why did labour lose the 1951 election why did labour lose the 1951 election

These problems, however, would have been inherent to any government of Britain at the time, but the fact was, Labour were held accountable. Most significantly, Labour established the NHS in 1948, they also brought about various other reforms pertaining to welfare. Arguments within the labour party. system, Alongside the abolishment of The year 1947 brought an abrupt end to the honeymoon, as the government was forced to shift focus from massive reform to crisis management in response to fuel and trade shortages. disadvantage the Labour party however he did not postposne them The poor timing of the 1951 election can also be claimed to have weakened Labour's position. The 1983 general election marked a low point for the Labour Party. In February 1957, Labour won the seat of North Lewisham in what was their first by-election gain from the Tories in almost twenty years. The Labour Party, led by Attlee won a landslide victory and gained a majority of 145 seats. UNHAPPY PARLIAMENT, Labour majority 'Iron Curtain' and the Conservative opposition fell off quickly, however, when the popularity of the NHS became increasingly apparent following its inception in 1946. The very honesty and simplicity of the campaign helped enormously. National income had fallen by a quarter during the War, meaning that many export markets needed to be recovered lest Britain face financial ruin. response of Tory MP to Why did Labour lose in 1980s? - Socialist Worker however we spent the time on social reform. They had beaten the Conservatives by a clear 8% however in 51 they only had a 0.8% lead on the votes, as to why they didn't win after getting more votes one has to examine the first past the post system. By 1947, more than one fifth of British industry had been drawn into public ownership. Divisions over appeasement, foreign policy and rearmament deeply weakened Labour. It was not Churchill who lost the 1945 election, it was the ghost of Neville Chamberlain. A TSR George 17 I got all the reasons.but looking at the figures conservative had 13.7mil votes and labour got 13.9mil. This is considered an important factor in Labour's victory by many historians , Support for Labour in 1945 represented above all a reaction against pre-war Conservatism, argues Adelman. Their election campaign was heavily based off the idea that, if voted into power, there would be a period of consolidation after the previous years of innovation. The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held twenty months after the 1950 general election, which the Labour Party had won with a slim majority of just five seats. Ultimately, the Conservatives profited from the decreased presence of Liberal candidates as they were able to win their votes through appealing to middle class needs, more so than Labour, who was affliated with the continuation of rationing, high taxes, wage freezes and unfulfilled promises for housing. Beveridge aimed to create a minimum standard of living and full employment and believed the five evils blocking these aims and reconstruction were: Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. million if some charged could be made on Conservative opposition fell off quickly, however, when the popularity of the NHS became increasingly apparent following its inception in 1946. This people's war was very beneficial to Labour in warming people to socialist ideologies, and their belief on the war being, not just a fight against the fascist Germany, but a struggle for a prosperous post-war Britain. He set in motion key reforms to wipe out the image of the Conservative party being upper class elitists who do not understand the people that had been so prevalent in the last election. Iron and steel nationalisation Why did Labour lose the 1951 election? Flashcards | Quizlet Act. Homefront experiences had also caused a rise in support for Labour: evacuees educated many people to the realities of poverty in Britain's cities and the Blitz brought people together in communal bomb shelters and broke down social barriers. Chamberlain's actions before the war had indeed lost the Conservatives much respect and had made them look weak to many people who saw Labour as the only reliable alternative. The war had played a crucial role in Labours 1945 victory, by bringing them into the public eye - they were left effectively to their own devices to rule the homefront as Churchill struggled on with the war effort. After his 1945 defeat, Churchill remained party leader and led the Conservatives into the following general election in February 1950. In the 1992 election 11.5 million people voted Labour. We have detected that Javascript is not enabled in your browser. As he struggled to justify his November emergency budget tightening spending and committing to an exchange rate policy subservient to US demands, Dalton resigned as Chancellor. With an inadequate sense of self-renewal, the Attlee era party had little further to put before voters after 1947. 1946/47 winter which had dire food/ fuel The election result was a disaster for Labour. As Labour struggled to legislate effectively, and following another badly-handled balance of payments crisis in the summer of 1951, Attlee dissolved Parliament in September and Labour subsequently lost albeit narrowly the October election. In October 2004 Blair announced that he would seek a third term as prime minister but would not stand for a fourth term. This large Parliamentary shift, in the face of an unremarkable swing in the popular vote, can be attributed partly to Labours loss of the middle class vote. Less than half the price of our monthly plan. Churchill however made a gross error in saying that Labour would need a Gestapo like organisation to enforce socialism upon Britain. Following Cripps resignation on grounds of ill health, Hugh Gaitskell took over as Chancellor during Attlees second government. One of the major issues Labour had to face was how to rebuild Britain following the end of the Second World War, it also had to face the decolonisation of the British Empire and the loss of key figures within the party due to age and illness by 1951. This type of system naturally leads one to question the truth behind calling the Labour victory a landslide. 1947), Corelli Barnett's Audit of War criticised how What seems stingingly ironic is that in 1951 the Labour party actually received the largest percentage of the vote than any other party had in Britain's history and still lost the election. Labour Fundamentalists including Bevan wanted further reforms, specifically more nationalisation meanwhile Morrison called for party unity. The split ran deep within the Labour party and consequently it was deeply weakened, so when it came to the 1951 election, Labour found it much harder to fight against the now united Conservatives who had been re-organisation under a new leader. The need for a better post war Britain was felt amongst all classes and Labour's support of the Beveridge Report brought widespread support. in the hope of taking advantage of Churchill's huge popularity. It is at this point that the switch from socialist idealism to pragmatic consolidation might be identified as a cause of voter disaffection. In Place of Strife, prices and incomes policy etc. Labours answer focused on working class interests. Developments during the war made a considerable contribution towards the shift to the left, with more support for collectivism and rationing. however not the 6 Most obviously, because the campaigns importance is overshadowed by the larger, more influential issues. Within the Cabinet, Gaitskells decision to expand the defence budget at the expense of domestic spending enraged health minister Nye Bevan in particular, who resigned as a response to the Korean deployment. Economically the Labour government of 45-51 struggled, with the electorate all too aware of he post-war shortages, the continuing rationing, increased taxes, and the general dislike of austerity the feeling of being under the thumb of the Americans. Atlee used this as an opportunity to emphasise that although Churchill was a great wartime leader he was not such a good domestic politician. Conservative In the 1951 election, which party focused mainly on past successes? Although it did help to achieve this end, Churchills party was able to lament publicly the humiliation the government had brought upon the British currency, and at the same time place blame on the government for the continuing food scarcities and long queues. The financial strain of rearming subsequently led Gaitskell, who at this point was Chancellor of the Exchequer, threatening the idea of introducing prescription charges to the NHS (although it was not implemented until the Conservtives gained power in 1951 ). These acts included the reforms set out in the Beveridge plan, various other reforms and nationalisation. members, Alongside this was the memory from These party reforms and the reorganisation proved worthwhile, as can be seen in the 8% boost in votes. The split ran deep within the Labour party and consequently it was deeply weakened, so when it came to the 1951 election, Labour found it much harder to fight against the now united Conservatives who had been re-organisation under a new leader. legislation, Commitment to full employment and a mixed economy, Said to focus upon its previous On a high turnout Labour's tally of votes had actually increased in absolute terms (to 13.9 million, compared to 13.2 million in the 1950 cent) than the Conservatives, though the Conservatives came out ahead in seats, Although progress was initially slow on this front, one million houses were eventually built and the housing problem was eased for a while. Why did Labour lose the 1951 election? by Anoshamisa G Following the 1966 General Election, the Labour Party's Home Policy Committee observed that the party had, "for the first time, obtained a majority of the female vote" and remarked, "it would be very satisfactory if we could retain it." electricity-1948 Looking at the Labour government in these four sections of reform, of crisis, of consolidation and of division helps us to see where the party lost its huge majority. downfall 1950, Balance of Payments record: years, Once lend lease had ended in 1945 (end of Gaitskell and Morrison (Deputy Prime Minister) both doubted whether Labour would be able to defeat the Conservatives in 1951, owing to their loss of seats in the 1950 election. Firstly, the Parliamentary party was split in its loyalties to the party leadership, and cohesion within the legislature was less assured. Gaitskell 1950, Bevan failed to accept compromised proposed by time of economic downfall- seen to be short lived as by 1952 the propaganda, The view that another Labour Here you can order essay online, research paper help, assignment writing, technical writing, help with lab reports and case studies. Labour - 295 seats, Conservatives - 321 seats, Liberals - 6 seats In 1951 the Liberals put up 109 candidates, in 1945 they had put up 475. The rise and fall of New Labour - BBC News Wiki User 2009-09-25 15:23:48 Study now See answer (1) Copy the main points are: -record on nationalisation and welfare -economic problems which. In the years prior to 1959, many had expected Labour to win the next election. Sarah from CollectifbdpHi there, would you like to get such a paper? Conservatives 1 to 10, Election of 1950 On average in these 'red wall' constituencies, Labour lost about 2% to the Tories and about 7% to the Brexit Party. Labour actually gained fewer votes than in 1959, but the Conservatives lost 1.6 million votes and the Liberals gained over 1.5 million votes. Firstly, the party enacted most of its initial 1945 manifesto pledges in establishing the NHS, founding the Welfare State, and building one million new homes. regards to labours Politicians are often rejected by voters because they have failed in office. The Conservatives voted against the creation of a centralised health service in 1946, preferring rather the idea of state provision of healthcare administered at local level. Please read our, {"ad_unit_id":"App_Resource_Sidebar_Upper","resource":{"id":2798048,"author_id":348222,"title":"Why did Labour lose the 1951 election? While Labour managed to retain much working class support largely because of the role class identification was playing in determining partisan support at this time the middle class had quickly become disaffected. party opposed to the split labour, His limited standing within the House of Rather, the balance of payments problem forced the non-idealists within the leadership to face the necessary curtailing of public spending. Indeed, Robert Pearce claims it seems very unlikely indeed that the campaign was crucial. 1 He belonged to the first intake of students at the Ecole polytechnique in 1794 and went on to become an iron engineer. Although interesting they had little to do with shifting the electorate's opinions, indeed in 1945 both parties' campaigns were largely improvised. After being elected in 1945, the Labour Government introduced changes to welfare, employment and housing that would last a generation. Labour entered the 1950 election confidently, while the conservatives were uncertain of themselves, effectively a role reversal from 1945. The disadvantages and advantages of pesticides. So, at the 1950 election there was a 2.9% swing against Labour. Divisions over appeasement, foreign policy and rearmament deeply weakened Labour. This split was a key moment in the demise of Attlees government. Then, the second ministry saw a fractious Parliamentary party being further divided over the Korean War and the advancement of the National Health Service, leading up to a comfortable Tory win in the October 1951 election. Before the war, Labour were all too often seen as inexperienced and even unpatriotic due to their left wing ideologies. In 1951 more people voted Labour than Conservative, yet the Buter was key to this; promising that the Conservatives would not reverse the reforms introduced by Labour. The Labour party had suffered after 10 years in government, and their MPs had begun falling ill, some even dying. and failed to outline their The Blitz also, more obviously, caused a huge rise in support for Labour's housing development plans. The 1918 constitution that eventually emerged was a curious mix, unmatched on the continent: theoretically socialist in its commitment to public ownership via the 'old' Clause IV, but in reality gradualist, 'labourist' and in huge debt to the more conservative trade union movement. The Attlee governments of 1945 to 1951 can be divided into four key sections. In fact, Dennis Shanahan wrote in The Australian: Morrison didn't just beat Labor in this election. As Labour struggled to legislate effectively, and following another badly-handled balance of payments crisis in the summer of 1951, Attlee dissolved Parliament in September and Labour subsequently lost albeit narrowly the October election. Atlee used this as an opportunity to emphasise that although Churchill was a great wartime leader he was not such a good domestic politician. While Labour managed to retain much working class support largely because of the role class identification was playing in determining partisan support at this time the middle class had quickly become disaffected. seats 1950, By changing the timing of the election to be in 1951 rather than Granted, in 45 Labour obviously won a landslide of the seats, but a majority of 8% is far from a landslide of the votes. The Attlee governments of 1945 to 1951 can be divided into four key sections. keeping the NHS, Attractive party to businessmen Between 1948 and the election year 1950, Labour was committed to a period of tighter spending and more austere demands placed upon citizens.