Conservative domination 1951-64

• What is a constituency?

  A group of voters in a specified area who elect a representative to a legislative body
• What are marginal seats?

  A marginal seat is one that is held by the incumbent with a small majority
• What are boundary changes?

  Constituency boundaries are often changes to ensure the populations in constituencies remain roughly equal
• How important were Labour weaknesses for conservatives win in the 1951 election?

  • Post war GB associated the Labour Party with policies of austerity, rationing and high taxation
  • Labour led GB into the Korean war which financially strained GB
  • Internal divisions in the party took place as they imposed charges on dental treatment, prescription and glasses even though the NHS offered free healthcare
• How important were conservative strengths for the conservative win in the 1951 election?

  • Lord Woolton reformed party finances and local organisations putting it in a stronger position to challenge Labour
  • Conservative challenges Labour’s nationalisation of iron and steel industry
  • Conservative promised to build 300,000 more houses due to the housing shortage
  • Give people more “red meat” due to meat rationing
  • Committed to the welfare state
  • Many still saw Churchill as a national hero
• How did the nature of the British electoral system help the conservatives win the 1951 election?

  GB has the first past the post system where Labour plied up votes in safe seats and conservative won many of the marginal Labour seats
• How did boundary changes brought about by the 1948 representation of the people act help the Conservative Party win the 1951 election?

  Due to these changes Labour had to win 2% more of the popular vote. Redistribution of seats resulted in some of their seats becoming marginal
• How did the decline of the Liberal party help the conservatives win the 1951 election?

  Liberal party vote fell from 2.6 million to 700,000. Ex liberal voters turned to conservative. Labour lost a number of marginal seats
• Why was there a continuous rise in living standards between 1951-1964?

  • Wages rose faster than prices
  • By 1964 the weekly wage of an adult was £18.50
  • Conservative chancellors cut income tax which produced a “feel good” factor near election time
• What increased when the chancellor’s cut income tax?

  Purchasing power which was reflected in the 500% rise in car ownership
• Why was there an improvement of living standards?

  • Greater availability of credit
  • People could borrow money and repay it over a longer period of time
  • Enabled people to buy luxuries such as cars and houses
• What began when financial credit was introduced by the conservative party?

  Consumer boom which meant people could go on foreign holidays for the first time
• How many houses did the conservative government promise to build?

  300,000
• What happened when there was new creations of more houses and the introduction of the 1957 rent act?

  Waiting lists for houses declined
• What did the Rent Act do?

  • Abolished rent control
  • Landlords could charge as much as they want for their property
  • Led to more people renting their properties
  • People who owned properties rose to 44% by 1964
• Why did conservative expenditure increase?

  To fund the rise in living standards
• What was the conservative government spending on to fund the rise in living standards?

  • Welfare state
  • Nuclear weapons
  • Improving the industrial economy
  • Achieving full employment
• What does the term “Butskellism” mean?

  • Names of both parties; Labour’s Gaitskell and conservatives R.A Butler
  • Came from their similar style towards the economic policy
• How did conservative chancellors manage the economy?

  They used interest rates, taxes and import controls
• When would happen when spending and wages increased too much?

  Tax and interest rates rose and import controls prevented purchases abroad
• What does a “stop and go” approach mean?

  The government responded to economic development as they occurred rather than have a strategy
• Why is the “stop and go” approach seen as a weakness?


  When a period of stagflation occurred people though it was due to the government not having a strategy so the economy wasn’t as strong as it couldn’t been
• What is stagflation?


  Where industrial output declines but inflation remains
• How was it evident the government didn’t invest in industrial research and development?

  • Government failed to direct enough investment to important industries e.g textiles and shipbuilding
  • Industries never really recovered
  • Production costs were high so goods were expensive and uncompetitive however the government continued to put money into it
• What did GB’s share of world trade shrink to?

  15%
• What did the conservative government spend too much money on?


  Defence and not industry so GB fell behind on some nations
• Why did people still continue to vote for Churchill in the 1951 election?

  • Churchill was seen as a war hero
  • The electorate wanted to thank him for his leadership during the war by voting for him
• While Churchill was absent in 1953 due to having strokes who were the main forces behind the conservative party?

  • R.A Butler was the chancellor of the Exchequer
  • Anthony Eden was the foreign secretary
  • They both were coming up with new ideas and policies so Churchill was a figurehead for the party
• Who was named as Churchill’s natural successor in 1955?

  Anthony Eden -> Foreign secretary
• Why does the British public see Anthony Eden as a moral, respected figure?

  His resignation in February 1938 due to Chamberlain’s foreign policy
• How was Anthony Edens reputation irreversibly damaged?

  • Suez Canal crisis was ridiculed by the public as Eden’s military intervention failed
  • He stood down as PM due to “illness” but most speculate he was pushed out by the Conservative Party
• When did Harold Macmillan become PM?

  • In the 1959 election where he increased their majority by 100 seats
• Why do some people think MacMillan had a “head start” as PM?

  Macmillan inherited the party during a time of growth and prosperity
• What nickname did an opposition magazine give Macmillan?

  Supermac which the conservative used to show how successful he was as PM
• What famous phrase did Macmillan use to get people to continue to vote for conservative?

  You've never had it so good.
• Who did the GB public want to replace Macmillan after he resigned due to ill health?

  R.A Butler
• Why do some people speculate about MacMillan choosing Alex Douglas Home as leader?

  Macmillan wanted a weak opponent to be the conservative leader so if he recovered from his illness he could rechallenge for leadership
• What couldn’t Douglas Home overcome and contributed to him losing the 1964 election?

  He was an elite upperclassmen and a Lord so he was a symbol of old conservative ways
• What were the 3 key issues that divided Labour in the late 1950’s?

  • Socialism
  • Nuclear policy
  • 1959 election
• How was the Labour Party spilt in the late 1950’s?

  • Gaitskellites (right wing)
  • Bevanites (left wing)