1951-64 elections and labour opposition

Question 1

1951 election results by seats

Answer 1

• conservative: 321
• labour: 295
• liberal: 6
• others: 3

Question 2

1951 election results by % of vote

Answer 2

• conservative: 48%
• labour: 48.8%
• liberal: 2.5%
• others: 0.7%

Question 3

1955 election results by seats

Answer 3

• conservative: 344
• labour: 277
• liberal: 6
• others: 3

Question 4

1955 election results by % of vote

Answer 4

• conservative: 49.7%
• labour: 46.4%
• liberal: 2.7%
• others: 1.2%

Question 5

1959 election results by seats

Answer 5

• conservative: 365
• labour: 258
• liberal: 6
• others: 1

Question 6

1959 election results by % of vote

Answer 6

• conservative: 49.4%
• labour: 43.8%
• liberal: 5.9%
• others: 0.9%

Question 7

what was the labour party divided over

Answer 7

• unilateralism as a policy, the CND
• clause IV (nationalisation)
• EEC
• trade union power
• direction of the party (centre right Gaitskell defeats Bevan as leader and leads to leftist Bevanites and Gaitskell supporting CDS)

Question 8

why did Labour lose elections in this period, most importantly the 1959 election

Answer 8

• internal divisions
• UK’s rising prosperity, ‘never had it so good’
• poor election campaign

Question 9

1951 election analysis

Answer 9

• not so much due to Labour’s decline but the Conservative’s recovery
• FPTP played an important role as Labour secured a higher vote share but less seats - a victim to it

Question 10

Labour’s 1951 election defeat

Answer 10

• Atlee’s government was worn out - many such as him and Bevan had been working continuously in government since 1940
• serious divisions had developed over left and right wings of the party over economic, welfare and foreign policies e.g. over prescription charges
• resentment among the trade unions over the party’s slowness in meeting demands
• labour found it difficult to shake image of austerity
• loss of large majority in 1950 election damaged moral and governing ability

Question 11

Conservative 1951 election victory

Answer 11

• recovered from the shock of their defeat in 1945
• reorganisation of the party with younger members such as Butler
• Lord Woolton had reformed the finances and organisation of the party - better positioned to fight for the 1951 election
• given a strong platform by their attack on the nationalisation of steel and iron
• they projected themselves as the upholders of liberty and individualism against the deadening hand of state centralisation and collectivism