1945 United Kingdom general election

none May 2014 May 2014 1945 United Kingdom general election United Kingdom parliamentary no 1935 United Kingdom general election 1935 List of MPs elected in the 1935 United Kingdom general election 1950 United Kingdom general election 1950 List of MPs elected in the 1945 United Kingdom general election All 640 seats in the House of Commons 321 5 July 1945 33,672,036 25,095,19572.8% (1.7 pp) Person attlee2.jpg 122 120 160 0 0 Clement Attlee 25 October 1935 Labour Party (UK) Limehouse 154 seats, 38.0% 393 239 11,967,746 48.0% 10.0 pp Sir Winston Churchill - 19086236948 (cropped2).jpg 124 120 160 0 0 Winston Churchill 9 October 1940 Woodford Conservative Party (UK) Churchill Caretaker Ministry 387 seats, 47.8% 197speaker Figure includes Speaker of the House of Commons Douglas Clifton Brown in Hexham. 190 9,101,099 36.2% 11.6 pp The Air Ministry, 1939-1945. CH10270 – Edit 1.jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Archibald Sinclair 26 November 1935 Liberal Party (UK) Caithness and Sutherland (lost seat) 21 seats,Combined seats for Liberal Party and Independent Liberals in 1931. 6.7% 12 9 2,252,430 9.0% 2.3 pp BrownErnest (cropped).jpg 120 120 160 0 0 Ernest Brown 1940 Liberal National Churchill Caretaker Ministry Leith (lost seat) 33 seats, 3.7% 11 22 737,732 2.9% 0.8 pp Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Winston Churchill Conservative Party (UK) Clement Attlee Labour Party (UK) Opinion polling for the 1945 United Kingdom general election 1945_UK_general_election_map.svg 200px Colours denote the winning partyas shown in Results File:1945 UK GE Composition diagram.svg 330px Composition of the House of Commons after the election A general election was held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 5 July 1945.Polling in some constituencies was delayed by several days, and the counting of votes was postponed until 26 July to allow time for overseas votes to arrive in Britain. With the ongoing Second World War still fresh in the minds of voters, the opposition Labour Party led by Clement Attlee won a landslide victory with a majority of 146 seats, defeating the incumbent Conservative-led government under Prime Minister Winston Churchill. The result reflected widespread public concern about the future direction of the United Kingdom in the post-war period.McCallum R.B. R. B. McCallum Readman Alison The British General Election of 1945 Nuffield Studies 1964 The election's campaigning was focused on leadership of the country and its postwar future. Churchill sought to use his wartime popularity as part of his campaign to keep the Conservatives in power after a wartime coalition had been in place since 1940 with the other political parties, but he faced questions from public opinion surrounding the Conservatives' actions in the 1930s and his ability to handle domestic issues unrelated to warfare. Clement Attlee, leader of the Labour Party, had been Deputy Prime Minister in the wartime coalition in 1940–1945 and was seen as a more competent leader by voters, particularly those who feared a return to the levels of unemployment in the 1930s and who sought a strong figurehead in British politics to lead the postwar rebuilding of the country. Opinion polls when the election was called showed strong approval ratings for Churchill, but Labour had held a lead in voting intention polls since 1943. Labour won a landslide victory, gaining 239 seats for a total majority of 146 with 49.7% of the popular vote, allowing Attlee to become prime minister.Rowe 2004 37 The party also won two seats in a walkover, the last time any seat in the House of Commons went uncontested in a general election.Liverpool Scotland and Rhondda West. This was Labour's first outright majority and enabled Attlee to begin implementing the party's post-war reforms.Lynch 2008 4 The result was a major shock for the Conservatives,1945: Churchill loses general election https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/26/newsid_3572000/3572175.stm BBC News 26 July 1945 22 February 2009 who lost 189 seats despite winning 36.2% of the vote, having campaigned on the assumption that Churchill's wartime leadership would secure victory. The Liberal Party suffered a net loss of nine seats and its leader Archibald Sinclair lost his seat, while the Liberal National Party lost 22 seats, including that of its leader Ernest Brown. A total of 324 new MPs entered the House of Commons, a record that stood until 2024.Record 335 new MPs to be inducted into House of Commons this week https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/09/record-335-new-mps-to-be-inducted-into-house-of-commons-this-week 9 July 2024 The Guardian 9 July 2024 en-US Courea Eleni Additionally, the beginning of the Attlee ministry paralleled the beginning of the Truman administration in the United States. The 11.7% swing from the Conservatives to an opposition party is the largest since the Acts of Union 1800; the Conservative loss of the vote exceeded that of their landslide defeat in 1906. It was also the first election since 1906 in which the Conservatives did not win a plurality (relative majority) of the popular vote. Churchill remained actively involved in politics and returned as prime minister after leading his party into the 1951 general election. For the Liberal National Party the election was their last as a distinct party, as they merged with the Conservatives in 1947 (although they operated as a subsidiary party of the Conservatives until 1968) while Ernest Brown resigned from politics in the aftermath of the election. As it was the first general election held since the German surrender in World War II, and nearly 10 years since the last general election in 14 November 1935, it was the first of three elections during the reign of George VI. Dissolution of Parliament and campaign thumb|RAF mechanics in Klagenfurt, Austria study election material. Held less than two months following VE Day, this was the first general election since 1935, as general elections had been suspended by Parliament during the Second World War. Clement Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party, refused Winston Churchill's offer of continuing the wartime coalition until the Allied defeat of Japan. On 15 June, King George VI dissolved Parliament, which had been sitting for nearly ten years without an election. The Labour manifesto, Let Us Face the Future, included promises of nationalisation, economic planning, full employment, a National Health Service, and a system of social security. The manifesto proved popular with the electorate, selling one and a half million copies.Bew John Citizen Clem: A Biography of Attlee 2017 336 Churchill's manifesto, Mr. Churchill's Declaration to the Voters, on the other hand, included progressive ideas on key social issues but was relatively vague on the idea of postwar economic control,Thomas Willis 2016 154–155 and the party was associated with high levels of unemployment in the 1930s. It failed to convince voters that it could effectively deal with unemployment in a postwar Britain.Lecture Bogdanor Vernon Vernon Bogdanor The General Election, 1945 23 September 2014 Museum of London https://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/the-general-election-1945 26 May 2018 In May 1945, when the war in Europe ended, Churchill's approval ratings stood at 83%, but the Labour Party had held an 18% poll lead as of February 1945.Addison Paul Paul Addison Why Churchill Lost in 1945 https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/election_01.shtml BBC 29 April 2005 22 February 2009 The polls for some seats were delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July because of local wakes weeks.General Election (Polling Date): 31 May 1945: House of Commons debates https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1945-05-31a.373.2#g374.3 They Work For You The results were counted and declared on 26 July to allow time to transport the votes of those serving overseas. Victory over Japan Day ensued on 15 August. Outcome The caretaker government, led by Churchill, was heavily defeated. The Labour Party led by Attlee won a landslide victory and gained a majority of 146 seats. It was the first election in which Labour gained a majority of seats and the first in which it won a relative majority (plurality) of votes. The election was a disaster for the Liberal Party, which lost all of its urban seats, and marked its transition from being a party of government to a party of the political fringe.Baines 1995 Its leader, Archibald Sinclair, lost his rural seat of Caithness and Sutherland. That was the last general election until 2019 in which a major party leader lost their seat, but Sinclair lost only by six votes in a very tight three-way contest. The Liberal National Party fared even worse by losing two-thirds of its seats and falling behind the Liberals in seat count for the first time since the parties split in 1931. It was the final election that the Liberal Nationals fought as an autonomous party, as they merged with the Conservative Party two years later although they continued to exist as a subsidiary party of the Conservatives until 1968. Future prominent figures who entered Parliament included Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Barbara Castle, Michael Foot and Hugh Gaitskell. Future Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan lost his seat, but he returned to Parliament at a by-election later that year. Reasons for Labour victory thumb|Attlee meeting King George VI following Labour's 1945 election victory Ralph Ingersoll reported in late 1940: Everywhere I went in London people admired [Churchill's] energy, his courage, his singleness of purpose. People said they didn't know what Britain would do without him. He was obviously respected. But no one felt he would be Prime Minister after the war. He was simply the right man in the right job at the right time. The time being the time of a desperate war with Britain's enemies.Ingersoll 1940 127 The historian Henry Pelling, noting that polls showed a steady Labour lead after 1942, pointed to long-term forces that caused the Labour landslide: the usual swing against the party in power, the Conservative loss of initiative, wide fears of a return to the high unemployment of the 1930s, the theme that socialist planning would be more efficient in operating the economy, and the mistaken belief that Churchill would continue as prime minister regardless of the result.Pelling 1980 399–414 Labour strengths thumb|A 1943 poster by the Army Bureau of Current Affairs suggested that a British victory would lead to positive social change, like slum clearance. Churchill considered the poster "a disgraceful libel on the conditions prevailing in Great Britain before the war" and ordered it suppressed.Games Naomi Abram Games: His Wartime Work https://books.google.com/books?id=U5OSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT104 Stroud 2019 1 November 2020 9781445692463 Amberley Publishing The greatest factor in Labour's dramatic win appeared to be its policy of social reform. In one opinion poll, 41% of respondents considered housing to be the most important issue that faced the country, 15% stated the Labour policy of full employment, 7% mentioned social security, 6% nationalisation, and just 5% international security, which was emphasised by the Conservatives. The Beveridge Report, published in 1942, proposed the creation of a welfare state. It called for a dramatic turn in British social policy, with provision for nationalised healthcare, expansion of state-funded education, National Insurance and a new housing policy. The report was extremely popular, and copies of its findings were widely purchased, turning it into a best-seller. The Labour Party adopted the report eagerly, and the Conservatives (including Churchill, who did not regard the reforms as socialist) accepted many of the principles of the report, but argued that they were not affordable.Lynch 2008 10 Labour offered a new comprehensive welfare policy, reflecting a consensus that social changes were needed.Lynch 2008 4 The Conservatives were not willing to make the same changes that Labour proposed, and appeared out of step with public opinion. Labour played to the concept of "winning the peace" that would follow the war. Possibly for that reason, there was especially strong support for Labour in the armed services, which feared the unemployment and homelessness to which the soldiers of the First World War had returned. It has been claimed that the left-wing bias of teachers in the armed services was a contributing factor, but that argument has generally not carried much weight, and the failure of the Conservative governments in the 1920s to deliver a "land fit for heroes" was likely more important.Lynch 2008 4 Labour had also been given during the war the opportunity to display to the electorate its domestic competence in government, under men such as Attlee as Deputy Prime Minister, Herbert Morrison at the Home Office and Ernest Bevin at the Ministry of Labour.Thomas Willis 2016 154–155 The differing wartime strategies of the two parties likewise gave Labour an advantage. Labour continued to attack prewar Conservative governments for their inactivity in tackling Hitler, reviving the economy and rearming Britain,Lynch 2008 1–4 but Churchill was less interested in furthering his party, much to the chagrin of many of its members and MPs. Conservative weaknesses Churchill caretaker ministry#The Election Campaign Though voters respected and liked Churchill's wartime record, they were more distrustful of the Conservative Party's domestic and foreign policy record in the late 1930s.Thomas Willis 2016 154–155 Churchill and the Conservatives are also generally considered to have run a poor campaign in comparison to Labour. Churchill's personal popularity remained high; hence, the Conservatives were confident of victory and based much of their election campaign on that, rather than proposing new programmes. However, people distinguished between Churchill and his party, a contrast that Labour repeatedly emphasised throughout the campaign. Voters also harboured doubts over Churchill's ability to lead the country on the domestic front.Lynch 2008 4 The writer and soldier Anthony Burgess remarked that Churchill, who then often wore a colonel's uniform, was not nearly as popular with soldiers at the front as with officers and civilians. Burgess noted that Churchill often smoked cigars in front of soldiers who had not had a decent cigarette in days.Burgess 1987 305 In addition to the poor Conservative general election strategy, Churchill went so far as to accuse Attlee of seeking to behave as a dictator, despite Attlee's service as part of Churchill's war cabinet. In the most famous incident of the campaign, Churchill's first election broadcast on 4 June backfired dramatically and memorably. Denouncing his former coalition partners, he declared that Labour "would have to fall back on some form of a Gestapo" to impose socialism on Britain.Marr 2008 5–6 Attlee responded the next night by ironically thanking the prime minister for demonstrating to the people the difference between "Churchill the great wartime leader" and "Churchill the peacetime politician" and argued the case for public control of industry. Another blow to the Conservative campaign was the memory of the 1930s policy of appeasement, conducted by Churchill's Conservative predecessors, Neville Chamberlain and Stanley Baldwin, that had been widely discredited for allowing Adolf Hitler's Germany to become too powerful.Lynch 2008 4 Labour had strongly advocated appeasement until 1938, but the interwar period had been dominated by Conservatives. With the exception of two brief minority Labour governments in 1924 and 1929–1931, the Conservatives had been in power for all of the interwar period. As a result, the Conservatives were generally blamed for the era's mistakes: appeasement, inflation and the unemployment of the Great Depression.Lynch 2008 4 Many voters felt that although the First World War had been won, the peace that followed had been lost. Results List of MPs elected in the 1945 United Kingdom general election Constituency election results in the 1945 United Kingdom general election Summary of seats returned + centre|420px PartyBritish Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Micheal Thrasher 34 Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 2006 Leader MPs Aggregate votes Of total Of totalAdjusted for multi-member constituencies. Labour Party Clement Attlee 393Includes 23 Co-operative Party MPs, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 393 640 1 yes Labour Party (UK) 11,967,746 48.0% 48.0 Labour Party (UK) Conservative and Unionist Party Winston Churchill 197speaker 197 640 1 yes Conservative Party (UK) 9,101,099 36.2% 36.2 Conservative Party (UK) Conservative PartyResults for England and Wales. Winston Churchill 163speaker 163 640 1 yes Conservative Party (UK) 7,829,082 31.6% 31.6 Conservative Party (UK) Unionist Party John Craik-Henderson 25 25 640 1 yes Unionist Party (Scotland) 879,567 3.5% 3.5 Unionist Party (Scotland) Ulster Unionist Party Basil Brooke 9 9 640 1 yes Ulster Unionist Party 392,450 1.1% 1.1 Ulster Unionist Party Liberal Party Archibald Sinclair 12 12 640 1 yes Liberal Party (UK) 2,252,430 9.0% 9.0 Liberal Party (UK) Liberal National Party Ernest Brown 11 11 640 1 yes National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) 737,732 2.9% 2.9 National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) Independent 8 8 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 132,339 0.5% 0.5 Independent (politician) Independent Labour Party Bob Edwards 3 3 640 1 yes Independent Labour Party 46,679 0.2% 0.2 Independent Labour Party Nationalist Party James McSparran 2 2 640 1 yes Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) 148,078 0.4% 0.4 Nationalist Party (Northern Ireland) National 2 2 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 133,179 0.5% 0.5 National Government (United Kingdom) Communist Party of Great Britain Harry Pollitt 2 2 640 1 yes Communist Party of Great Britain 102,780 0.4% 0.4 Communist Party of Great Britain Independent Unionist 2 2 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 82,542 0.3% 0.3 National Government (United Kingdom) Independent Labour 2 2 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 63,135 0.3% 0.3 National Government (United Kingdom) National Independent 2 2 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 61,749 0.3% 0.3 National Government (United Kingdom) Independent Liberal 2 2 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 30,450 0.1% 0.1 National Government (United Kingdom) Common Wealth Party Charles Andrew Smith 1 1 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 110,634 0.4% 0.4 National Government (United Kingdom) Independent Progressive 1 1 640 1 yes Independent (politician) 35,071 0.1% 0.1 National Government (United Kingdom) Full results Below is a table summarising the constituency results of the 1945 general election in England, excluding the result in the university constituencies. The seat count and vote share comparisons for the Churchill Caretaker Ministry coalition are compared with the National Government coalition which had effectively dissolved in 1940. centre|500x500px +Results of the July 1945 general election to the House of Commons of the United KingdomPartyCraig F. W. S. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–49 https://books.google.com/books?id=MMCuCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 1st 1977 The Macmillan Press Ltd London and Basingstoke 978-1-349-81467-1https://api.parliament.uk/uk-general-elections/general-elections/28 UK General Elections Results 1832-2019 12 August 2026British Electoral Facts Colin Rallings Micheal Thrasher Total Politics 978-1-907278-03-7 2006LeaderCandidatesMPsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of total (%) Total Of total (%)Adjusted for multi-member constituencies. Change (%)   Labour ClementAttlee 603Includes 34 Co-operative Party candidates, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 393Includes 23 Co-operative Party MPs, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 242Includes 14 Co-operative Party MPs, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 3 239 61.4Includes 3.6% for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 11,967,746Includes 635,335 for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 48.0Includes 2.6% for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance. 10.0Includes 0.9% for the Co-operative Party, as part of the Labour-Co-op alliance.   Churchill Caretaker Ministry (Total) WinstonChurchill 618 210 16 235 219 32.8 9,972,010 39.6 13.7 Conservative Party (UK)Figure includes the Unionist Party and the Ulster Unionist Party under their nation affiliations with the Conservative Party. WinstonChurchill 559 197speaker 14 204 190 30.8 9,101,099 36.2 11.6   LiberalNational ErnestBrown 49 11 0 22 22 1.7 737,732 2.9 0.8   National 10 2Andrew Duncan in City of London and John Anderson in Combined Scottish Universities. 2Andrew Duncan in City of London and John Anderson in Combined Scottish Universities. 1Ivor Guest in Brecon and Radnorshire. 1 0.3 133,179 0.5 0.2   NationalLabour0 0 colspan="2" Dissolved 8 — 0 0.0 1.5   Liberal ArchibaldSinclair306 12 5 14 9 1.9 2,252,430 9.0 2.3   Nationalist James<br/ >McSparran 3 2 0 0 0.3 148,078 0.4 0.1   Independent 36 8 6 0 6 — 132,340 0.5 0.5   Common Wealth C. A.Smith 23 1Vernon Bartlett in Chelmsford. colspan=2 New 1 — 110,634 0.4 New   Communist HarryPollitt 21 2Phil Piratin in Mile End and Willie Gallacher in West Fife. 1Phil Piratin in Mile End. 0 1 0.3 102,780 0.4 0.3   IndependentUnionist 3 2John Mackie in Galloway and James Little in Down. colspan=2 Did not stand in 1935 2 — 82,542 0.3   IndependentLabour 7 2 2Denis Pritt in Hammersmith North and Jack Beattie in Belfast West. 0 2 — 63,135 0.3 0.2   NationalIndependent 11 2Ernest Graham-Little in London University and Daniel Lipson in Cheltenham. 1Daniel Lipson in Cheltenham. 1Austin Hopkinson in Mossley. — 61,749 0.3 0.1   Ind. Labour Party BobEdwards 5 3 0 1George Buchanan re-elected in Glasgow Gorbals but as official Labour candidate. 1 0.5 46,679 0.2 0.5   IndependentProgressive 7 1 1Ernest Millington in Bridgwater. 0 1 0.2 35,071 0.1 0.1   SNP DouglasYoung 8 0 0 0 — 30,595 0.1   IndependentLiberal 3 2 2John MacLeod in Ross and Cromarty and Murdoch Macdonald in Inverness. 0 2 — 30,450 0.1 0.1   Plaid Cymru SaundersLewis 7 0 0 0 — 16,017 0.1 0.1   Commonwealth Labour Party HarryMidgley 1 0 colspan=3 New — 14,096 0.1 New   IndependentConservative 3 0 0 0 — 9,729 0.0 0.1   IndependentNational 4 0 colspan=3 Did not stand in 1935 — 5,430 0.0   LiverpoolProtestant Harry Dixon Longbottom 1 0 0 0 — 2,601 0.0   ProtestantAction John Cormack 1 0 colspan="3" New — 2,493 0.0 New   ChristianPacifist 1 0 colspan="3" Did not stand in 1935 — 2,381 0.0   Agriculturalist 2 0 colspan="3" Did not stand in 1935 — 2,057 0.0   Democratic Norman Leith-Hay-Clark 5 0 colspan="3" New — 1,809 0.0 New   Medical 1 0 colspan="3" New — 1,249 0.0 New   Socialist (GB) 1 0 colspan="3" New — 472 0.0 New   United Socialist GuyAldred 1 0 colspan="3" New — 300 0.0 New   Independent Scoittish Nationalist 1 0 colspan="3" New — 232 0.0 New Total 1,683 640 25The number of seats in England was increased from 492 to 517 for this election. 25 100.0 25,095,195 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 33,672,036https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7529/CBP-7529.pdf UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections Cracknell Richard Uberoi Elise Burton Matthew 9 August 2023 House of Commons Library 30 8 August 2026Including the electorate in uncontested constituencies. 72.8https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7529/CBP-7529.pdf UK Election Statistics: 1918-2023, A Century of Elections Cracknell Richard Uberoi Elise Burton Matthew 9 August 2023 House of Commons Library 29 8 August 2026Adjusted for multi-member constituencies. 1.7 Popular vote Popular vote #ddd 600px 410px Labour Labour Party (UK) 48.0 Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 36.2 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 9.0 Liberal National National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) 2.9 Others #A9A9A9 3.9 Popular vote (coalitions) #ddd 600px 410px Labour Labour Party (UK) 48.0 Caretaker Gov. #000000 39.6 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 9.0 Others #A9A9A9 3.4 Parliament seats Parliament seats #ddd 600px 410px Labour Labour Party (UK) 61.4 Conservative Conservative Party (UK) 30.8 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 1.9 Liberal National National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) 1.7 Others #A9A9A9 4.2 Parliament seats (coalitions) #ddd 600px 410px Labour Labour Party (UK) 61.4 Caretaker Gov. #000000 32.8 Liberal Liberal Party (UK) 1.9 Others #A9A9A9 3.9 Transfers of seats July 2020 All comparisons are with the winning party in the 1935 election; the aim is to provide a comparison with the previous general election. This list includes seats where the incumbent was standing down and therefore there was no possibility of a particular person being defeated. In some cases the sitting MP had changed to the gaining party. Such circumstances are marked with a *. In other circumstances the gaining party had won a by-election in the intervening years, and then retained the seat in 1945. Such circumstances are marked with a †. ToFromNo.Seats Communist Party of Great Britain Labour Party (UK)1Mile EndLabour Party (UK) Independent Labour Party1Gorbals* National Labour Organisation8Kilmarnock, Derby (one of two)†, Ormskirk, Leicester West, Nottingham South, Lichfield†, Leeds Central, Cardiff C Liberal Party (UK)9Dundee (one of two), Paisley, Birkenhead East, Bristol North,Candidate had defected to Liberal National Party. Bethnal Green South-West, Wolverhampton East, Middlesbrough West, Bradford South, Carnarvonshire   National Independent1Mossley UK National Government1Brecon and Radnor† Conservative Party (UK)186Dundee (one of two), Kelvingrove, Dunbartonshire†, Lanark, Lanarkshire N, Renfrewshire W, Rutherglen, Edinburgh North, Edinburgh Central, Midlothian S & Peebles, Berwick and Haddington, Bedford, Reading, Buckingham, Wycombe, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, Birkenhead West, Crewe, Stalybridge and Hyde, Southampton (one of two), Penryn and Falmouth, Carlisle, Derby (one of two), Belper, Derbyshire South, Derbyshire West,Seat had been won by an Independent Labour candidate in a by-election, who fought and won the 1945 election as a Labour candidate. Sutton, Darlington, Stockton-on-Tees, Sunderland (one of two), The Hartlepools, Leyton East, Colchester, East Ham N, Epping, Essex SE, Ilford N (from Ilford), Maldon,Seat had been won by an independent candidate in a by-election, who fought and won the 1945 election as a Labour candidate. Walthamstow E, Bristol Central, Gloucester, Stroud, Thornbury, Portsmouth Central, Portsmouth North, Winchester, Dudley, Kidderminster, Stourbridge, Hitchin, St Albans, Watford, Kingston upon Hull North West, Kingston upon Hull South West, Chatham, Chislehurst, Dartford†, Dover, Faversham, Gillingham, Gravesend, Accrington, Barrow-in-Furness, Blackburn (both seats), Chorley, Clitheroe, Preston (both seats), Rossendale, Bolton (both seats), Eccles, Heywood and Radcliffe, Blackley, Manchester Exchange, Hulme, Moss Side, Rusholme, Oldham (one of two), Salford North, Salford South, Salford West, Stretford, Bootle, Edge Hill, Liverpool Exchange, Fairfield, Kirkdale, Walton, Warrington, Widnes, Harborough, Leicester East, Leicester South, Loughborough, Grimsby, Lincoln, Balham and Tooting, Battersea South, Brixton, Camberwell North West, Clapham, Dulwich, Fulham East, Greenwich, Hackney North, Hammersmith South, Islington East, Kensington North, Lewisham East, Lewisham West, Norwood, Paddington North, Fulham West†, Islington North†, Kennington†, Peckham†, St Pancras North, St Pancras South East, St Pancras South West, Stoke Newington, Wandsworth Central†, Woolwich West, Ealing West, Enfield, Harrow East, Spelthorne, Uxbridge, Willesden East, King's Lynn, Norfolk North, Norfolk South, Norfolk South West, Norwich (one of two), Kettering, Northampton, Peterborough, Wellingborough, Newcastle upon Tyne Central, Newcastle upon Tyne West, Tynemouth, Wallsend, Wansbeck, Nottingham Central, Nottingham East, Rushcliffe, The Wrekin, Frome, Taunton, Burton, Smethwick, Stafford, Bilston, Wolverhampton West, Ipswich†, Lowestoft, Sudbury, Croydon South, Mitcham, Wimbledon, Duddeston, Coventry East (replaced Coventry), Aston, Deritend, Erdington, King's Norton, Ladywood, Yardley, Sparkbrook, Birmingham West, Swindon, York, Cleveland, Leeds North East, Sheffield Central, Bradford North, Sowerby, Elland, Leeds West, Halifax, Bradford East, Newport, Llandaff and Barry, Cardiff E,Seat had been won by an independent candidate in a by-election. Cardiff S National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) Liberal National17Greenock†, Leith, Luton, Devonport,Candidate had moved to 'National' label. Gateshead, Sunderland (one of two), Southampton (one of two), Oldham (one of two), Bosworth, Southwark North†, Great Yarmouth, Norwich (one of two), Newcastle upon Tyne East, Walsall, Huddersfield, Spen Valley, Swansea West New seats14Eton and Slough, Ilford South, Barking, Dagenham, Hornchurch, Thurrock, Barnet, Hendon North, Southall, Wembley North, Wembley South, Bexley, Acock's Green, Coventry West Independent Labour Labour Party (UK)1Hammersmith North* Ulster Unionist Party1Belfast West Common Wealth Party Conservative Party (UK)1Chelmsford*Liberal Party (UK) Labour Party (UK)1Carmarthen Conservative Party (UK)2Dorset North, Buckrose National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) Liberal National2Eye*, Montgomeryshire* Independent ProgressiveConservative Party (UK)1Bridgwater† Independent politician5Grantham†, Rugby†, Cambridge University (one of two), Combined English Universities (one of two), Oxford University (one of two)   National Independent1CheltenhamSeat had been won by Independent Conservative candidate in a by-election, who fought and won the 1945 election as a National Independent candidate.Conservative Party (UK) Liberal Party (UK)5Caithness and Sutherland, Isle of Ely, Barnstaple,Candidate had defected to the Common Wealth party. Berwick-upon-Tweed, Carnarvon Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)1Daventry†New seats8Bucklow, Woodford, Orpington, Blackpool North, Carshalton, Sutton and Cheam, Worthing, Solihull Independent Unionist Conservative Party (UK)1Galloway* Independent Liberal National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) Liberal National2Ross and Cromarty,Seat had been won by National Labour in a by-election. Inverness Independent Unionist Ulster Unionist Party1Down (one of two)* Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom) Conservative Party (UK)1Hexham*   National Conservative Party (UK)2City of London (one of two)†, Combined Scottish Universities (one of three) Independent (politician) National Liberal Party (UK, 1931)1Combined Scottish Universities (one of three) MPs who lost their seats Conservative Nigel Colman (Brixton) Harold Macmillan (Stockton-on-Tees) Liberal Percy Harris (Bethnal Green South West) Opinion polls Opinion polling for the 1945 United Kingdom general election Polls showed a lead for Labour since 1943, except for one poll in June 1945 when both Labour and the Conservatives tied on 45%. See also List of MPs elected in the 1945 United Kingdom general election 1945 United Kingdom general election in England 1945 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 1945 United Kingdom general election in Wales 1945 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland 1945 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours Attlee ministry Notes References Sources Baines Malcolm The liberal Party and 1945 general election Contemporary Record 1995 9 48–61 1 10.1080/13619469508581327 Burgess Anthony Anthony Burgess Little Wilson and Big God 1987 Heinemann 1446452557 https://books.google.com/books?id=3Z1bAAAAMAAJ&q=churchill+cigar 1 September 2014 https://archive.org/stream/ReportOnEngland#page/n145/mode/2up Report on England, November 1940 Ingersoll Ralph Ralph Ingersoll (PM publisher) Simon and Schuster 1940 New York Lynch Michael Britain 1945–2007 Access to History 1. The Labour Party in Power 1945–51 Hodder Headline 2008 978-0-340-96595-5 McCallum, R. B. and Alison Readman. The British General Election of 1945 (Nuffield Studies) (1964) Marr Andrew Andrew Marr A History of Modern Britain Pan Macmillan Ltd. 2008 5–6 978-0-330-43983-1 A History of Modern Britain Pelling Henry Henry Pelling The 1945 general election reconsidered Historical Journal 23 399–414 2 1980 2638675 154658298 10.1017/S0018246X0002433X Rowe Chris Britain 1929–1998 https://books.google.com/books?id=PCVBTkQbSFEC&pg=PA37 Heinemann 2004 978-0-435-32738-5 Thomas Jo Willis Michael Wars and Welfare: Britain in Transition 1906–1957 Oxford University Press Oxford 2016 978-0-19-8354-598 Further reading 30em yes Addison Paul Paul Addison The Road to 1945: British politics and the Second World War Cape London 1975 Brooke Stephen Labour's war: the Labour party during the Second World War Oxford University Press Oxford 1992 Burgess Simon 1945 Observed – A History of the Histories Contemporary Record 5 155–170 1 1991 10.1080/13619469108581164 Historiography F.W.S. Craig F. W. S. Craig British Electoral Facts: 1832–1987 1989 Gower Dartmouth 0900178302 Fielding Steven Steven Fielding (political historian) What did 'the people' want?: the meaning of the 1945 general election Historical Journal 1992 35 623–639 3 2639633 10.1017/S0018246X00026005 free Fry Geoffrey K. A Reconsideration of the British General Election of 1935 and the Electoral Revolution of 1945 History 1991 76 43–55 246 10.1111/j.1468-229X.1991.tb01533.x Gilbert Bentley B. Third Parties and Voters' Decisions: The Liberals and the General Election of 1945 Journal of British Studies 1972 11 131–141 2 10.1086/385629 143458163 Harrington, William, and Peter Young. The 1945 revolution (1978) online Kandiah Michael David The conservative party and the 1945 general election 1995 22–47 McCallum R.B. R. B. McCallum Readman Alison The British general election of 1945 1947 The standard scholarly study McCulloch Gary Labour, the Left, and the British General Election of 1945 Journal of British Studies 1985 24 465–489 4 175476 10.1086/385847 144018929 Nicholas H. The British general election of 1950 1951 Macmillan London 0-333-77865-0 Toye Richard Richard Toye Winston Churchill's 'Crazy Broadcast': Party, Nation, and the 1945 Gestapo Speech Journal of British Studies 2010 49 655–680 3 23265382 https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/9424/Winston%20Churchill's%20Crazy%20Broadcast.pdf?sequence=2 10.1086/652014 10871/9424 free External links Catalogue of general election ephemera held at LSE Archives https://web.archive.org/web/20240720221109/https://archives.lse.ac.uk/TreeBrowse.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&field=RefNo&key=COLL%20MISC%200723 20 July 2024 Labour Wins http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/967373 Melbourne Argus 27 July 1945 http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120130011015/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/geresults.html 30 January 2012 Manifestos Mr. Churchill's Declaration of Policy to the Electors https://web.archive.org/web/20120724115119/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/con45.htm 24 July 2012, 1945 Conservative Party manifesto Let Us Face the Future, 1945 Labour Party manifesto 20 Point Manifesto of the Liberal Party https://web.archive.org/web/20120531133024/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lib45.htm 31 May 2012, 1945 Liberal Party manifesto 1945 General election Category:July 1945 in the United Kingdom Category:Electoral history of Winston Churchill Category:Clement Attlee Category:History of the Labour Party (UK)