Macmillan's Premiership (1957-1963)

Question 1

The 1959 Election
(Conservative Win)

Answer 1

• Continuing post-war boom, consumer prosperity and confidence during the age of affluence
• Economic recovery by 1959 coincided with £370 million in tax cuts
• Conservative recovery from Suez and ability to manage splits within the party
• Demographic change with 40% of manual workers (typical Labour voters) now considered themselves middle-class
• Conservative had 49.5% of the votes whereas Labour only had 43.8%, Conservative won by a larger majority

Question 2

The 1959 Election
(Labour Loss)

Answer 2

• Labour’s popularity suffered due to the rise of industrial disputes in the 1950s
• Right and left wing splits over the issue of nuclear deterrents and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament that would lead to the Aldermaston Marches
• September 1958: Conservative had moved ahead of Labour in the opinion polls
• Labour’s election campaign was generally effective but it was not enough to get them to win
• Gaitskell made a mistake by declaring that Labour would not raise taxes if they came back into power, however they also pledged to increase spending; especially pensions
• Gaitskell argued that revenue would be provided by economic growth but some voters doubted him
• This is generally seen as their key reason for defeat

Question 3

Macmillan’s Elitism
(Grouse-Moore Tory)

Answer 3

• Macmillan came from a wealthy and upper-class family
• He was half-Scottish and half-American
• As well as being known as ‘Supermac’ he was also known as a ‘Grouse-Moore Tory’
• His original Cabinet contained 6 Etonians and all but 2 of the rest had attended another major public school
• There were no women in his cabinet
• The wider government was stuffed with Macmillan’s relatives through marriage
• In early 1958, 35/85 government members had fell into this category, as did 7/19 Cabinet members
• This led to accusations of nepotism

Question 4

‘Supermac’
(Macmillan’s personality
& media appeal)

Answer 4

• ‘Supermac’ was a 1958 cartoon image of Macmillan which became an enduring nickname for him
• His personality had flair and he was popular with the public
• Macmillan had an elegant style, a mastery of TV media, a good grasp of party politics
• He was very at home with foreign affairs in which he was easily able to outshine Labour’s Gaitskell
• Macmillan became widely known as ‘Supermac’ which was given to him by the ‘Evening Standard’ cartoonist

Question 5

Macmillan’s Economy
(‘Never had it so good’)

Answer 5

• Economic conditions were steadily improving in the 1950s and there was greater personal prosperity
• Macmillan gave a famous speech in Bedford, July 1957 about the rising of the country’s economy in which he uses the phrase, “never had it so good”
• Conservatives claimed to be the ‘party of economic competence’ where Labour was the party of ‘rationing’, ‘austerity’, and ‘devaluation’ of the pound
• Increased car ownership, better household goods and greater leisure opportunties
• Continued policies of the Post-War Consensus
• ‘Stop-Go’ economic policies were used to the extremes of inflation and deflation
• Average weekly wages increased, e.g. average male worker 1951: £8.30-1964: £18.35

Question 6

Macmillan’s 1963
EEC Bid

Answer 6

• 1961: Macmillan made the decision that Britain’s future lay with Europe and joining the European Economic Community
• Plans for entry into the new EEC were set back when French President General De Gaulle said no to Britain’s application in January 1963
• The failure to be accepted in 1963 was a huge blow
• Devastated, Macmillan wrote in his diary: “all our policies at home and abroad are in ruins”

Question 7

Macmillan’s Night of
Long Knives

Answer 7

• Balance of payments crisis (1962)
• Prompted Macmillan into a radical re-shuffle of his cabinet in which 1/3 of his cabinet were sacked, including the Chancellor, Selwyn Loyd
• Generally accepted that Macmillan’s re-shuffle was mishandled and did serious damage to both Macmillan and the Conservative Party

Question 8

Macmillan’s Government
Spy Scandals

Answer 8

George Blake Spy Scandal (1961):
- Blake was a spy for MI6 and worked as a double agent for the USSR
- He became a communist and decided to work for the Soviet Intelligence whilst he was a prisoner during the Korean War
- He was discovered in 1961 and was sentenced to 42 years in prison
- He escaped from Wornwood Scrubs Prison in 1966 and fled to the USSR

John Vassal Spy Scandal (1962):
- Vassal was a homosexual clerk who worked at the Admiralty
- He was photographed at a gay sex party in Moscow by the KGB (Soviets) and was uncovered as a spy
- Vassal was a conspicuous consumer yet no-one ever questioned where his money came from
- There was much speculation about a wider homosexual and traitorous network, this time involving ministers too

The Profumo Affair (1963):
- A sex scandal involving sex, lies and spies
- Led to the resignation of Defence Secretary, John Profumo
- Profumo was having an affair with an escort called Christine Keeler
- Keeler was also involved with a Soviet military attaché who was actually a spy called Sergei Ivanov