The 1951 election

• What was the legacy of 45-51?

  • Keynesian economic policies
  • Welfare state based on Beveridge report
  • State control of industry
  • Education based on equality
  • Pro-American foreign policy
  • Empire still important
• What did the Labour manifesto include?

  • Peace - Strengthen collective defences and more attention shall be given to developed regions of the world
  • Full employment production - stimulate production at home and expand exports - develop new sources and raw materials particularly within commonwealth - start new pubic enterprises
  • Cost of living - lower and more stable prices and extend and strengthen price controls
  • Social Justice - extend policies in giving all young people equal opportunity
• The Conservative manifesto?

  Foster commerce within the empire

  Support rearmament programme taken on by the socialist government

  Impose a form on excess tax

  Stop all further nationalisation

  Coal remains nationalised

  Iron and steel are respected

  Rail and road transport will be more regional not national

  Industries remaining nationalised will be under the preview of the motoplice commission.

  No further nationalisation - Iron and Steel will be repealed from nationalisation

  Spend less

  300,000 new houses - more private housing too

  Give Scotland powers
• What is the shift?

  The Conservatives have shifted to the left from the 1945 manifesto?
• What were Labour weaknesses?

  • Old and tired
  • Divided between Bevan and Gaitskell- economic, welfare and social policies were heavily debated.
  • Couldn’t shake reputation for rationing and high tax - people blame the party in power
  • Winning 1950 elections without a large majority
  • Jam today - people wanted change and labour appeared the same
  • Failure to build enough houses as expected
  • Entry into Korean War
  • Trade unions were mad
• What were the Conservative strengths?

  • Fed up with austerity
  • Conservative’s shift to the left and accept New Jerusalem
  • Churchill used as a figurehead for Korean War context
• Attlee versus Churchill

  • Old and tired - in government for 11 years
  • Churchill was on a pedestal after the war - controlled the narrative
• What was most important to least important?

  1. Labour division
  2. Conservative shift to the left and liberal collapse
  3. Churchill as candidate and Cold Korea War
  4. Housing shortage
  5. Couldn’t shake post war reputation as people inevitable blame the party in power
  6. Jam today
  7. Conservative organisation