internal labour divisions

Question 1

Labour Party only narrowly lost the 1951 election. how many votes did they gain?

Answer 1

14 million actually larger than any of labour’s previous election victories

Question 2

many labour activists believed?

Answer 2

they would soon return to power

Question 3

Attlee continued as leader until 1955

Answer 3

but great wartime generation of labour leaders aging + poor health

Question 4

key figures in split?

Answer 4

Aneurin Bevan and hugh gaitskell- split seriously harmed the effectiveness of labour’s opposition to the conservative government in 1950s

Question 5

Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960)

Answer 5

minister of Health in Attlee gov- architect of nhs
-bevan resigned from the government in 1951 to protest against the introduction of prescription charges, gained the support of many MPs and trade unionists

Question 6

Hugh Gaitskell (1906-63)

Answer 6

the chancellor of the Exchequer from 1950 to 1951, introduced prescription charges. right of labour party became leader in 1955, defeating Bevan in the election
-attempted to reform labour party but was successful

Question 7

left-wingers wanted the Labour Party to be?

Answer 7

more socialist

Question 7

initially, Bevan opposed Britain developing nuclear weapons but in 1957 he announced?

Answer 7

his opposition to unilateral nuclear disarmament

Question 8

unilateral nuclear disarmament

Answer 8

the policy of renouncing the use and possession of nuclear weapons without waiting for any international consultation or agreement

Question 9

many left-wingers joined what campaign?

Answer 9

campaign for nuclear disarmament (CND), links between CND and Labour Party may well have turned some voters away from labour

Question 10

in 1956 which left-winger became the leader of one of the most powerful unions + What was this called?

Answer 10

Frank Cousins became leader of TGWU(transport and General workers union)- cousins led fierce opposition to Gaitskell over Britain’s nuclear weapons

Question 11

labour entered the 1959 election campaign with some optimism why

Answer 11

Gaitskell was a confident and effective campaigner, promoting modern policies that Labour thought would be popular with voters
-extent of defeat=disappointemnt

Question 12

at the 1959 conference just before the general election what idea did Gaitskell put forward?

Answer 12

abolishing clause IV–> the clause that committed the party to nationalisation

Question 13

why was the Scarborough conference of 1960 a legend in Labour’s history?

Answer 13

because of Hugh Gaitskell’s emotional speech when trying to convince the conference to reject unilateral nuclear disarmament

Question 14

after 1960 labour party

Answer 14

-appeared more united
-cultural shifts in country made public more critical of conservative government by the beginning of 1960s

Question 15

death of Hugh Gaitskell in 1963 opened the way for labour to elect?

Answer 15

Harold Wilson as leader