Why did the Labour Party win the 1964 election? Flashcards
When Macmillan resigned in 1963 what was the opinion poll lead of Labour and the approval rating of Wilson?
12% and 60%
What was the result of the October 1964 election?
The Conservatives won 12 million votes and 304 seats
Labour won 12.2 million votes and 317 seats
How many seats did the Conservatives lose?
61
How many votes did Labour lose?
10,000
What did Labour appear to be but what was the case?
Much more united than it had been in either 1955 or 1959 but their divisions over nuclear weapons, Europe, and nationalism had not disappeared
What was Wilson able to do?
Gloss over the divisions by presenting the party as modern, dynamic, and progressive
What did the manifesto promise?
Faster economic growth and full employment
Improved welfare and health services
Better housing
Comprehensive education
What did Wilson pledge?
To create a ‘Britain that is going to be forged in the white heat of this revolution’
What did Wilson personify?
A new, progressive Britain in which talented people from humble backgrounds succeed
What did he stress and how?
How different he was from the old Etonians who led the Tory Party by cultivating his image as a person of the people
What did he appear to be?
The kind of classless professional the country needed to tackle its economic difficulties
What did voters blame the Conservatives for, what did the Tories not seem to have, and what did Labour claim?
The growing economic problems
Answers to the problems of rising unemployment, inflation, industrial unrest, and the growing disparity in wealth between the regions of Britain
That the Tories had presided over ‘thirteen wasted years’
What did the Conservatives seem and why?
Out of touch with a modern democratic society:
Douglas-Home was an aristocrat and at 60 years old he appeared no match for the 47-year old Wilson
Tories were implicated in ‘sex scandals’
What was the electorate given the impression of?
That the Tories were an old-fashioned, self-indulgent elite
Who benefited from the growing unpopularity of the Conservatives and why?
The Liberals because many middle-class voters were not prepared to vote for the Labour party
Where was this shown?
In the by-election result in Orpington in 1962, when a Conservative majority of 14,700 was overturned by the Liberal candidate who won with a majority of 7850
What did the Liberal revival bring them and what were they able to do?
More publicity, increased funding, and talented recruits
Contest 365 seats compared with 216 in 1959
What was the outcome of the election for the Liberals and what did they help to do?
Gained only three more seats but almost doubled their vote to 3 million
Hand victory to Labour in many seats: Dover, Wellingborough, and Bolton East
What encouraged more liberal attitudes?
The cultural changes of the decade
What did grammar schools give?
Bright pupils from underprivileged backgrounds unprecedented opportunities to enter universities and careers
What did grammar schools create?
A climate in which people aspired to create a new, modern, classless Britain run with professional competence
How did Labour benefit?
The party was significantly more popular with voters under the age of 44
How would the Conservatives have won the election?
If 900 voters in eight constituencies had voted Tory or not voted at all
What does the outcome of the election suggest?
That the election was more a rejection of the Conservatives than an endorsement of Labour
What was whittled away?
The opinion poll lead that Labour had enjoyed at the Profumo scandal in June 1963, when they were 20% ahead of the Tories
How does the leadership of Douglas-Home explain the close victory?
He turned out to be a more effective prime minister than many expected
He appeared modest, decent, and trustworthy, while Wilson had a reputation for being cunning
What did Reginald Maudling do in 1963?
Cut taxes in the budget
What was the impact of the tax cut?
The cuts contributed to a trade deficit of £800 million
Earnings rose and the number of employed people dropped from almost 900,000 in February 1963 to 300,000 by July 1964
The Conservatives enjoyed a 4% lead in September and 3.6% in October (Daily Express)
What did many voters distrust and what was the impact?
Labour and its links to the trade unions
Strikes against the government’s pay policies reduced its support
How do attitudes to Labour explain the close victory?
The party’s internal divisions had not been fully resolved, and middle-class voters disliked its commitment to nationalism
Some voters doubted their ability to handle crises, especially international problems
Where did the party fare less well?
In some working-class areas in the Midlands where the Conservatives picked up votes because of immigration
What was the result in Smethwick?
The Conservative candidate, who ran an overtly racist campaign, succeeded in turning a 3500 Labour majority into a Tory victory by 1700 votes
