why did labour lose the 1951 election why did labour lose the 1951 election

The first-past-the-post system ensures that the elected government has a workable majority. The split ran deep within the Labour party and consequently it was deeply weakened, so when it came to the 1951 election, Labour found it much harder to fight against the now united Conservatives who had been re-organisation under a new leader. Yet, despite this they won 26 more seats than Labour, this seems somewhat disproportionate and illogical and can once again be traced back to the first-past-the-post system. Wiki User 2009-09-25 15:23:48 Study now See answer (1) Copy the main points are: -record on nationalisation and welfare -economic problems which. This is especially so when one considers the crises they faced in that year, making the 1945 blue-skies, New Jerusalem thinking incredibly difficult to sustain. However by 1945 Labour was a strong, organised and well respected party, whilst the Conservatives were weakened by the war and internal splits. fundamentals called for further Conservative (48.0%) downfall 1950, Balance of Payments record: Most of us who are interested in gaming history today are well aware of the set of technical and aesthetic approaches these terms imply: namely, games built from snippets of captured digitized footage of . Dunkirk triggered many people to blame the conservatives and their previous leaders for appeasement. WW2 obviously played a large role in the results of both the 1945 and 1951 elections, in 1945 its effects were clear on the homefront as it had acted as a catalyst to socialist ideas and in 1951 it was the economic turmoil that the war had triggered which led to many people to vote for the reliable conservatives. We have detected that Javascript is not enabled in your browser. So, at the 1950 election there was a 2. Then, as the Cripps years failed to bring an end to food scarcities and food queues, Labours perceived impact upon the national way of life was minimal to voters in the most crucial swinging constituencies. so much about economics, WW2) needed loans to sustain economy, Keynes 1945 secures 'I think we've got 20 years of power ahead of us,' mused the newly-elected Labour MP for Smethwick. This people's war was very beneficial to Labour in warming people to socialist ideologies, and their belief on the war being not just a fight against the fascist Germany, but a struggle for a prosperous post-war Britain was welcomed by the electorate. Dunkirk triggered many people to blame the conservatives and their previous leaders for appeasement. {"ad_unit_id":"App_Resource_Leaderboard","width":728,"height":90,"rtype":"MindMap","rmode":"canonical","placement":1,"sizes":"[[[1200, 0], [[728, 90]]], [[0, 0], [[468, 60], [234, 60], [336, 280], [300, 250]]]]","custom":[{"key":"env","value":"production"},{"key":"rtype","value":"MindMap"},{"key":"rmode","value":"canonical"},{"key":"placement","value":1},{"key":"sequence","value":1},{"key":"uauth","value":"f"},{"key":"uadmin","value":"f"},{"key":"ulang","value":"en_us"},{"key":"ucurrency","value":"usd"}]}, GCSE History Social Impact of the Nazi State in 1945, History- Medicine through time key figures, {"ad_unit_id":"App_Resource_Leaderboard","width":728,"height":90,"rtype":"MindMap","rmode":"canonical","placement":2,"sizes":"[[[0, 0], [[970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90]]]]","custom":[{"key":"env","value":"production"},{"key":"rtype","value":"MindMap"},{"key":"rmode","value":"canonical"},{"key":"placement","value":2},{"key":"sequence","value":1},{"key":"uauth","value":"f"},{"key":"uadmin","value":"f"},{"key":"ulang","value":"en_us"},{"key":"ucurrency","value":"usd"}]}. gas-1949. Then, the second ministry saw a fractious Parliamentary party being further divided over the Korean War and the advancement of the National Health Service, leading up to a comfortable Tory win in the October 1951 election. Labours answer focused on working class interests. Attlee's downfall: why did Labour lose the 1951 General Election? Thus, it may have The result of the election caused much surprise. The Attlee governments of 1945 to 1951 can be divided into four key sections. however without power or Labour was re-elected in 1950 but lost 80 seats in the process. Concerns about the permissive society e.g. The 1983 general election marked a low point for the Labour Party. Thirdly, it brought about a further drop in voter confidence as external signs of infighting brought into question the competence and clarity of direction Labour could offer. Less than half the price of our monthly plan. Labours answer focused on working class interests. As Prime Minister, he enlarged and improved social services and the public sector in post-war Britain, creating the National Health Service and nationalising major industries and public utilities. The opposite happened in 1974 when the system meant the Conservatives lost out to Labour. Cole suggested that its success was the inevitable consequence of the emergence of class politics. 5 Labour and Conservative Governments, 1964-79 Why did the Conservatives lose the election of 1964? The Conservative Party made some political headway by attacking the governments credentials with regard to the 1948 devaluation of the pound, which was designed to bring about the much needed rise in exports. The Labour Party was born at the turn of the 20th . support for the party. Please wait while we set up your subscription TurnItIn the anti-plagiarism experts are also used by: King's College London, Newcastle University, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, WJEC, AQA, OCR and Edexcel, Business, Companies and Organisation, Activity, Height and Weight of Pupils and other Mayfield High School investigations, Lawrence Ferlinghetti: Two Scavengers in a Truck, Two Beautiful People in a Mercedes, Moniza Alvi: Presents from my Aunts in Pakistan, Changing Materials - The Earth and its Atmosphere, Fine Art, Design Studies, Art History, Crafts, European Languages, Literature and related subjects, Linguistics, Classics and related subjects, Structures, Objectives & External Influences, Global Interdependence & Economic Transition, Acquiring, Developing & Performance Skill, Sociological Differentiation & Stratification, The question as to why Labour won the 1945 election has been the source of much in depth study since the period. why did labour lose the 1951 election. With an inadequate sense of self-renewal, the Attlee era party had little further to put before voters after 1947. '51 was an attempt that backfired to increase the labour majority - but in reality they only lost 22 seats in that election. Never before had the party achieved an overall majority in the House of Commons, and yet now Labour had a huge parliamentary majority of 146 seats. Instead, this 1947 balance of payments crisis compounded by the fuel shortage and the convertibility clause forced Labour to rein in spending. 1 He belonged to the first intake of students at the Ecole polytechnique in 1794 and went on to become an iron engineer. As Labour struggled to legislate effectively, and following another badly-handled balance of payments crisis in the summer of 1951, Attlee dissolved Parliament in September and Labour subsequently lost - albeit narrowly - the October election. Finally, splits over the Korean War both over the political justifications for British deployment, and over the cuts in public spending domestically brought about splits in the party which made it poorly placed to fight the 1951 election. Why did Harold Wilson win the 1964 Election. Buter was key to this; promising that the Conservatives would not reverse the reforms introduced by Labour. On a high turnout Labour's tally of votes had actually increased in absolute terms (to 13.9 million, compared to 13.2 million in the 1950 cent) than the Conservatives, though the Conservatives came out ahead in seats, As Labour struggled to legislate effectively, and following another badly-handled balance of payments crisis in the summer of 1951, Attlee dissolved Parliament in September and Labour subsequently lost albeit narrowly the October election. In 1945 the Conservatives had suffered from being divided and disorganised, while Labour had been strong and united. Under Michael Foot, it suffered a landslide defeat, taking just 27.6% of the vote and giving Margaret Thatcher's Conservatives. They had beaten the Conservatives by a clear 8% however in 51 they only had a 0.8% lead on the votes, as to why they didn't win after getting more votes one has to examine the first past the post system. She believed that Social changes should come Labour's campaign, although not crucial to their success, was better organised, funded and planned than the Conservatives' and, as such, made Labour look strong - in contrast with the Conservatives. regards to labours Also the Conservatives were much better funded in 1951, by business men afraid of further nationalisation the only major labour reform that the Conservatives dared to take a firm stance against. Outlined in the report were: all working age people would pay a National Insurance tax, and Benefits would be paid to the sick, unemployed, retired or widowed. Having been given such a considerable mandate to rebuild the country in 1945, the Attlee post-war government lost popular support considerably over the next six years. With an inadequate sense of self-renewal, the Attlee era party had little further to put before voters after 1947. This split was a key moment in the demise of Attlees government. History-UK-BK1-Labour-1951 election. There are three main sub-categories for this answer; the Conservatives strengths, Labours weaknesses/ limitations, and uncontrollable factors. The Labour party had suffered after 10 years in government, and their MPs had begun falling ill, some even dying. Then, in the summer of 1947, problems arose with the US war loan to be paid to the British government, in the form of the convertibility clause. social reform and nationalisation. excessive class orientated The Road Manifesto 1950 accepted However Pearce concludes that The pre-war period was significant because, during the war, it was reinterpreted. The 1945-1946 period of Labour government sought to address some key difficulties facing the nation following World War II. There are several causes which can be established, first by looking at the events of the Attlee years and then isolating those points at which factors were working toward the partys defeat. You need to log in to complete this action! Baroness Boothroyd was born on October 8 1929 in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. The 1946 National Insurance Act was also a key domestic reform of the Attlee government. Who was the worst prime The state of the economy had contributed to both elections also 1945 voters remembered the conservative led crippled economy of the 1930s; and in 1951 voters judged labour on the struggling economy of the time. Appeasement wasn't, at the time, a hugely contentious issue however after the war many people believed this was a large reason for the war and the Conservatives were blamed. Labour 295 (48.8%) The question as to why Labour won the 1945 election has been the source of much in depth study since the period. The popularity of the 1942 Beveridge Report, which laid much of the groundwork for the establishment of the NHS and the Welfare State, was an endorsement of Labour politics. Just by losing a core of middle class voters, Labour lost a great many marginal contests and most particularly in the well-to-do constituencies of southern and south-eastern England. Why did Labour lose the 1951 General Election? keeping the NHS, Attractive party to businessmen Attlee was aware that these changes to the voting system may 'consolidation', Division also came as Bevan was resentful in Cost of Living KOREAN WAR Austerity LINK TO COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE - cost of heating, clothing, education and food (and other necessities) was increasing; dissatisfaction amongst the people - defense spending increased whilst public spending decreased; led to NHS prescription charges was welcomed by the electorate. But Labour didn't lose in 1983 because it was too left wing; rather, Thatcher won because of the Falklands War. Labour had 13, 948, 605 votes Conservatives had 13, 717, 538 votes Liberals had 730, 556 votes Why did the Conservatives win if Labour had more votes? Extremely cold weather met with insufficient stockpiles of coal, and much industry ground to a halt as a result. nationalisation of a 'ragbag Georges Dufaud (1777-1852) was one of those ironmasters who benefited from the changes introduced by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Empire (Figure 1.1). Food subsidies were sustained in order to negate inflation in living costs; levels of progressive taxation were preserved; regional development was the favoured way to control mass unemployment in the areas of urban industrial decline; nationalisation was seen as the solution in reviving core industries such as mining, which had been faltering in private hands. Although interesting they had little to do with shifting the electorate's opinions, indeed in 1945 both parties' campaigns were largely improvised. The 1959 General Election gave the Conservatives their third successive victory, the first time that a party had won three successive general elections since Napoleonic times. As Labour struggled to legislate effectively, and following another badly-handled balance of payments crisis in the summer of 1951, Attlee dissolved Parliament in September and Labour subsequently lost albeit narrowly the October election. This was the fourth of five elections in the twentieth century where a party lost the popular vote, but won the most seats. In the summer of 1950, the Korean War broke out. he knew so little about After the First World War, the Lloyd George Coalition had made many empty promises concerning reconstruction. spectacles and dentures. Once more, it was the objection of the middle class voters to austere conditions which brought about the Parliamentary swing. His subsequent retirement from the party therefore revealed that Labour was divided in its views and ultimately undermined its unity, providing a poor image to potential voters. Under the head "Peace", the Labour manifesto said: "The Tory (Conservative) still thinks in terms of Victorian imperialism and colonial exploitation. The dynamic nature of our site means that Javascript must be enabled to function properly. Why Was There a Consensus British Prime Ministers 1951-1964 'Oppositions don't win elections, governments lose them'. Also in both cases the campaigns were of negligible importance. Looking at the Labour government in these four sections of reform, of crisis, of consolidation and of division helps us to see where the party lost its huge majority. legislation, Commitment to full employment and a mixed economy, Said to focus upon its previous This large Parliamentary shift, in the face of an unremarkable swing in the popular vote, can be attributed partly to Labours loss of the middle class vote. The electorate clearly did not see it this way though, believing that the Labour party had lied to them, this feeling of betrayal saw many voters return to the reliable Conservatives in the 1951 election. Churchill however made a gross error in saying that Labour would need a Gestapo like organisation to enforce socialism upon Britain. sects ( religion/ groups), Issue in Iran with Oil efiniry nationalised, wasn't handles, Election results 1951 Their living standards had not radically altered since 1945, and the significance of many of these voters is that they voted in marginal constituencies. The need for a better post war Britain was felt amongst all classes and Labour's support of the Beveridge Report brought widespread support. highly controversial and cost ","created_at":"2015-05-24T10:39:56Z","updated_at":"2016-02-19T08:09:05Z","sample":false,"description":"","alerts_enabled":true,"cached_tag_list":"britain, history, 1951, labour, defeat, alevel, attlee, churchill, election, victory","deleted_at":null,"hidden":false,"average_rating":null,"demote":false,"private":false,"copyable":true,"score":35,"artificial_base_score":0,"recalculate_score":false,"profane":false,"hide_summary":false,"tag_list":["britain","history","1951","labour","defeat","alevel","attlee","churchill","election","victory"],"admin_tag_list":[],"study_aid_type":"MindMap","show_path":"/mind_maps/2798048","folder_id":675903,"public_author":{"id":348222,"profile":{"name":"alinam","about":null,"avatar_service":"gravatar","locale":"en-GB","google_author_link":null,"user_type_id":141,"escaped_name":"alinam","full_name":"alinam","badge_classes":""}}},"width":300,"height":250,"rtype":"MindMap","rmode":"canonical","sizes":"[[[0, 0], [[300, 250]]]]","custom":[{"key":"env","value":"production"},{"key":"rtype","value":"MindMap"},{"key":"rmode","value":"canonical"},{"key":"sequence","value":1},{"key":"uauth","value":"f"},{"key":"uadmin","value":"f"},{"key":"ulang","value":"en_us"},{"key":"ucurrency","value":"usd"}]}. Labour - 295 seats, Conservatives - 321 seats, Liberals - 6 seats In 1951 the Liberals put up 109 candidates, in 1945 they had put up 475. Labour would not again form a government until 1964, the question is; what caused people to revert back to supporting the conservatives once again? Mainly because the Brexit Party split off some of their voters. The Conservative victory in 1951 is typically attributed either to the failures of Attlee's government - devaluation, the Bevanite revolt - or to the achievements of Churchill's opposition, including Lord Woolton's reforms and the acceptance of the "post-war consensus". Want to create your own Mind Maps for free with GoConqr? The Conservatives reluctance to accept this report was hugely beneficial to Labour who capitalised on the huge of public support behind it. While ill health may have played its part in weakening the Labour party, the lack of enthusiasm put into manifesto commintments was by far more significant. Thirdly, it brought about a further drop in voter confidence as external signs of infighting brought into question the competence and clarity of direction Labour could offer. Gaitskell, would gut defence expenditure by 400 We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Learn more. After being elected in 1945, the Labour Government introduced changes to welfare, employment and housing that would last a generation. leadership remembered in a The campaign is all too often seen as the most important factor in Labour's landslide victory in 1945, however it is of less importance than the war or their policies, for example. Nevertheless, the war was clearly more important in raising Atlee's reputation among Britons because Attlee was effectively completely in charge of the homefront for the duration of the war. Gaitskell had imposed upon the health service prescription charges for glasses and false teeth, which to Bevan and other NHS idealists represented the betrayal of NHS founding principals. Why did Labour lose the 1951 election? ideology and how Conservatives promised to reduce taxes but keep the NHS. Named Let Us Face the Future, it emphasised that Labour were the only party that could be trusted to deliver a strong Britain and Beveridge's plans. The war had undoubtedly played a major role in the elections, being seen as a people's war it broke down social boundaries and caused a shift to the left. Labour's promises of social reforms won them many votes, however it was these promises which led to their failure in 1951, when many people believed that the promises hadn't been delivered. The shock the election caused was comparable to the results of the 1906 and 1979 elections, and would have a profound impact on how the country was rebuilt in the post-war period. time of economic downfall- seen to be short lived as by 1952 the The poor timing of the 1951 election can also be claimed to have weakened Labours position. Manne identifies that the use of the word 'Affair' is a clear indication of how . That was three million less than the number of summonses, warrants and benefit deduction orders issued for poll tax non-payment. The weeks leading up to the Feb. 28 election were pretty messy but what's so jarring is how different the 2019 campaign played out an open race after two-term Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel .