Chapter 1

Question 1

Who won the 1951 election in the UK?

Answer 1

The Conservative Party, led by Winston Churchill.

Question 2

Which party was defeated in the 1951 election?

Answer 2

The Labour Party, led by Clement Attlee.

Question 3

What electoral system was used in the 1951 election?

Answer 3

The first-past-the-post electoral system.

Question 4

What was the outcome of the 1951 election despite Labour winning most votes?

Answer 4

The majority of MPs elected were Conservatives.

Question 5

How long did the Conservative Party remain in power after the 1951 election?

Answer 5

Until 1964.

Question 6

What is the term for the continuities in policies between Labour and Conservative governments from 1945-64?

Answer 6

The post-war consensus.

Question 7

Who was the Prime Minister from 1951 to 1955?

Answer 7

Winston Churchill.

Question 8

Who succeeded Churchill as Prime Minister in 1955?

Answer 8

Anthony Eden.

Question 9

Who was the Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963?

Answer 9

Harold Macmillan.

Question 10

Who was the Prime Minister from 1963 to 1965?

Answer 10

Alec Douglas-Home.

Question 11

What was one strength of Winston Churchill as a leader?

Answer 11

Reputation from wartime leadership.

Question 12

What was a notable strength of Anthony Eden?

Answer 12

Foreign policy expert.

Question 13

What was a key strength of Harold Macmillan?

Answer 13

Good on TV.

Question 14

What was one weakness of Conservative leaders during this period?

Answer 14

Uninterested in domestic affairs.

Question 15

What is Butskellism?

Answer 15

The policy agreement between the Conservative and Labour parties, named after R.A.B. Butler and Hugh Gaitskell.

Question 16

What was a key feature of the post-war consensus?

Answer 16

Support for NHS and welfare system.

Question 17

What was a significant domestic policy achievement of the Conservatives?

Answer 17

House-building programme to build 300,000 houses a year by 1953.

Question 18

What system continued in education after the Butler Act of 1944?

Answer 18

Continuation of the tripartite system: grammar schools, technical high schools, secondary schools.

Question 19

What social reforms were funded during this period?

Answer 19

Welfare and NHS continued to be funded.

Question 20

What acts indicated government regulation in social reforms?

Answer 20

Clean Air Act 1956, Factory Act 1959.

Question 21

What were some more liberal social reforms during this time?

Answer 21

Homicide Act 1957, Wolfenden Report 1957.

Question 22

Which key industries remained nationalised?

Answer 22

Only iron and steel were denationalised in 1953.

Question 23

What was the attitude towards trade unions?

Answer 23

A conciliatory attitude towards trade unions.

Question 24

What was the Labour Party’s stance on prescription charges?

Answer 24

Left: None - NHS to be free at the point of delivery.

Question 25

What does Clause IV refer to in the Labour Party’s constitution?

Answer 25

It committed the party to public ownership of major industries.

Question 26

What was the Labour Party’s stance on nuclear weapons?

Answer 26

Wholly supportive of nationalisation; many supported unilateral disarmament.

Question 27

Who succeeded Gaitskell as leader of the Labour Party?

Answer 27

Harold Wilson, seen as a unifying figure.

Question 28

What contributed to the Conservatives’ fall from power by 1964?

Answer 28

Social change, Douglas-Home’s unelected status, and satire targeting the government.

Question 29

What was the outcome of the 1964 election?

Answer 29

Labour Party won with a majority of 4.

Question 30

What were the internal divisions within the Labour Party?

Answer 30

Divisions between the left (Bevan) and right (Gaitskell) of the party.

Question 31

What was Gaitskell’s position on financial pressures regarding prescription charges?

Answer 31

Right: It was necessary to introduce charges to respond to financial pressures.

Question 32

What was the Labour Party’s stance on unilateral disarmament?

Answer 32

Right: Against unilateral disarmament.

Question 33

What significant events marked the Labour administration from 1945-51?

Answer 33

Division broke out between Bevan and Gaitskell, setting up ongoing rivalry.

Question 34

What happened at the 1959 Labour Party conference regarding Clause IV?

Answer 34

Gaitskell tried to amend it but backed down in the face of opposition from the Left.

Question 35

What motion was passed at the 1960 Labour Party conference?

Answer 35

Support for unilateral disarmament.

Question 36

What was Gaitskell’s action regarding disarmament at the 1961 conference?

Answer 36

He managed to have the unilateral disarmament motion reversed.

Question 37

What were the main reasons for Conservative dominance from 1951-64?

Answer 37

Strength of leaders, popularity of policies, and weak opposition from Labour.

Question 38

What factors contributed to the Conservatives losing the 1964 election?

Answer 38

Scandals, economic concerns, and rejection of EEC membership.

Question 39

What were specific scandals that affected the Conservatives?

Answer 39

The Profumo affair and spy scandals involving Blake and Vassell.

Question 40

What economic issues were growing concerns for the Conservatives?

Answer 40

‘Stop-go economics’, balance of payments, inflation.

Question 41

What leadership issues did Macmillan face?

Answer 41

Ill-health and the ‘Night of the Long Knives’.