1951 election

View mindmap

1951 ELECTION
TORY MANIFESTO
LABOUR WEAKNESS
ELECTORAL SYSTEM
DECLINE OF THE LIBERAL PARTY
First Past the Post
The number of seats a party wins determines the outcome of an election
Not the number of votes
L: 44.8% C: 44%
L: 295 seats C: 321 seats
Promised 300,000 houses a year to be built
(100,000 > Labour)
Appealed to electorate: Labour had failed to resolve the issues of post-war house shortages
Weaknesses of Labour helped to facilitate the Conservative win
Associated with the period of Austerity
Unpopular
Post-war rationing
High levels of taxation
To help fund the welfare state eg. NHS
Promised to continue NHS
Promised freedom from rationing
Attractive manifesto
1945 = 2.6m
1951 = 750,000
Most former liberals voted Conservatives
Internal Divisions
Cut backs on imported goods
Increases in defence expenditure
= Less money available to spend domestically
Changes in constituent boundaries in 1948
Favoured Conservatives
Bevan vs Gaitskell
Modern vs traditional
About who wins the most votes in a individual constituency

Get Revising