History

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the most important factor for the conservative loss in the 1964 general election was the fact that in comparison to the newly united Labour Party, the conservatives were still deemed outdated and out-of-touch with the electorate, due to how Douglas-Home emerged as leader, and his characteristics. The fact there was disagreement between the party over Butler not being chosen only heightened the feeling that 'the Establishment' was still dominating the Party. The fact that Douglas-Home could neither debate on TV, nor deal with hecklers (he silenced them, which appeared to make him unsympathetic), and the fact that he did not understand the needs of a leader (he compared to the economy to matchsticks), due to him spending most of his poltical career in the House of Lords, gave labour a huge opportunitity, which they took. It has to be remembered that there was only a majority of 4, and therefore it was not a huge loss, which again led to believe that Butler should have become leader. Nevertheless, these all played into Labour hands, along with increasing unemployment, the satire boom, and the economic downturn, and therefore won on a very small minority.

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Unemployment

Unemployment was gradually increasing, reaching 900,000 in 1963, which dented Macmillan's earlier claim that Britain had 'never had it so good'. This meant that the conservatives were no longer giving the electorate what they wanted - the policies of the post-war consensus (with one of them being full employment.

Although this unemployment figure is considerably lower than figures later in the century, no one was to know that the figure would increase quite so drastically, such as under Thatcher when unemplyment soared over 3 million.

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The 'Night of the Long Knives', 1962

This was in response to the problems Macmillan's government was facing, where Macmillan radically reshuffled his cabinet in July 1962, sacking a third of it. It was intended to rejuvenate the cabinet but it actually weakened it becasue it appeared to make Macmillan look clumsy and too rational, marking panic in the government, and that he was loosing his political touch. Macmillan was not acting from a position of strength, but out of political desperation.

It also showed the Conservative Party to be out of touch with reality, and reminded people of the background of the Conservative Party, and how they were so different to the majority of the electorate. Macmillan's image as an Edwardian gentlement and his marriage into the aristocracy only emphasised this.

On the other hand, it was not seen as this to some people. To some, it was seen as getting rid of any deadbeats within the government, wanting to make sure that the everyone within the government was committed to making Britain greater and greater.

Also, it could be argued that it this radical reshuffle had not taken place, the defeat in the 1964 general election could have been a lot worse.

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Rapid Decolonisation

Although this followed in the lines of the post-war consensus, to the British electorate, it provoked a sense of unease as it appeared to be ruining Britain's image as a great empire. Although this was seen to be a managed decline by the rest of the world, it was what the electorate thought that mattered.

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Overpowerful Trade Unions

Trade unions dominated the Macmillan government, one of the reasons being the Conservative Party wanted to preserve the post-war consensus in order to appeal to the majority of the electorate.

The fact that wages rose by 74% meant that there were higher imports than exports, causing a balance of trade deficit, contributing to economy decline.

The appeasement of trade unions made Macmillan look weak and unwilling to solve any actual problems in the later years as PM.

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Profumo Affair, 1963

Profumo Affair, 1963: This was the most damaging scandal. The scandal itself did not bring down the government, but the fact that Macmillan belived his minister for war, John profumo, suggested that Macmillan was loosing his political grip, and it reinforced the fact that the Conservative Party was outdated. Quesitons were also raised about the possible leaks of the Cold War secrets, causing it to be a major security threat with 'cross pillow' talk between Keeler and Ivanov.

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Vassall Affair, 1963 and Argyll Divorce Case, 1963

Vassall Affair, 1963: The govenrnment was obliged to appoint an official investigation into the case of John Vassall, a civil servant in the admirality, who had been caught spying for the Soviet Union in 1962. There were rumours that senior admiraility figures had tried to protect him. The inquiry found no clear evidence of this, but the talk of cover-ups suggested that the government was not in control of its departments.

Argyll Divorce Case, 1963: In 1963, a lurid court case in which the Duke of Argyll sued his wife for divorce on the grounds of adultery, provided the public with a host of salacious details, including a list of men. The list was to include two government ministers, one of whom allegedly appeared in a pornographic photo that was shown in court.

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Harold Wilson and the Labour Party

After the death Hugh Gaitskell, Harold Wilson emerged as the new Labour Party leader.

He successfully linked the Labour Party to modernisation and the 'white heat of technology', in contrast to what were described as '13 wasted years' of the conservative government, bringing a 'breath of fresh air' to politics. The fact he talked about modernisation showed the electorate that the Labour Party was moving away from the radical policy of nationalisation, and accepting a mixed economy, and therefore moving towards following the post-war consensus, which is what the electorated had liked during the 1950s. He therefore lead from the centre, instead of the radical left, in order to appeal to the majority of the electorate, showing unity, optimism and enthusiasm in the Labour Party.

His own image also reflected modernisation. He was seen as classless, an image far removed from the Old Etonian style of Eden, Macmillan and Douglas-Home. He was the first prime minister educated at state secondary school, and he smoked a pipe and spoke with a Yorkshire accent, claiming that he would prefer to eat tinned salmon than smoked salmon. He was also a relaxed and skilful performer on TV. This only added his continued popularity to the electorate (his policies were now aimed to ordinary people and not just the rich members of society), giving them an actual option within a general election. He was quick-witted and economically literate.

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Rejection from the EEC

This showed that Britain was having an increasingly less influence in vital alliances across the world, suggesting their position in the world was declining due to the conservatives, causing the electorate to become worried about what the future would hold on a future position internationally.

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Economic Downturn

Although under the conservatives Britain had experiences a post-war boom and an increase in affluence, on an international stage, the economy of Britain was falling behind its competitors. Share in world strade fell from 25% to 13%, and Britain,s growth rate was sluggish in comparison to Italy, for example, at 5.6%.

Selwyn's Lloyd pay pause in 1961 was also a catastrophic disaster, along with the proposals of the Beeching Report, and the balance of payment deficit had not improved for thirteen years.

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Satire Boom

This flourished in the early 1960s with the government being the main target on TV and radio, particularly due to the growth in TV ownership. It involved the regular mocking and undermining of traditional notions of respect and deference, damaging the image of the government and Conservative Party.

One example was 'Private Eye' magazine, that rapdifly established a layal following for its witty disrespect of the famous. Another example was 'Beyond the Fringe', a stage show by Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, and Alan Bennett.

Macmillan hit back at these acts by claiming that 'people were bored'. This appeared him to again be outdated as he presumed people had nothing better to do with their time, and some suggested he should have introduced new policies in order to ensure there was no boredom within society.

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Outdated Image of the Conservative Party

Sir Alec Douglas-Home was the conservative leader who stood in the 1964 general election. He emerged from the 'Magic Circle' as he attended Eton College, followed by Oxford University. This showed the Conservative Party to be out-of-touch with reality as he was an aristocrat and therefore he had not earned his position by working hard up the social hierarchy. Not only this, but he had been known to have an evident ignorance of domestic affairs, and was poor on TV, unlike Harold Wilson.

The emergence of Douglas-Home as conservative leader showed the antiquated system of the Conservative Party in how they chose their leaders, which in turn favoured the 'Old-Boys Network', damaging the attempt to project a modern image. Nine of those most closely involved int he manoevurings that saw Home emerge as leader were old Etonians, showing they were living in a bygone age.

This extended throughout the party. 48% of ministers were from Oxbridge education, and over half of the cabinet were from Eton College.

It resulted in the Conservative Party losing the votes of the lower classes.

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