Reason for Election Failure/Success

1951 Election-Conservative success-Churchill

• Conservatives won despite reseiving less votes.
• Churchill was a great wartime leader and as a result was popular with the public.  
• Labour believed Churchill to be too old to succesfully lead. Belived the Tories would be unbale to deaal with post war economy.
• Kept Labour policies like the NHS, tried to keep the peice with trade unions           
• Mixed economy to please left and right voters
• Bevan alienated support by calling Conservatives ''lower than Vermin''
• ''The Trade Unions' patience, once very thin, was now non-existent'' (Pearce and Stewart) in regards to wage restraints, with dock strikes breaking out in 1948 and 1949.

1955 Election-Conservative success-Eden

• Internal Labour divisions meant there was no viable opposition. Split between Bevan and Gaitskell. Gaitskell (right wing) won leadership over Bevan (left wing).
• Left wing of party wwanted it to be more socialist.
• Divisions over CND.
• Opposition from Trade Unions towards leaders. Frank Cousins led feirce opposition against Gaitskell in reference to nuclear disarmament. 
• End of food rationing 

1959 Elcetion-Conservative success-Macmillan

• Supermac- Afective leader. Support from media
• Post war economy was booming-grew by 4% in 1959
• 2p taken off price of a pint
• The labor government were seen as divided, uncertain and afraid to stand up to the trade union demands.
• Many people also still associated Labor with devaluation and austerity.

1964 Election-Labour success-Wilson

• Labour seemed to be more in touch than the Tories who were seen as the establishment.
• Promised the age of 'the white heat of technology'
• Promumo affair, Vassel a soviet spy working for a Tory minister
• Labour reunited under Wilson
• Unemployment reached over 800,000 in…