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Summary 1964 General Election: Labour Victory, Conservative Loss
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A* standard summary of the general election result of 1964 and the reasons for labours victory and the conservatives loss.
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1964 General Election- Reasons for Labour victory/ Conservative’s lossRESULT- Labour 317 (44%), Conservatives 304 (43.6%)
Labour overall majority of 4 seats.
Labour victory
-WILSON-
A man of the people.
Wilson was younger than both Macmillan and Home and presented a more youthful image to the electorate.
His young age allowed him to be more in tune with the young people and their idea of a progressive Britain.
Recongised Labour should be a party of progress and talked of forging Britain into ‘the white heat of technology.’
Wilson young, plain Yorkshire man vs. Home old aristocrat out of touch with the ordinary people and their wants.
Labour presented itself similar to that of 1945 as a force of progress standing against out of date politics.
Wilson more dynamic image than Home.
Wilson had a much more powerful election campaign than Home where he discussed forging Britain into the ‘white heat
of technology’ as well as the ‘swinging sixties’ which would emerge.
Conservative Loss
-PRIME MINISTER-
Macmillan seemed to be losing his political touch.
His 1962 ‘Night of the Long Knives’ cabinet reshuffle was intended to strengthen the cabinet but it instead weakened it
demonstrating the Conservative’s were growing tired after 13 years in office- sacked 1/3 of his cabinet.
Macmillan appeared clumsy (due to cabinet reshuffle).
Macmillan’s image appeared out of date due to his Edwardian gentlemen nature and his marriage into the aristocracy.
The 1963 Profumo Affair, although short lived, demonstrated how out of touch Macmillan and the Conservative party
had become, as they could no longer control their government.
Macmillan was also very ill which was another key factor in his resignation.
In 1963 he had an abdominal surgery in autumn and resigned in October.
Douglas- Home took over as Prime Minister but was only PM for a short amount of time (1963- 64).
Home was initially a peer who was aristocratic, old and similarly to Macmillan, out of touch with the electorate.
Conservative’s decline after 13 years demonstrated the electorate wanted change.
Home did not allow the Conservative’s to be portrayed as modern in comparison to Wilson and Labour.
-ECONOMY-
Although there was a growth in affluence, largely the economy was in decline.
The rejection of the EEC application in 1963 demonstrated Britain’s failing economy.
The economy was marked by a series of Balance of Payment crisis’, Runs on the Pound, pay pause, growing debt,
inflation (+ stagflation) and the problems caused by Stop Go Economics.
Labour inherited an £800 million deficit.
1963- unemployment at 800,000 denting Macmillan’s claim that Britain had ‘never had it so good’.
-SCANDALS-
Macmillan’s government especially, was marked by a series of Spy Scandals which put a strain on Britain’s ‘special
relationship’ with America and the trust of the electorate.
The Cambridge Spy Ring had been around in WWII and the early 1950s. Was a group of spies who leaked information to
the Soviet Union and were based in Britain.
The most infamous group were the Cambridge 5 which included Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.
1951- Burgess and Maclean affair.
1961- George Blake.
1962- John Vassall (civil servant), blackmailed by the Soviet Union on the basis of his homosexuality.
1963- Profumo Affair- John Profumo (Macmillan’s Secretary of State for War) and Christine Keeler (model) who was also
having an affair with Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet spy. Profumo initially denied the accusations in parliament but 3 months
later confirmed they were true. The Profumo Affair generated huge amounts of media attention as well as causing a
breach on state security. Could be said as one of the most prominent factors in the Conservative’s defeat in 1964.
-PARTY ITSELF-
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