The Conservative Party Government Era During 1951-1964

In the views of the politicians, the economy was not one of a ‘Golden Age’. As the British Cabinet Paper wrote, ‘It is clear that ever since the end of the war we have tried to do too much…we have only rarely been free from danger of economic crisis’. This illustrates the fact that although the economy was not falling apart, it was not stable and not prosperous. There was also a lack of a plan to deal with the economy; the government merely adjusted the system as it went along, which sometimes resulted in high rises of inflation or sudden consumer booms that did not correlate with its ability to pay for them – causing a deficit.

Labour disunity was a huge contributing factor as to why the conservatives were able to dominate from 1951 to 1964. However, there are also other factors that assisted conservative dominance. Whether that be conservative strengths, good timing, the end of austerity or their handle on public opinion, all factors contributed to the dominant years. However, how long the conservatives actually dominated is also a question. Did they dominate for the whole period, or just part of it? The years 1962-1964 question conservative dominance and how labour reunited.

Secondly, as Wilson faced crises in the failure of Trade Union reform and a stagnant economy, the Tories moved steadily to the right, many seeing this as a successful move by Heath. The move to the right got a massive publicity boost in Selsdon Park Hotel at a shadow cabinet meeting (January 1970) in the run-up to the election. In the public eye, the term ‘Selsdon Man’ (a phrase readily clutched by the media) meant a return to free enterprise -which directly contrasted Wilson’s policies of interventionism - the return to the values of hard work, trade union reform and a more efficient and independent industry. These ideas, although not particularly revolutionary in terms of policy for Tories, in election year provided a real incentive to frustrated voters, who looked at the struggling Wilson government whose interventionist policies were having little upswing effect on the economy. Many see the conference as an end of consensus politics, and the start of a marathon political battle between the two leaders. The fact that the Tories gained such publicity at Selsdon, and managed to convince the electorate that contrasting policies to the labour government such as the move to a more free market economy was necessary, showed Heath to be a successful leader in the outset of his campaign.

The topic I have chosen to discuss related to the last 400 years in Western Civilization is the industrial revolution in Britain. The industrial revolution was what created the modern capitalist system. Britain was the first to lead the way in this huge transformation. Technology changed, businesses, manufactured goods, and wage laborers skyrocketed. There was not only an economic transformation, but also a social transformation. The industrial revolution is such an interesting subject to further explore, because it truly made a difference in Britain in the late 1700s. The industrial revolution brought an increased quantity and variety of manufactured goods and even improved the standard of living for some individuals, however, it resulted in grim employment and living conditions that were for the poor and working classes. The industrial revolution had a bright and dark side to it. It was dark due to all the horrible working conditions, crowded cities, unsanitary facilities, diseases, and unsafe work environment, but the bright side is that it was a period of enormous social progress.

From around 1750 to 1900 Britain went through major changes or transformation in industry, agriculture and transportation that affected everybody’s lives. For some it generally improved their lives, however not all were so lucky. The industrial revolution brought with it many changes good for some and bad for others.

This period of Labour rule is often marked down as a poor performance on behalf of the labour party, critically looked upon by many historians. There were many failings under the rule of this government however the circumstances they were placed in caused severe restraints in their options.

By the early twentieth century the Liberal Government was worried that Britain’s military capability and general military power was not as strong and it once was. Therefore, the Government’s concern over national security definitely influenced the decision for the reforms. However, there are three main factors that also need to be taken into account when deciding if concern over national security was the real reason for the reforms: the Social reasons, concerns for Britain’s Empire and the Political motive. The Social reasons played a large part in persuading the Liberals to reform. The detailed reports of Booth and Rowntree, and the evidence which was brought to light, highlighted that nearly a 1/3 of Britain’s population lived in

While the liberal experienced emotional changes amid the 1970s, the Communist agreement experienced reduced rates of development yet not the sorts of amazing economic rebuilding that happened in the West. These improvements in the 1970s suggested the Cold War's determination in the 1980s. Arranged in similar connection, the changes of the liberal world economy during the 1970s uncovered – an in a few ways improved – the relative backwardness of the Soviet Union's charge economy, with final outcomes for the truth of the Communist administration. Universal fiscal change, in this view, encouraged the ideological and geopolitical improvements that would take the Cold War.

“War what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” This message continually echoed among the American public during the 1970s, emphasizing its voice of protest against the Vietnam War. In contrast with the rise of counterculture in the 1960s, the 1970s saw the rise of conservatism; the desire to revert back to America’s traditional social and religious values. During this time Americans endured a loss of confidence from an unstable economy, an energy crisis, and ongoing action in Vietnam, and Americans thought that conservatism would provide stability. In the 1970s, Americans saw the rise of Motown in the music industry, which fit the mold of conservatism. Protest music became popular as a response to the Vietnam War, attracting Vietnam veterans as well as the younger

Wheelan and Co., a preface to a business directory, says, “It is to the population that Manchester is mainly indebted to its elevation as a seat of commerce and manufacture…for which it is distinguished beyond any other town in the world” (Document 9). This also shows how the growth of the city and its population resulted in this issue of manufacturing and commercial growth. Wheelan and Co. reacts to this elevation of the city saying, “Perhaps no part of England, not even London, presents such remarkable and attractive features as Manchester, the Workshop of the World” (Document 9). This reaction is positive toward the manufacturing growth of the city, describing it as “remarkable” and “attractive.” Another positive opinion on the growth of manufacturing is seen when Thomas B. Macaulay, a liberal Member of Parliament, says that “improvements are owing to the increase in national wealth which the manufacturing system has produced” (Document 3). This reaction shows how he thinks that the growth of manufacturing in Manchester is the basis for the improvement and the wealth of the whole country of England. Because he is a member of English Parliament, he may have a positive bias towards Manchester because it is an English city. Alexis de Tocqueville, a French visitor to Manchester, reacts in a similar way to the issue of the growth of manufacturing that resulted from the growth of the city saying, “from this [city] the greatest

This essay will examine the impact of the Conservative party during their period in office between 1951 and 1964. The assessments by historians of these thirteen years vary widely as the Conservative rule left behind a mixed feeling about its achievements. We will therefore be discussing to what extent their period in office can be described as “thirteen years wasted”, based on their performances in the political, economic and social sectors.

The Industrial Revolution was a period where many major technological advances, such as the steam engine, were made. It began in Britain some time after 1750. The technological advances allowed for much higher rates of production, but had several other effects as well. The Industrial Revolution altered the political situation, social structure, and economic standing of Great Britain. Drastic change in technology during the Industrial Revolution led to several political changes.

Another contributing factor at this election may have been performance in office, which in the above statement is not seen as important as personality and image. However, performance in office may have been extremely detrimental for the conservatives in 1997 because of their crisis in 1992. This focuses on the retrospective model, as people saw the Conservatives as incompetent in handling the economy because of Black Wednesday in September 1992. The Conservatives and especially Noramnt Lamont, Chancellor of the Exchequer, were to blame for the crisis that saw the pound forced out of the ERM. This didn’t help at the 1997 general election where they did extremely badly in a huge Labour win.

Whether or not there truly was a ‘post war consensus’ in British politics from 1951 to 1964 is a highly debatable topic of which historians can often appear to be in two minds about; on one hand, Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson infamously described the period as ‘Thirteen years wasted’, whereas historian Robert Blake (a supporter of the Conservatives’, regards it as a ‘Golden age of growth’. The likes of Kevin Jeffrey’s even argue that consensus had even started before the war. Overall, the central issue was the idea of a mixed economy.

During the 18 century, in Britain occurred the most important phenomenon that changed the history, Industrial Revolution. It was a major turning point in their history but in the world’s history as well because the impact of the inventions changed the economical, social and political field forever. The standard of living increased therefore the population had increased.