Conservative Domination 1951 - 64 booklet 1 Flashcards
- Reasons for the Conservative victory 1951 - social changes, immigration, unrest, social mobility and tensions, education, living standards, housing, prosperity and unemployment; - Tory econ. policies: Butskellism, industrial growth and stagflation - Leadership of Churchill, Eden, Macmillan and Home - scandals including the Vassall affair, Philby, Argyll and Profumo - reasons for Conservative decline - Labour leadership, divisions and electoral failures of the Labour Party
What were the Results of the 1951 election?
Atlee’s Labour Govt. polled higher that the Tories yet received fewer seats (391 to 295)
Conservative Strengths = 1951 victory
- 1950 had reorganised the structure & policies of the party - in a stronger position to challenge Labour
- promised to build 300,000 new homes per yr to combat the housing crisis
- Churchill’s status as war hero - v. v. popular with the British public
Labour Weaknesses = 1951 victory
- difficulty dealing w the post war economy - associated with austerity, high taxation & food rationing only ending in ‘54
- internal divisions between the right and left wings of the party = incompetent as they fought over decisions
- backtracked on promises by charging for free nhs services
Despite weaknesses remaining in the party, Labour still won more votes than the Tories indicating they were still a popular choice. Thus electoral system = most important in securing conservative victory
FPTP electoral system = 1951 victory (MOST IMPORTANT)
- 1945 only needed 30,000 votes for a seat, by 1951 inc. to 47,000
- boundary changes meant seats were unevenly distributed so Labour needed 2% more of pop. vote to get same no. seats as tories
- decline of Lib. party - many ex-lib. voters turned to tories, helping them win labour seats
What were stop-go policies?
economic policy of reaction to economic developments rather than developing an actual strategy that would lead to consistent growth
What is stagflation?
a period in which inflation remains or increases whilst industrial output declines = slow econ growth.
What is Butskellism?
The Government simply deals with the economic issues they face rather than creating an actual economic plan
Evidence that ppl were increasingly well off under the Tories
- 500% rise in car ownership demonstrating increased purchasing power of the public
- housing boom - 44% ownership by ‘64
- 300000 housing pledge = creates more jobs
so ultimately the country was increasingly well off as stop-go policies led to a consumer boom although this was a by product of inflation and didn’t guarantee l-t growth
Evidence to challenge the claim that people were increasingly well off as a result of Tory econ policies
- rent act abolished rent controls = rents increased, harder for ppl to afford
- stop - go policy didn’t allow for a coherent l-t growth plan
- overall trend of increasing unemployment, by ‘64 = 501000
- industry = expanding but production costs v high & goods expensive
Who were the 4 Tory leaders between 1951-64?
- Winston Churchill (1951-55) won the 1951 election
- Anthony Eden (1955-57) won the 1955 election
- Harold Macmillan (1957-63) won the 1959 election
- Alec Douglas-Home (1963-64) lost the 1964 election
Conservative Leadership: Churchill
- 1951 Churchill js a figurehead as Butler running the party esp. in ‘53 when he has a stroke & was scarcely missed
- however did somewhat sustain power & support due to war time status
Conservative Leadership: Eden
- immediately called an election = incr. tory maj. bc of his personal appeal & Butler’s work
- undermined by Suez Crisis in ‘56 –> condemned globally!!
- 3 months after Eden stood down & mood v. anti-tory
Conservative Leadership: Macmillan
-won the ‘59 election and increased the Conservative majority to 100.
- fortunate to preside over a period of growing prosperity, but in his later years in office, his personal appeal to the electorate played a crucial role.
- won support for his numerous appearances on television, turned the satirist image ‘super-mac’ to his advantage and stated that Britain had ‘never had it so good’.
However, not all this success should be attributed to Macmillan, Butler (as Home Secretary), changed the appearance of the party, with things such as the Homicide Act.
- 1959 election was the high point for Macmillan.
CL: Macmillan (neg.)
After 1959 elections, things went downhill:
- By 1961, a balance of trade deficit was a sign of a downturn in the economy as the country was important more than it was exporting
- By 1962, unemployment was rising and the number of days lost to strike was increasing.
- reshuffled his cabinet in July 1962, he sacked 7 cabinet ministers and 9 other ministers. compared to ‘the Night of the Long Knives’ and gained Macmillan the nickname ‘Mac the Knife’. = opinion polls showed that the popularity of the Tories was falling
Conservative Leadership:
Alec Douglas Home
- not chosen by the public, chosen by Macmillan = brought a man of aristocratic background to power, viewed as out of touch with the ordinary people. This made it clear the Conservatives were still routed in the past.
- resentment among some MP’s, Enoch Powell and Iain Macleod refused to serve under Douglas-Home.
- also faced a new dynamic Labour under the youthful leadership of Harold Wilson. It was no shock that Labour won the 1964 election, however the narrowness of Labour’s victory was a shock.
What occurred in 1958?
