The 1945 General Election Why did Labour win the 1945 General Election?

The 1945 General Election

Why did Labour win the 1945 General Election?

Pre-1945

• During wartime Britain was governed by a war cabinet which included both Labour and Conservative politicians.

• The Labour leader Clement Attlee, Ernest Bevin and Hugh Dalton were in the war cabinet

Why did Labour win the 1945 General Election?

Winston Churchill

Holding an election too soon after the war

The Labour election manifesto

Complacency

Gestapo speech (Campaign Errors)

Holding an election too soon after the war

• The Conservative Party usually had the advantage of being a well oiled ‘party machine’

• In 1945, under unusual circumstances and with many people still in uniform, this machine was unable to function properly

Complacency

• Many Conservatives believed a grateful nation would automatically ‘thank’ Churchill; they underrated Labour’s chances

The Labour election manifesto

• This was far more forward thinking and appealing than the Conservative manifesto

Winston Churchill

• Churchill was not as big an asset as many might have expected

• Many voters associated him with the nation as a whole and not with the Conservative Party

• He was also seen as a war leader, not the right man for peacetime reconstruction

• A large percentage of armed service personnel voted Labour

Gestapo speech (Campaign Errors)

• Churchill lost many votes through his Gestapo speech.

• He unwisely tried to scare voters with the idea that voting Labour would mean a totalitarian state control and a secret police.

• Listen to the speech

Why did Labour win the 1945 General Election?

Winston Churchill

Holding an election too soon after the war

The Labour election manifesto

Complacency

Gestapo speech (Campaign Errors)

Which factor was most important?Which factor was least important?

This can be easily remembered as...

W

H

T

C

G

This can be easily remembered as...

Where

Have

The

Conservatives

Gone?

Questions

1. What type of cabinet was in place during the Second World War?

2. What was unusual about the cabinet?

3. Who was the leader of the Conservative party during the 1945 election?

4. Who was the leader of the Labour party during the 1945 election?

5. What was Churchill’s speech attacking Labour known as?

6. Why was 1945 a bad time to fight an election?

7. Name on promise of the Labour election manifesto

8. What sort of leader was Churchill seen as?

9. What party did a large percentage of army personnel vote for?

10.What is an easy way to remember the factors explaining why Labour won in 1945?