ADV INFO - 1945 General Election Flashcards
how many seats and votes did Labour get
11,967,746 votes and 393 seats
how many seats and votes did Conservatives get
9,972,010 votes and 210 seats
What was the issue with the Conservative campaign
they were trying to ride off of the success of Churchill in the war and were not really portraying a real message
what was the Conservative campaign slogan?
confirm your confidence in Churchill
Who were the Labour leaders in the wartime coalition
Ernest Bevin (Minister of Labour) and Herbert Morrison (Home Secretary)
What did the Labour coalition ministers do during the war
they tended to be responsible for domestic matters and encouraged the belief that a Labour Government would be run sensibly
How had Clement Attlee been described
calm and statesmanlike
Who voted heavily in favour of Labour
the armed forces
what was the title of the Labour manifesto
Let’s face the future
What did Michael Foot tell voters in Plymouth
‘We shall not have won the peace until every citizen of England has a good roof over his head, the chance to marry and bring up his children, safe from the fears of unemployment, sickness and worry’
What did the Labour party fervently adopt in their manifesto
the welfare reforms outlined in the Beveridge Report.
What was the public reaction to the Beveridge Report
86% of the population were in favour of the report
What things became acceptable throughout the war
rationing, economic controls and the mobilisation of Labour
how was the use of state power seen
something that could make life fairer and improve conditions for the poorest - full employment, free school milk and free school meals demonstrated the benefits of this approach
What shocked many middle-class families
the poverty of the evacuees they had welcomed into their homes and so became convinced of the need for greater state intervention
What was there a feeling about referring to the working class
the working class people had earned the right to better conditions
What did the Labour party criticisms of Conservative policies do
it won support from a number of intellectuals such as Hugh Gaitskell. Barbara Castle and Harold Wilson also joined the party during the war. They helped to ensure that the party had carefully thought-out proposals
What did the Labour Party produce in 1937
‘Labour’s immediate programme’
What happened to the points of the programme
they found their way into their election manifesto, such as the nationalisation of the bank of England and the coal mines
what was the conservative campaign solely based off
Churchill’s wartime leadership
How much was spent on the Conservative campaign
£3000 compared to the £30,000 spent in 1935
What was virtually non-existent up to a few months before the 1945 election
local conservative party activism
What had declined during the war
Conservative party organisation
what was closed down during the war
Area offices and constituency associations due to staff being enlisted or were drafted into the forces
how many agents were involved in war work in 1945
170 agents and 30 women organisers were engaged in war work
What did the 1945 election lack
co-ordination, central direction and carefully composed policies
What did Churchill fail to focus on
post-war reconstruction and instead focused on warning about the dangers of collectivism
Why did many in the working class oppose Churchill
they remembered his role in events such as the general strike and remained angered by the Depression in the 1930s
When was Churchill shouted down by workers
during a campaign speech in Walthamstow in the East End of London in 1945
What policy of Churchill’s was out of step
his preoccupation with restoring the British empire (such as India)
How did Labour benefit from the electoral system
they received 48% of the votes but 2/3rds of the seats
How were the Conservatives electorally damaged
the wartime ‘electoral truce’, which required each of the parties not to ‘nominate candidates at by-elections… against the candidate party who held the seat at the time of the vacancy’.
what happened to the Conservatives at the polls in 1945
he was humiliated
What was the Labour promises under Attlee
far-reaching social change
What did the Conservatives hope would be the winning ticket
Churchill the war leader
Why had Churchill hoped to delay the election
He wanted victory in the pacific
Why did Churchill’s wife worry about his ability to connect with workers
he was too aristocratic
what did the working class not want to return to
the status quo
how had Attlee proved himself during the war
as a useful deputy
How did Churchill’s first election broadcast damage his own reputation
He compared Labour to the Gestapo
How is Churchill’s attitude to welfare reform described?
he ignored them
How did Churchill describe Beveridge?
an awful windbag and dreamer
What was the Britain inherited by Attlee?
250,000 destroyed homes, factories were destroyed and morale was low
What was Britain’s debt situation?
they were £3.5 billion in debt
who did Attlee turn to for the debt?
John Maynard Keynes
What was the loan that the USA gave them
$4 billion with interest
What socialist books were widely read
Eleanor Rathbone’s A Case for Family Allowances
what made labour appear to be competent and experienced
participation in the wartime coalition
what themes would you use to answer an essay question on this
leadership, electoral campaigning, policies
why were the publci angry at the Conservatives as a whole
due to their policy of appeasement
