Given Churchill's popularity in the war, why did he lose the 1945 election?
On May 23, 1945, the coalition Government which Churchill had led for five years was dissolved, and he found himself fighting his first election as Prime Minister, and as leader of the Conservative party. He was 70 years old. He had already fought in 15 elections in a political career that had spanned 45 years.
Churchill was one of the greatest British leaders. He was the only 'commoner' to have been given a state funeral. Churchill was 65 when he became Prime Minister. During the 1930's he was considered a vivid personality whose best political days were long since past, because, on the big issues, he had too often showed faulty judgement and took too many risks. As a young man, he had deserted the Conservatives to join the Liberals. No one denied that he had been a brilliant reforming minister in Asquith's government but few forgot his part in the Dardanelles fiasco. Though Baldwin had saved his career in 1924 by making this recent Liberal his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Churchill quarrelled with Baldwin in 1931 and took up so extreme a position against the government reforms in India that he lost any chance of leading the Conservatives in peacetime.
Chamberlain, reluctantly obliged to resign in favour of Churchill in 1940. By temperament, Churchill was a warrior. When he became Prime Minister, he felt that "he was walking with destiny". Driven by his passionate love for the British Empire and his equally passionate hatred of Hitler, he threw himself into the running of the war with an amazing energy for a man of his years. His was a war dictatorship, with him much more a dictator than Lloyd George had ever been. He was the grand strategist with his military chiefs clearly his subordinates.
Churchill was an inspirational war leader whose major achievement was to keep Britain fighting against the odds through 1940 and 1941. He united the British people in an unprecedented manner and ensured that Britain's resources were effectively concentrated to win the war. He also established a valuable personal relationship with President Roosevelt. As a military strategist he made some mistakes., the worst of which led to the fall of Singapore in 1942.The 1945 election marked a watershed in British history. British general elections had already been postponed during the war. Churchill had wished to keep his coalition government going until the war with Japan was over. Labour, however, withdrew from the coalition as soon as Germany had been defeated, and the general election was held in June with soldiers voting all over the world in special polling stations. "They day that started with high hopes had a falling note". Though the world and to some extent Churchill himself were amazed that in the moment of victory, the British people could vote out such a leader, many British politicians were not. Since the publication of the Beveridge Report, opinion polls had been showing Labour well ahead of the Conservatives. The electorate was not so much against Churchill as the Tories, whom it held responsible for the unemployment of the 1930's and for the election campaign struck the right chords, while Churchill's negative attacks on socialism seemed out of place and out of date.
On May 23, 1945, the coalition Government which Churchill had led for five years was dissolved, and he found himself fighting his first election as Prime Minister, and as leader of the Conservative party. He was 70 years old. He had already fought in 15 elections in a political career that had spanned 45 years.
Churchill was one of the greatest British leaders. He was the only 'commoner' to have been given a state funeral. Churchill was 65 when he became Prime Minister. During the 1930's he was considered a vivid personality whose best political days were long since past, because, on the big issues, he had too often showed faulty judgement and took too many risks. As a young man, he had deserted the Conservatives to join the Liberals. No one denied that he had been a brilliant reforming minister in Asquith's government but few forgot his part in the Dardanelles fiasco. Though Baldwin had saved his career in 1924 by making this recent Liberal his Chancellor of the Exchequer, Churchill quarrelled with Baldwin in 1931 and took up so extreme a position against the government reforms in India that he lost any chance of leading the Conservatives in peacetime.
Chamberlain, reluctantly obliged to resign in favour of Churchill in 1940. By temperament, Churchill was a warrior. When he became Prime Minister, he felt that "he was walking with destiny". Driven by his passionate love for the British Empire and his equally passionate hatred of Hitler, he threw himself into the running of the war with an amazing energy for a man of his years. His was a war dictatorship, with him much more a dictator than Lloyd George had ever been. He was the grand strategist with his military chiefs clearly his subordinates.
Churchill was an inspirational war leader whose major achievement was to keep Britain fighting against the odds through 1940 and 1941. He united the British people in an unprecedented manner and ensured that Britain's resources were effectively concentrated to win the war. He also established a valuable personal relationship with President Roosevelt. As a military strategist he made some mistakes., the worst of which led to the fall of Singapore in 1942.The 1945 election marked a watershed in British history. British general elections had already been postponed during the war. Churchill had wished to keep his coalition government going until the war with Japan was over. Labour, however, withdrew from the coalition as soon as Germany had been defeated, and the general election was held in June with soldiers voting all over the world in special polling stations. "They day that started with high hopes had a falling note". Though the world and to some extent Churchill himself were amazed that in the moment of victory, the British people could vote out such a leader, many British politicians were not. Since the publication of the Beveridge Report, opinion polls had been showing Labour well ahead of the Conservatives. The electorate was not so much against Churchill as the Tories, whom it held responsible for the unemployment of the 1930's and for the election campaign struck the right chords, while Churchill's negative attacks on socialism seemed out of place and out of date.
