Conservative political dominance: 1951-64 Flashcards
A) leadership: Winston Churchill +
Experience and credibility having led England to victory during WW1 + Expertise in international affairs-viewed himself as an international statesman
+ Deployed useful ministers in key positions, such as Eden, Butler and Macmillan
A) leadership: Winston Churchill -
Often out of the country fulfilling his role as statesman
Lacked energy as became PM aged 76 in 1951, suffered a stroke in 1953 although was kept secret from the public
Eventually stood aside to allow Eden to take up leadership of the Party
A) Leadership: Anthony Eden +
+ Experienced of practically running the country as Deputy PM during Churchill’s time in office, covering during his travels and illness
+ Most experienced in international affairs
A) Leadership: Anthony Eden -
Kept waiting for Churchill to retire for too long, arguably passed his prime when he took over
Limited experience of domestic government, especially the economy Critics mocked Eden’s administration for lacking the ‘smack of firm government’ due to his supposed weakness in dealing with the Trade Unions and also some of his cabinet colleagues (eg.
Macmillan dragging his feet about changing roles in a Cabinet reshuffle) The disastrous Suez campaign, combined with ill-health, prompted Eden’s decision to move away from politics in 1957
A) Leadership: Harold McMillion
+
Experienced a range of roles: Housing Minister, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor
+ Was initially supportive of Eden’s approach to the Suez Crisis, but his reputation was not too damaged
by the disaster + MP for Stockton in Middlesbrough, which shaped his fears around high levels of unemployment, and his position as a ‘One-Nation Tory’-(the responsibility for those who are better off to ensure the wel-being of those who are worse off)
+ Quite successful projection of an image of ‘tradition’ and reassuring experience using the new medium of the TV
A) Leadership: Harold Macmillian -
Became a target for satirists in the early 1960’s Macmillan appeared to embody ‘The Establishment’ - a very narrow group of aristocratic men who followed the traditional pathway (Eton, Oxbridge, Politics) to power
The aristocratic ‘Establishment’ dominated Macmillan’s government, with over 30/80 ministers
in some way related to the PM through marriage, emphasised the narrow and exclusive basis of
power in the minds of critics
A) Leadership: Lord Holme -
Macmillan, wearied by on-going problems with the economy, the failure of his attempts to gain UK entry to the EEC and the Profumo scandal decided to resign as Conservative Party leader in 1963, believing himself to be too unwell to continue
- The Conservative Party leadership was decided by ‘soundings’ or ‘consultations’ of senior Conservatives to see who the next leader should be. There was much support for Butler or Hailsham, but there is considerable evidence that Macmillan, from his hospital bed, manipulated proceedings so that the Earl of Home became the next leader. This continued to make it easy for the Labour Party and other critics to point out the unrepresentative nature of power in the Conservative Party.
Sir Alec Douglas Home went on to narrowly lose the 1964 election and hand power to Wilson and
the Labour Party- although perhaps the most surprising aspect is the narrow nature of Labour’s
victory considering the scandals and poor economic management of the Conservatives since 1959
B) Divisions within the labour party; Atlee
Clement Atlee continued as leader until 1955 several other Labour ministers who had played an important role in the government between 1945-1951 were ageing and in poor health.
B) Divisions within the labour party; Split in leadership
The Labour Party was also weakened by a split between Aneurin (Nye) Bevan and Hugh Gaitskell, Bevan was seen as a leader of the Left wing of the Labour Party, whereas Gaitskell was more popular among the Right wing of the Party. Gaitskell defeated Bevan in the leadership election in 1955.
B) Divisions within the labour party; Trade unions
Hostility from Trade Unions - Trade unions were often supportive of the Labour Party, but under the leadership of Frank Cousins (leader of the Transport and General Workers Union from 1956) the Labour Party faced hostile opposition over the issue of nuclear weapons. (The Unions supported unilateral disarmament.
B) Divisions within the labour party; ECC
iii) Divisions about whether Britain should join the EEC. Gaitskell followed Attlee’s lead in 1962 by arguing Britain should not join the EEC. Some in his Party criticised this stance as it did not reflect Labour as being forward thinking/progressive
D) Divisions in Labour party; Nuclear weapons
Many Labour left wingers (despite Bevan actually declaring his support for Britain’s nuclear policy in 1957) supported the CND’s campaign against nuclear weapons - this association between the Labour Party and protest against nuclear power damaged the Party in the eyes of some voters. The left wing of the Labour Party also wanted more socialist policies - eg. Commitment to more state control of the economy.
C) rising affluence
c) Increasing affluence
The general pattern of 1951-1964 was an improving picture of growing prosperity - living standards for the majority went up considerably. The Conservative administration were fortunate to have taken over in 1951 at a time when the economy
was recovering, both in the UK and in many countries globally:
C) Rising affluence when did rationing end
⚫ Rationing ended by July 1954 Birth rate increased
C) Rising affluence the workforce
Recovery in global trade after WW2 meant profits from exports and investments helped to create
jobs
1955-1% workforce unemployed, huge increases in electrical, engineering and service jobs
Pre-war slums cleared, and new towns built - eg. Kirby, Harlow. Macmillan organised building of
over 300,000 houses/year as Housing Minister Average male weekly wage increased from £8.30 in 1951 to £15.35 in 1961. The growth in real wages also increased
