Churchill's Premiership (1951-1955)

Question 1

The ‘Absentee Prime Minister’

Answer 1

• Majority of Churchill’s time in power was spent abroad or him being ill
• Too old to be more than a figurehead
• He became too old to be dealing with day-to-day business leaving Eden and Macmillan to fulfil those roles
• Mainly took part in foreign policy
• Became incapacitated by a stroke in 1953 that was only known to very few of his trusted colleagues, e.g. Queen Elizabeth II

Question 2

Churchill and the Welfare State
(NHS)

Answer 2

• Accepted the welfare state due to Butler advising him to
• Kept in safe hands with Tory rule
• New Minister of Health, Ian Macleod, was not inclined to alter Nye Bevan’s achievements
• He tried to fight for more money for hospitals after recognising they need modernising but found himself in a queue very much behind housing

Question 3

Churchill’s (Rab Butler’s)
Economic Policy

Answer 3

• Trying to maintain full employment while achieving economic growth at the same time
• Expanding the welfare state
• Keeping Britain’s heavily committed military defence programme (included the costly Korean War)
• Developing a nuclear weapons programme
• Butler also faced same problems as Labour: Britain was heavily in debt as a result of wartime borrowing causing a severe balance of payments deficit

Question 4

Churchill and Education

Answer 4

• Education policy essentially remained the same
• 1944 Education Act created by Rab Butler
• Government lacked when it came to education spending
• Tended to get pushed to the back of the queue for money behind housing, health and defence spending

Question 5

Churchill &
Nationalised Industries

Answer 5

• No great attempt to reverse nationalisation despite huge complaints from Tory Party during the General Election (1950-1951)
• Steel and iron industries were largely denationalised in 1953
• Remaining industries stayed in public hands

Question 6

Churchill & Industrial
Relations

Answer 6

• Most obvious area were ‘Post-War Consensus’ remained was in the Conservatives attitude to the trade unions
• Churchill was anxious to avoid the impression of ‘trade union bashing’, a policy he had become associated with in 1926 during the General Strike
• There was to be no use of troops to break unofficial strikes such as Atlee had used in 1949
  Trade union membership steadily increased throughout this period

Question 7

Churchill &
Housing Policy

Answer 7

• Wanted to outperform Labour
• Promised to build 300,000 new homes per year which was not met by Atlee
• 1952-1953: Ministry of Housing achieved and even exceeded their goal
• Partly achieved by lowering the high standards set under Bevan by making the houses smaller