Why did the Conservatives win elections from 1951-64
- Created by: SarahKMPembers
- Created on: 17-09-19 10:15
View mindmap
- Why did the Conservatives win elections from 1951-1964?
- Conservative Strengths
- Impressive organisation and leadership
- Macmillan was a popular leader
- Able to quickly remove leaders who failed (Eden after Suez crisis)
- The "Churchill Factor" - 1951-1955
- Economic Manipulation
- Tax cutting budgets around the time of elections made voters temporarily more prosperous
- Exploiting Labour Weaknesses
- Denationalized the steel industry
- 1955 election campaign capitalized on a divided party
- Pulled Britain out of the Korean War - Labour brought the country into it
- Consensus Policies
- Committed to full employment
- Maintained the NHS
- Investment in housing - 1.7 million built between 1951-1964
- "Butskellism" accepted most of Labour's policies
- Impressive organisation and leadership
- Labour Weaknesses
- Party divisions
- 1951 - Divide between Bevan and Gaitskell over prescription charges
- 1955 - Nye Bevan opposes the H-Bomb - causes the Bevanite Split
- Bevin (not Bevan) dies in 1951
- Poor image
- 1951 - Labour party made of of old-fashioned, out of touch politicians
- Did not capitalize on the Suez Crisis (1956)
- Controversial policies
- Party divisions
- Chance Factors
- Favourable economic factors
- Post-war boom gave the illusion of successful economic policies
- Labour's policies from 1945-1951 did more to aid the economy than the Conservatives did
- The electoral system
- First Past the Post system allowed the Conservatives to win in 1951, despite losing the popular vote
- Favourable economic factors
- Conservative Strengths
Comments
No comments have yet been made