1945 election

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1945 election

Advantages

  • Labour not seen as responsible for the effects of the depression or for appeasement.
  • emphasised 'never again' in their slogan: wouldn't return to the 30s
  • Trade unions became more powerful during war
  • won sevral by-elections 1935-39
  • fashionable to support socialism: Stalin had resisted Hitler
  • Nationalisation had seemed radical but state control during war had proved beneficial
  • seemed to promise a fairer society: social change- middle class aware of poverty
  • more likely to impliment Beveridge report
  • Respected leaders such as Attlee, Morrison and Bevin: had contributed to war effort
  • 20% of voters young and had been in war: Labour seemed fairer
  • More effectively organised, more party workers (from Trade unions) focused on domestic issues- aspiration of voters.
  • 'Let us face the future' eye-catching and inspiring

Disadvantages

  • Conservatives associated with failures of 1930s: depression and appeasement, failure to rearm
  • Luke- warm attitudes towards Beveridge report- too expensive and a distraction from the fact that they had won the war
  • Besides Churchill they had few high profile figures
  • During 1930s Conservative strength mostly due to collapse of Labour 1931
  • Organisation at local level was run down
  • Vague ideas and promises: not specifics such as house building
  • Unispiring declerations
  • Complacent: spent less on campaign then usual
  • Churchill was 70- best man to lead post-war Britain?
  • Sold Churchill rather than reforming ministers such as Butler (education act 1944) and Willik (favoured NHS as health minister)
  • Churchill annoyed people by suggesting labour would need a gestapo to impliment welfare state: compared Britain to Hitler?!

Evaluation

Short term factors like election campaign built on long term changes such as changing of attitudes and values as a consequence of war. Labour more inspiring and exciting than Conservatives and seem ed to offer a fairer Britain after horrors of war.

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