political specific facts 1951-1964

Question 1

how many seats did the conservatives win in the 1951 election?

Answer 1

321

Question 2

how many seats did Labour win in the 1951 election?

Answer 2

295

Question 3

reasons for Labour defeat in 1951 (4 reasons):

Answer 3

-worn down, some ministers in office since 1940
-divisions of right and left over economic welfare and foreign policies
-trade unions thought Labour was slow to respond to workers’ demands
-labour associated with the party of austerity

Question 4

why did Churchill win the 1951 election (2 reasons)?

Answer 4

-dominated by young and bright MPs who wanted to take on the tiring Labour government
-were able to portray themselves as the party for liberty against the Labour government of central control and state centralisation

Question 5

how old was Churchill when he started his second term?

Answer 5

77

Question 6

what year did rationing end?

Answer 6

1954

Question 7

when did Elizabeth II take over as monarch?

Answer 7

1952

Question 8

when did Britain detonate their first atomic bomb?

Answer 8

1952

Question 9

when did the Korean war end?

Answer 9

1953

Question 10

who was Kim Philby?

Answer 10

a senior official in foreign office who had been passing information to the USSR and running a spy network

Question 11

reasons for Conservative dominance in these years:

Answer 11

• appeared youthful and dynamic
  -continued economic success
  -social improvements
  -Labour weaknesses

Question 12

how many ministers were sacked in the 1962 Night of Long Knives

Answer 12

7

Question 13

what did Macmillan request in 1963?

Answer 13

the party follows ‘customary processes’ and elects a new leader

Question 14

how did Home remove his peerage?

Answer 14

through the 1964 Peerage Act

Question 15

what date does Home become PM

Answer 15

16th October 1963

Question 16

the way in which party dignitaries were able to dominate Home indicated the what…

Answer 16

‘old boy network’

Question 17

who was Labour party leader 1955-1963?

Answer 17

Hugh Gaitskell

Question 18

what name represented the left hand side of the Labour Party

Answer 18

‘bevanites’

Question 19

did Gaitskell support the government during the Suez Crises?

Answer 19

no

Question 20

what side of Labour did Gaitskell represent?

Answer 20

the centre-right, he rejected trade union domination and unilateralism

Question 21

why did Labour lose the 1959 election?

Answer 21

-disagreements over ‘true character’ of the party
-disagreements over how far the party should push for socialist policies
-split over unilateralism
-uncertainty if britain should join the common market
-Labour’s policies were perceived with higher taxes
-Conservative dominated election campaign

Question 22

what did Gaitskell accuse after the 1959 election?

Answer 22

he accused the left of weakening the campaign due to demands for unilateralism

Question 23

what was Gaitskell accused of after the 1959 election?

Answer 23

straying from Labour principles by dropping nationalization as primary goal-some formed CDS

Question 24

reasons for Conservative’s fall from power (1964) (4 reasons)

Answer 24

-government scandals
-foreign policy failures
-social failures
-comparative European economic failures