Chapter 1: Conservative Governments Flashcards
What percentage of votes did the Conservatives win in the 1951 election?
48%
What percentage of votes did Labour win in the 1951 election?
48.8%
How many seats did the Conservatives win in the 1951 election?
321
How many seats did Labour win in the 1951 election?
295
How did many Labour politicians view Churchill?
as a tired old force who would struggle with the intense economic difficulties that Britain faced
What was Churchill’s reputation when he became Prime Minister in 1951?
for leading wartime Britain to victory
What year did Churchill suffer a serious stroke?
1953
What was the result of Churchill’s stroke?
left him with impaired speech
Why was Churchill seemingly inactive as a domestic politician?
-age and illness
-regarded himself as an international statesmen rather than a domestic politician
What did Churchill believe his key priority was as Prime Minister?
help ensure no new conflict broke out- especially due to the danger of nuclear war
What were Churchill’s main flaws as Prime Minister?
-believed he was above party politics
-attempted to persuade Liberals to join his Cabinet
-used non Conservative peers to oversee ministries
Why did Churchill appoint Butler as Chancellor despite him not being an economist?
believed he would work well with Parliament and trade unions and void any social or industrial conflict
Why were Conservatives who were critical of the PWC given limited roles in Churchill’s cabinet?
-Churchill was seen as liberal
-he wished to avoid controversy with his appointments
Why were there tensions in Churchill’s government?
-Butler/Eden/Macmillan did not get on well
-Eden, as heir apparent, frequently became impatient waiting for Churchill to step down
What % of votes did the Conservatives win in the 1955 election?
49.7%
What percentage of votes did Labour win in the 1955 election?
46.4%
How many seats did the Conservatives win in the 1955 election?
345
How many seats did Labour win in the 1955 election?
277
Why were some of the Conservatives voicing disquiet about Eden’s leadership?
-previous political experience was primarily in foreign policy (little interest or knowledge on domestic issues)
-unhappy with his lack of experience
-he was anxious about decision making
-he was conscious about his lack of knowledge on economic issues
-he aimed to prevent industrial conflict which led to criticism he was too concilatory with trade unions
Give an example of how Eden’s weakness as leader was shown?
-attempted to move Macmillan from foreign office to treasury in October 1955
-Macmillan did not want to move and managed to delay it until December
Why did the 1956 Suez Crisis damage Eden’s reputation?
-diplomatic and military fiasco
-turning point for Britain’s illusions of imperial power
-political crisis
-Eden came heavy attack from Labour party and some of the national press e.g. Manchester Guardian- accused of lying to the H of C
How did the Suez Crisis cause problems within the Conservative Party?
-colonial minister, Anthony Nutting, resigned
-rebellion by nearly 40 Conservative MPs
-chief whip, Edward Heath, was strongly opposed to Eden’s actions
-pressure from the USA exposed Britain’s financial weakness
Why was Macmillan chosen as Eden’s predecessor?
-more popular than Butler in Eden’s cabinet
-seen as a safe choice and had few enemies
What % of votes did the Conservatives win in the 1959 election?
48.8%
