Conservative Governments 1951-64 - Chapter 1 Flashcards
What was Winston Churchill’s early life like?
-Born 30th November 1874.
-Died 24 January 1965.
-Born into the aristocratic Spencer family.
-Educated in Harrow and the Royal Military College.
-He was a reporter and soldier in the Second Boer War (1899-1902)
-He was responsible for the gallipoli campaign in WW1.
What was Winston Churchill’s early political career like?
-He was first elected as Conservative MP in 1900.
-He was made President of the Board of Trade in 1908.
-He was made Secretary of State for the Colonies in 1921.
-Churchill was Chancellor between 1924-29.
-Churchill opposed Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement of Hitler.
What was Churchill’s first term as Prime Minister like?
-He did not give into Nazi demands for surrender.
-He spearheaded operation Dynamo, the Battle of Britain and D-Day.
-He was partly responsible for the defeat of Hitler, though Britain was forced into rationing.
What was Churchill’s second term like? (1951-55)
-He appointed Harold Macmillan as Housing Minister, building 300,000 new houses.
-Churchill strengthened the Special Relationship.
-He continued British efforts in Korea.
-As he was becoming older, the stress of the job necessitated him rarely visiting the House of Commons.
What was Anthony Eden’s early life like?
-Born 12th June 1897 in Durham.
-Died 14th January 1977.
-Educated at Eton College and Christ Church at Oxford.
-He volunteered with his brother, who was killed, in WWI, serving on the Western Front.
What was Eden’s political career before becoming Prime Minister like?
-He was a member of the Conservatives.
-He first served in the Foreign Office, serving as Foreign Secretary three times during WW2 and the Cold War.
What was Eden’s time as Prime Minister like? (1955-57)
-He called a general election after taking power in 1955 increasing the Conservative majority from 17 to 60 with 49.7% of the popular vote.
-He was an anxious decision maker and conscious of his lack of economic knowledge.
-His weakness as leader was exemplified when he tried moving Macmillan from the Foreign Office to the Treasury, delayed by 2 months.
-He decided to take action in the Suez Canal in 1956, ending in disaster and forcing him to resign under pressure from the international community.
-He left areas he had little expertise in like domestic and economic policy to Rab Butler.
What was Harold Macmillan’s early life like?
-Born 10th February 1894 in London.
-Died 29th December 1986 in Sussex.
-Half-American son of a publisher.
-Educated at Eton and Balliol College.
-Served in both world wars.
What was Harold Macmillan’s early political career like?
-He was made Minister of Housing in 1951, then Minister of Defence, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor.
-He was a One Nation Conservative.
-He was MP for Stockton-On Tees in the 1930s.
What was Harold Macmillan’s time as Prime Minister like?
-He restored the economy after Eden’s disastrous invasion of Suez and the Run on the Pound.
-He held a General Election in October 1959, extending the Conservative majority to 100 seats.
-He was great at economic planning and modernising.
-Under his leadership, the UK was considered prosperous socially and economically.
-Internationally, he led the UK through the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Cold War at large.
-He repaired damage to the Special relationship from Suez.
-Made the ‘winds of change’ speech in South Africa, beginning widespread decolonisation in the British Empire.
-Helped sign and negotiate the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
-Applied for EEC membership but rejected by De Gaulle’s veto.
Why did Harold Macmillan resign as PM?
-Scandals like the Cambridge 5 and the John Profumo affair with Christine Keeler revealed corruption in his cabinet and government.
-He shuffled around cabinet ministers, doing little to refresh the government.
What was Alec Douglas-Home’s early life like?
-Born 2nd July 1903 in Mayfair, London.
-Died 9th October 1995.
-He attended Eton and Oxford University and graduated with a third class BA.
What was Alec Douglas-Home’s early political career like?
-He entered Parliament in 1931 as a Conservative MP for Lanark.
-He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Neville Chamberlain.
-He was severely ill during WW2 and lost his seat in the 1945 Election.
-He became the 14th Earl of Home, entering the House of Lords.
-He became Foreign Secretary in 1959.
What was Alec Douglas-Home’s time as Prime Minister like? (1963-64)
-He gave up his peerage on October 23rd and won a seat on November 7th 1963.
-He then became Prime Minister.
-He took a more free market approach.
-The resale pirce maintenance, fixing prices goods, was abolished.
-He was tough on trade unions.
-He introduced the election process for the Conservative Party.
-He was only in power for 363, losing the 1964 election to Labour under Harold Wilson.
-He convinced Macleod and Enoch Powell to rejoin the Conservatives.
What did Alec Douglas-Home do after losing the 1964 election?
He served as Foreign Secretary in Edward Heath’s cabinet between 1970 and 74.
