20.4 Conservative reorganisation and the elections of 1950 and 1951 Flashcards
Why was the 1950 election result so significant for Labour?
++ What did Attlee do to try and resolve it?
Labour’s majority fell to 5 which made it hard to govern - especially since the Bevanite rebellion
++ Attlee called the 1951 election to try and improve his position
What were the Labour’s weaknesses in the 1951 election? (5)
- Economy damaged by the Korean war and rearmament = 14% of GDP spending + devaluation of £ had been a blow to morale
- Continued austerity, even introduced new austerity like Bread and Potatoes 1947-48 and other staples until 1951
- Party divisions
- Tired and old ministers
- Manifesto only renewed policies
What were Conservatives’ strengths in the 1951 election? (8)
- Effective focus on marginal seats
- Lord Woolton reorganised party effectively
- Fundraising
- Membership drive with a record 2.8m members (Labour 1m)
- Churchill’s fame and respect
- Manifesto included a commitment to the NHS
- Increased in housing 300k pa (Labour’s best = 200k)
- 1945-50, 300 agents qualified to help with propaganda and the Young Conservatives created
What impact did the electoral system have in the 1951 election?
Concentrated Labour support did not fare well under the FPTP system
- Labour had 26 less seats but won their highest ever vote share
- Postal votes = 10 to 1 in favour of Conservatives
Why did the Representation of the People Acts 1948 and 1949 play a key role in the 1951 election? (4)
It made Labour less competitive
- Abolished two member constituencies
- Redrew constituency lines
- Seperate university seats removed
- Removed plural voting
Why did Attlee allow the changes enforced by the 1948-1949 Representation of the people act?
“morality, morality, morality”
What did historian Pearce think the most important reason for Labour’s loss in the 1951 election?
‘Many different factors may seem important…enormously difficult to unravel
Who said that there were ‘Many different factors [to Labour’s 1951 loss and that it was] important…enormously difficult to unravel?
Pearce
