Labour promoted the welfare state; this was made by written in the Beveridge report and labour made it specific in its manifesto. This meant families could receive the Allowances Act which would provide a regular sum for second and subsequent children to be paid to the mother. The National Health Service Act in order to provide a free and fully comprehensive health service. The National Insurance Act with compulsory contributions to cover unemployment, sickness, maternity, widows, old age benefits, and funeral grants. Labours opponents the Conservatives, did not convince the British public they would carry out the welfare state. This therefore lead to a lack of disbelieve in the Conservative party and more support for the Labour party.
The labour polices had proved them self’s in the coalition government and gained support. They had run the home front polices and help the British public survive during the war. During the war healthy eating came in due to the rationing. This was run by the Clement Atlee. Fatty food and sugars well cut out and cigarettes were also rationed. This sort of control during the war made the idea of government control more acceptable and more people started to vote. This there increased labours chances because there were more voters.
Even though the conservatives helped Britain to win the war they still had a bad reputation. Their nick name was “Guilty Men”. This was because after world war one once Germany had been defeated, Winston Churchill had appeased Hitler. Hitler announced that Germany was undergoing preparations to rearm itself, a fervent violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Winston Churchill done nothing. In 1936, Hitler continued to disobey the restrictions that followed the Great War by announcing the mobilization of troops in the French occupied Rhineland. Though the German army was under strict order to retreat in case of resistance, it was a simple victory. No one stopped Hitler or challenged him so Hitler was allowed to believe that his defiance of the Treaty of Versailles was tolerable, which inevitable caused for the Second World War to occur. This led to lack of support for the conservatives because the were seem to have led the county back in to war. This opened the door for labour to show the unreliability of the conservative party.
The conservative party leader Winston Churchill relied on gratitude towards him for winning the war. Winston Churchill was seen as a war leader, not a leader for peace time. He lost respect with his campaign style which was to attack labour, even though labour had worked along side him by taking care of the home front. On a radio broadcast Winston Churchill said that if labour came to power it will be like the “Gestapo” in power. This was the internal security police of Nazi Germany. The Nazis established the Gestapo in order to monitor and stamp out any political opposition to the Hitler regime. Under Heinrich Himmler, the Gestapo's powers became brutal and far-reaching in ferreting out Jews, Marxists, and even moderate critics of the regime. By referring the labour party to such a brutal regime it was not approved upon and lost creditability for the conservatives.
Overall the actions of Winston Churchill and his decisions through the campaign cost them to loose the election to Labour. I believe that the conservative’s ways of campaigning and relying on gratitude from the British public for winning the war, lost them votes. I also believe that by trying to discredit the Labour party also lost them respect, which lost them votes.
