There are many theories as to why Churchill lost the general election of 1945.
Something that shocked me greatly, however, was the fact that, despite no major
parties contesting his constituency in Essex out of a sense of respect for their war-
time Prime Minister, an independent candidate managed to reduce by thousands
Churchill’s unassailable majority. The election as a whole was a huge loss for the
Conservatives, losing 190 seats, with Labour’s Clement Attlee leading the Labour
Party to victory, gaining more than 239 seats and, thereafter, fundamentally
changing the face of modern Britain.
This loss was a personal blow for Churchill;
he had expected to win and he had expected
to win without a fight; but it was Attlee’s
promise of a welfare state that the voters
found attractive and voted for in large
numbers. Many historians believe that as the
voters ticked Labour on the ballot papers,
very few expected that the outcome would
really result in what looked like a great
betrayal against a hero. Perhaps it was as if
they wanted the policies promised by Labour,
Clement Attlee
but retain the leadership of their great Prime
Minister Churchill.
However, Churchill did not hand over power of the party to his deputy, Eden, but
rather carried on as leader of the Conservative Party after the election – and
nobody dared to challenge him. He made the famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in the
USA in 1946 and despite losing yet another election in 1950, he continued as
leader of the opposition until 1951, when he began his final term in office,
eventually retiring in 1955 due to a series of strokes. He also suffered from
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