ADV INFO - The 1964 election Flashcards
Who were the Labour and Conservative leaders
Harold Wilson and Sir Alec Douglas-Home
How were Wilson and Douglas-Home compared
Wilson was much more impressive in the public eye than Douglas-Home
How did Wilson present himself in the campaign
he presented himself and his party as better fitted to lead the nation in the technological age that Britain had entered, edged him to victory
what were Labour able to do in reference to the swinging sixties
the Labour party present a younger, more with the image in line with the changing times
What did Wilson famously say
that he would ‘embrace the white heat of technology’
who imposed a series of unpopular deflationary policies
Chancellor Selwyn Lloyd
what happened to the government in 1963
its application to join the EEC was rejected, exposing how weak Britain had become on the international stage
What did unemployment reach in 1963
800,000
what did the high unemployment do
it dented this image that Britain had ‘never had it so good’
Where was there increasing disquiet among the right of the Conservative party
over West Indian and Asian immigration to Britain, forcing the Government to pass the Commonwealth immigration act in 1962
What was the issue with the appointment of Alec Douglas-Home
he had come from the House of Lords, first to the post of foreign secretary in 1963 and then to the PM replacing Macmillan
what was ADH’s appointment based off
the ‘formal consultation’ of Cabinet ministers
what did party chairman Macleod claim
it had been an undemocratic government by a ‘magic circle’ of Old Etonians around the PM
What was the establishment factor
Macmillan and his government from 1959 seemed increasingly out of touch with the socially mobile, affluent age
How much of the Cabinet after 1959 had come from Eton
half of them
What did Macmillan do that was quite out of tune with modern democracies
Macmillan did not hesitate to use politicians from the House of Lords
What was the conservative government a big target of
political satire in theatre, radio and TV
What damaged the Conservative party image
the antiquated system which had produced Douglas-Home as PM
What undermined the 13 years the Conservatives had been in government
weariness and lack of spirit. There was less passion to undertake the necessary, less glamorous grass roots work
Which scandals undermined the image of the Conservative party’s competence
Profumo Affair
Kim Philby Affair
Vassell Affiar
what was the Vassell Affair
where John Vassell, a civil servant in the Admiralty, was caught spying for the Soviet Union
what were the statistics for the election
317 Labour MPs were elected against 304 conservatives and 9 Liberals
what had forced labour to carefully think about its future
the electoral disaster of 1959
what question began to circulate about Labour
‘can labour ever win?’
what happened in 1961 for Gaitskell
he won a conference vote on unilateral disarmament and by the time of his death in January 1963, he was in a commanding position within the party
what was labour’s campaign slogan
‘new britain’, and it fitted the public mood that it was time for a change
what did Wilson promise he would do
modernise industry, effective economic planning, scientific development and improved welfare, in order to compete with the USA and Japan
Why did Home struggle in the campaign
general dissatisfaction with the Macmillan government, as well as the circumstances of Home’s appointment, put him in a difficult position
what happened to Home during the campaign
he was heckled at numerous public meetings, including a particularly difficult one in Birmingham Rag Market a week before polling day
what was the contrast between Home and Wilson
Wilson had taught economics at Oxford, whereas Home had recently made an ill-judged joke about using matchsticks to compensate for his lack of understanding of economic matters
where did Wilson perform better than Home
on TV, although Home held eight open-air meetings a day, TV reached a much wider audience
