1. conservative governments

Question 1

what were the expectations of the 1951 election?

Answer 1

• not immediately obvious that would be a long period of conservative dominance
• labour actually won more votes than conservative party, first-past-the-post electoral system meant tories won more seats

Question 2

outcome of 1951 election?

Answer 2

conservative party won the most seats, churchill became pm

Question 3

churchills reputation?

Answer 3

old man when became pm. reputation due to war, but not really great post-war pm. many labour politicians saw him as tired, old force

Question 4

why was churchill inactive in domestic politics?

Answer 4

age, illness
+
thought of himself as international statesman, not domestic politician. spend more time abroad, meeting world leaders/holidays than at downing st. believed priority = make sure no new conflict broke out

Question 5

what were churchill’s attitudes towards party politics

Answer 5

believed he was above party politics. had started off tory, joined liberals 1904, lib cabinet minister before ww1, joined conservative party again after war.
as pm in 50s, tried to get liberals to join his cabinet, also used non-conservative peers to oversee ministries

Question 6

consequences of churchill’s absenteeism?

Answer 6

meant day-to-day govt often left with acting pm, anthony eden, + key ministers e.g. Rab Butler (chancellor of exchequer) and Macmillan (minister for housing)
churchill aimed to avoid controversy w these appts: e.g. believed rab would work well w/ trade unions + parliament, those not supportive of pwc rejected

Question 7

tensions within churchill’s govt?

Answer 7

butler, macmillan + eden didn’t get on well, rivalries lasted throughout 13 years of tory rule
relations btwn churchill + eden strained, eden impatient for c to step down

Question 8

1955 election

Answer 8

won by conservatives, eden as pm, increased conservative majority from 17 seats to 60

butler became chancellor, macmillan foreign secretary

Question 9

edens weaknesses

Answer 9

previous political experience in foreign policy, so lack of interest in domestic affairs led to discomfort in party

anxious about making decisions, conscious of lack of knowledge on economic issues

aimed to prevent industrial conflict, lef to criticism that too conciliatory w unions

weakness as leader exemplified through attempt to move macmillan from foreign office to treasury 1955, mac managed to delay

Question 10

impact of the suez crisis on politics

Answer 10

decision to take military action in suez 1956 soured eden’s reputation as a leader
political crisis; eden came under attack from labour in parliament + press
accused of lying to house of commons

also caused issues within tory party:
nutting, colonial minister, resigned from cabinet
rebellion of nearly 40 mps
edward heath, chief whip, strongly opposed

pressure from us had exposed britains financial weakness

eden resigned 1957

Question 11

rab butler

Answer 11

mac’s main rival
not as popular within party as was in country
reputation had been damaged by introducing tax cuts before 1955 election which had to be shortly reversed as economy overheated
linked to policy of appeasement
most of edens cabinet preferred mac

Question 12

macmillan as pm + general election results

Answer 12

election 1959, majority rose to 100 seats
party unity restored
economic boom continuing
labour party divided, weak

Question 13

post war consensus?

Answer 13

agreement across parties on major issues
- belief in mixed economy: involvment of state as well as private enterprise
- support for nhs and welfare state
- wish to ensure full employment
- working w/ trade unions + employers
butskellism

Question 14

housing policies

Answer 14

1951 conservative manifesto promised to build 300,000 houses/year
macmillan, housing minister, oversaw success of this

Question 15

education

Answer 15

continued tripartite system of butler act of 1944.
three kinds of school: grammar, technical, secondary modern.
11 plus test
financial restraints under churchill meant most either grammar or secondary moderns
eden tried to promote greater emphasis on technical schools
by 1960s, people questioning fairness of this system

Question 16

social reforms

Answer 16

clean air act 1956 aimed to prevent smog of early 50s.
housing and factory acts aimed to improve living + working conditions.
butler as home sec = more liberal than other conservatives, began to take action on issues e.g. homosexulaity and death penalty
- e.g. homicide act 1957 restricted when death penalty could be imposed
- wolfenden commission 1957

Question 17

who were the key rivals in labour’s split?

Answer 17

hugh gaitskell (right/centre) aneurin bevan (left)

Question 18

brief timeline of labour split:

Answer 18

both bevan and gaitskell stood for leadership in 1955 when attlee stepped down

gaitskell, seen as leader, defeated bevan

1956, frank cousins, union leader, strongly opposes gaitskell on subject of nuclear weapons

divisions became more apparent after defeat in 1959 election

at conference in 1959, gaitskell proposes abolishing clause iv, backs down before putting it to vote due to opposition

gaitskell lost vote 1960, overturned this a year later

labour appeared more united after 1960

death of gaitskell 1963 opened way for wilson to become leader

Question 19

what were the left and right of labour split over?

Answer 19

unilateral nuclear disarmament:
bevan opposed development of nuclear weapons, though opposed unilateral nuclear disarmament in 1957
many labour members joined CND

left wanted labour to be more socialist

Question 20

reasons for conservative fall from power:

Answer 20

by 1960, growing economic concerns, e.g rejected (1961) eec application rejected in 1963

macmillan lost political touch: 1962 night of the long knives weakened cabinet, made mac seem clumsy.
appeared edwardian, out of date.

series of scandals in early 60s, e.g. george blake = soviet double agent 1961, profumo affair 1963 reinforced idea of conservative govt as out of touch + control

macmillan’s illness 1963 –> resignation, hadn’t appointed successor, following divisive power struggle resulting in lord home as leader made party seem outdated.