Conservative Domination 1951 - 64 booklet 1

Question 1

Results of the 1951 election

Answer 1

Atlee’s Labour Govt. polled higher that the Tories yet received fewer seats (391 –>295)

Question 2

Conservative Strengths = 1951 victory

Answer 2

• 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

Question 3

Labour Weaknesses = 1951 victory

Answer 3

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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

Question 4

FPTP electoral system = 1951 victory (MOST IMPORTANT)

Answer 4

• 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

Question 5

Why were the Tories able to dominate for so long?

Question 8

What is Butskellism?

Answer 8

The Government simply deals with the economic issues they face rather than creating an actual economic plan

Question 9

Conservative Leadership: Churchill

Answer 9

• ## 1951 Churchill js a figurehead as Butler running the party esp. in ‘53 when he has a stroke & scarcely missed

Question 9

Who were the 4 Tory leaders between 1951-64?

Answer 9

• 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

Question 10

Conservative Leadership: Eden

Answer 10

• immediately called an election = inc. tory maj. bc of his personal appeal & Butler’s work
• undermined by Suez Crisis in ‘56 –> condemned
• 3 months after Eden stood down & mood v. anti-tory

Question 11

Conservative Leadership: Macmillan

Answer 11

Macmillan won the 1959 election and increased the Conservative majority to 100.
He was 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.

He won support for his numerous appearances on television, and he 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. The 1959 election was the high point for Macmillan.

Question 12

CL: Macmillan (neg.)

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Alec Douglas Home

Answer 13

• not chosen by the public, chosen by Macmillan = brought a man of aristocratic background to power, who was 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.