Butler reduced income tax and increased tax allowances, as a way to persuade the public to vote for him. However, the consequences of this were that inflation would sore and this would have to be dealt with after the election. If Butler had continued to use the deflationary tactics it may be argued that Britain would have pulled itself out of the economic turmoil it was facing, but Butler’s failure to recognize this was a big mistake that marred the Conservative ministry and ultimately cost Butler his job.
Another negative point of Churchill’s ministry was Churchill himself. He was ageing rapidly and his poor health meant that he often spent many months away from Parliament. When Churchill was in power he also tended to concentrate on international policies rather than home affairs. Churchill was not a good peace time leader as he had little time for such policies as industrial expansion and the economy. He preferred to be on the world scene and spent most of his last 5years as prime minister trying to gain a summit with Russia. His lack of clarity in the Commons also led to disagreement about his ability to lead with Anthony Eden ever-ready to criticise Churchill in the hope that this may damage his popularity and lead to him being prime minister. Churchill’s lack of awareness at the home front led to him being an unsuccessful leader and one who never quite knew what direction his party was heading in.
However, the criticisms listed above are not to detract from the fact that Churchill’s ministry did have a great deal of success, most notably on the housing front. In the pre-election victory one of the Conservatives main policies had been to achieve a target of 300,000 houses being built every-year. Macmillan, as minister of housing, set about his work with great enthusiasm and was rewarded when the target for housing was met and surpassed in the years 1953 and 1954. It can be argued that it was easy to achieve this as the vast amount of houses were council houses and the size of the houses had been dramatically reduced compared to other post 1945 houses. However this should not detract from the fact that Macmillan did surpass his targets and his organisation led to the housing ministry becoming the most efficient in the Churchill ministry.
There can be a criticism of Macmillan in that he spent vast amounts on new houses and was running the risk of inflation in the housing market. It may also be said that he failed to plough enough money into industry as the staple industries were still in decline and in need of an input of money.
The rise in living standards, though, aided the ministry to become popular and people believed that the Conservatives were a success. They ended once and for all the age of austerity and the rise in consumer prosperity must be accredited to the confidence that the Conservatives had induced into people.
This confidence would have grown following the Conservatives obvious policy of consensus. The Conservatives continued to show a commitment to the Welfare state and continued to build upon it. A good example of the commitment to the Welfare state was that the report on the working of the NHS reported favorably and the prescription charge of 2shillings was widely accepted to be fair.
The Conservatives attitude to the unions also gave another insight into the consensus policies of the Conservatives.
