Section 3 - The Fall of the Conservatives

• After their third successful election in a row in 1959, the Conservatives were looking out of touch.
• The quality of Tory leadership was ageing and did not represent a "New Britain".
• Tories were born into wealth and women were missing from the Tory government.
• Satirists mocked leading figures by presenting them to be ridiculous.
• The Vassall Affair scandal rocked the government because of John Vassall being blackmailed to spy for the Soviets.
• Agent Kim Philby fled to the USSR in 1963 because he passed on sensitive information and it reflected badly.
• In 1962, Macmillan sacked a third of his Cabinet in what would become known as the Night of the Long Knives to try and introduce young people into government.
• The Profumo Affair took place in 1963 and was a scandal involving Minister of War, John Profumo and Christine Keeler.
• Profumo was found to be sleeping with Christine Keeler who was also sleeping with a Soviet spy.
• Profumo's lying to Parliament over the affair about sleeping with Keeler made the government look ridiculous.
• Macmillan retired in 1963 and he was replaced by Douglas-Home.
• The 1950s saw a decline of deference in the government.
• University students set up satirical reviews due to a lack of deference with "Beyond the Fringe" being one particular example.
• Some satirists moved their reviews to the West End of London with Peter Cook being an example of this.
• That Was The Week That Was was a satirical programme that first appeared in 1962 and it was presented by David Frost. However, it was cancelled as voters might have been too influenced.
• Butler and Hailsham were the two most eligible candidates for the leadership in 1963 but Douglas-Home was chosen as a compromise.
• The election method of the Conservatives to find their new leader made them look out of touch to the public.
• Labour and Harold Wilson won the 1964 election and spoke of a "white heat" in terms of scientific development.
• Labour seemed to be more in tune in terms of modernity than the Conservatives.