Britain 1951-97
Conservative domination 1951-64
Economic • By the end of 1952, Britain was out of debt
growth • Keynesian policies helped the government control the economy
Post-war • There was a mixed economy allowing competition between producers with regulations in place to protect society as a whole
consensus • As a result of the Beveridge report, the government introduced the welfare state and a policy of full employment
• He left and right wings of Labour and Conservative parties meet in the middle on matters such as nance, the economy and welfare state
• Butskellism helped the government keep a Labour and Conservative consensus
Strong • Churchill promised to build 300,000 houses a year
leaders • Churchill was a very charismatic leader, as was Macmillan and Douglas-Home. At the beginning of his premiership, Eden was well liked and seen as a gentleman
• Churchill had a great reputation as the war hero and reminded everyone of the triumph of the war
Labour • Gaitskell wanted to keep the party away from polices that would alienate the electorate
disunity • The party was divided into Bevanites, who wanted large trade unions, representing the working class and Unilateralists wanted Britain to give up its atomic weapons without waiting
for a multilateral agreement between the nuclear powers to do so - this split the party
• Labours promise to increase in state pensions with no rise in tax embarrassed the Party as it was hurriedly drafted and questions were raised which humiliated them
• The party also had issues with its identity
Conservative leadership in maintaining power between 1951-64
Winston • 1953 Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature
Churchill • A new Elizabethan age was appearing when Elizabeth II became Queen on 2 June 1953 - Churchill was very patriotic - enhanced as Britain got its rst nuclear weapon in October 1952
• He was remembered as a war hero and a very strong leader
Anthony • Eden was initially seen as the classic English gentleman and liked by all
Eden • His reputation was destroyed by the Suez crisis of 1956 - Israelis were angry with Eden for not nishing the mission and Britain was humiliated for taking an
independant action and failing
Harold • 327,000 houses were built in 1953 and 354,000 in 1954
Macmillan • He was a particularly charismatic leader and the 'Supermac' was introduced, portraying him as superman who saw nothing as impossible and who would save the
country from Eden's failure
• Macmillan told a meeting in 1957 “most of our people have never had it so good”
• Macmillan’s government was facing increasing unpopularity and so in July 1962 he carried out his own version of ‘the night of the long knives’ where 6
government ministers were sacked
• The scandals of the 1960s (Profumo a air, Vassal inquiry, Argyll divorce case) questioned Macmillan’s security due to their failure
• Macmillan was also embarrassed by de Gaulle’s veto for Britain to join the EEC
• Macmillan was targeted by satirists at the end of his term in o ce and began known as ‘Mac the Knife’
Alec • Lord Home renounced his title and became Douglas-Home and became PM after recommendation from Macmillan
Douglas- • Sir Alec Douglas-Home proved an easy target for the newly invigorated Labour party who could be compared to Wilson
Home
Page 1 of 4 A Level History
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Conservative domination 1951-64
Economic • By the end of 1952, Britain was out of debt
growth • Keynesian policies helped the government control the economy
Post-war • There was a mixed economy allowing competition between producers with regulations in place to protect society as a whole
consensus • As a result of the Beveridge report, the government introduced the welfare state and a policy of full employment
• He left and right wings of Labour and Conservative parties meet in the middle on matters such as nance, the economy and welfare state
• Butskellism helped the government keep a Labour and Conservative consensus
Strong • Churchill promised to build 300,000 houses a year
leaders • Churchill was a very charismatic leader, as was Macmillan and Douglas-Home. At the beginning of his premiership, Eden was well liked and seen as a gentleman
• Churchill had a great reputation as the war hero and reminded everyone of the triumph of the war
Labour • Gaitskell wanted to keep the party away from polices that would alienate the electorate
disunity • The party was divided into Bevanites, who wanted large trade unions, representing the working class and Unilateralists wanted Britain to give up its atomic weapons without waiting
for a multilateral agreement between the nuclear powers to do so - this split the party
• Labours promise to increase in state pensions with no rise in tax embarrassed the Party as it was hurriedly drafted and questions were raised which humiliated them
• The party also had issues with its identity
Conservative leadership in maintaining power between 1951-64
Winston • 1953 Winston Churchill won the Nobel Prize for Literature
Churchill • A new Elizabethan age was appearing when Elizabeth II became Queen on 2 June 1953 - Churchill was very patriotic - enhanced as Britain got its rst nuclear weapon in October 1952
• He was remembered as a war hero and a very strong leader
Anthony • Eden was initially seen as the classic English gentleman and liked by all
Eden • His reputation was destroyed by the Suez crisis of 1956 - Israelis were angry with Eden for not nishing the mission and Britain was humiliated for taking an
independant action and failing
Harold • 327,000 houses were built in 1953 and 354,000 in 1954
Macmillan • He was a particularly charismatic leader and the 'Supermac' was introduced, portraying him as superman who saw nothing as impossible and who would save the
country from Eden's failure
• Macmillan told a meeting in 1957 “most of our people have never had it so good”
• Macmillan’s government was facing increasing unpopularity and so in July 1962 he carried out his own version of ‘the night of the long knives’ where 6
government ministers were sacked
• The scandals of the 1960s (Profumo a air, Vassal inquiry, Argyll divorce case) questioned Macmillan’s security due to their failure
• Macmillan was also embarrassed by de Gaulle’s veto for Britain to join the EEC
• Macmillan was targeted by satirists at the end of his term in o ce and began known as ‘Mac the Knife’
Alec • Lord Home renounced his title and became Douglas-Home and became PM after recommendation from Macmillan
Douglas- • Sir Alec Douglas-Home proved an easy target for the newly invigorated Labour party who could be compared to Wilson
Home
Page 1 of 4 A Level History
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