons=344 seats

labour=277 seats

Question 7

who became pm in 1955?

Answer 7

eden

Question 8

what position was macmillan in churchills government?

Answer 8

housing minister

Question 9

what position was macmillan in edens government?

Answer 9

foreign secretary

Question 10

what was a criticism of eden as pm?

Answer 10

inexperienced with domestic issues=hesitant in decisions

Question 11

what was edens major downfall?

Answer 11

suez crisis

Question 12

outline the suez crisis?

Answer 12

• 1956=israel attacked egypt
• gb and france demand end to fighting, and when this is ignored they bomb egypt and attack the suez canal
• became clear that gb, france and israel had been planning a joint attack
• eden lied to HoC about this

Question 13

what was the backlash of the suez crisis?

Answer 13

• 40 tories resign in protest
• labour MPs attack eden
• gb seems weak when condemned by the USA, causing a run on the £
• eden resigned in early 1957 (over “ill health”)

Question 14

who replaced eden as pm?

Answer 14

macmillan

Question 15

define ‘one nation conservative’?

Answer 15

all classes have a responsibility for each other (basically mild socialism)

Question 16

why was macmillan revolutionary with the media?

Answer 16

first pm to used tv as a political medium

Question 17

what did prescription costs increase to under the conservatives, but why wasn’t this a big deal?

Answer 17

2 shillings

the had left the nhs to run as labour intended and it was working well

Question 18

give 2 acts of the tory government aimed to improve health and wellbeing?

Answer 18

1956 clean air act=reduce smog

housing/factory acts=improve workers wellbeings

Question 19

what position did butler hold after 1955, and why was this important?

Answer 19

home secretary

he was much more liberal

Question 20

what 2 acts did butler push for?

Answer 20

• 1957 homocide act=restricted use of the death penalty

- 1957 wolfenden commission= recommended homosexual behaviour should no longer be criminal

Question 21

what was national service?

Answer 21

introduced 1947

all men 18-21 had to serve 2 years in the military

Question 22

why was labour still divided?

Answer 22

gaitskell and bevan both ran for party leadership in 1955 (G won)

• gaitskell was on the more rw side, bevan the lw
• rw wanted to revise Clause IV (nationalisation)
• lw wanted more socialism and more nationalisation

Question 23

what were the only 2 nationalised areas the tories denationalised?

Answer 23

steel

road transport

Question 24

give 4 areas on consensus politics between the tories and labour?

Answer 24

• gov intervention socially and economically
• full employment (tories scarred after 1930s)
• nhs and welfare state
• cooperate with TUs