Editing Clement Attlee (section)

=== 1945 election ===
{{main|1945 United Kingdom general election}}
Following the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the [[European theatre of World War II|War in Europe]] in May 1945, Attlee and Churchill favoured the coalition government remaining in place until [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] had been defeated. However, [[Herbert Morrison]] made it clear that the Labour Party would not be willing to accept this, and Churchill was forced to tender his resignation as [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] and call an immediate election.{{sfn|Howell|2006}}

The war had set in motion profound social changes within Britain and had ultimately led to a widespread popular desire for [[social reform]]. This mood was epitomised in the [[Beveridge Report]] of 1942, by the Liberal economist [[William Beveridge]]. The ''Report'' assumed that the maintenance of full employment would be the aim of post-war governments, and that this would provide the basis for the [[welfare state]]. Immediately upon its release, it sold hundreds of thousands of copies. All major parties committed themselves to fulfilling this aim, but most historians say that Attlee's Labour Party was seen by the electorate as the party most likely to follow it through.<ref>Steven Fielding, "What did 'the people' want?: the meaning of the 1945 general election". ''Historical Journal'' 35#3 (1992): 623–639.</ref><ref name="Addison">{{cite magazine|last=Addison|first=Dr Paul|title=Why Churchill Lost in 1945|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/election_01.shtml|magazine=BBC History|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-date=26 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226004022/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/election_01.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref>

Labour campaigned on the theme of "Let Us Face the Future", positioning themselves as the party best placed to rebuild Britain following the war,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab45.htm |title=British Labour Party election manifesto, 1945 [archived] |access-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720200817/http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/man/lab45.htm|archive-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and were widely viewed as having run a strong and positive campaign, while the Conservative campaign centred entirely on Churchill.<ref name="Addison"/> Despite opinion polls indicating a strong Labour lead, opinion polls were then viewed as a novelty which had not proven their worth, and most commentators expected that Churchill's prestige and status as a "war hero" would ensure a comfortable Conservative victory.<ref name="Addison"/> Before polling day, ''[[The Manchester Guardian]]'' surmised that "the chances of Labour sweeping the country and obtaining a clear majority&nbsp;... are pretty remote".<ref>''The Manchester Guardian'' 4 July 1945</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2021}} The ''[[News of the World]]'' predicted a working Conservative majority, while in [[Glasgow]] a pundit forecast the result as Conservatives 360, Labour 220, Others 60.<ref name ="Kynaston">{{cite book |last=Kynaston |first=David |author-link=David Kynaston |title=Austerity Britain 1945–51 |date=2008 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=London |isbn=978-0-7475-9923-4 |pages=70–71}}</ref> Churchill, however, made some costly errors during the campaign. In particular, his suggestion during one radio broadcast that a future Labour Government would require "some form of a gestapo" to implement their policies was widely regarded as being in very bad taste and massively backfired.{{sfn|Howell|2006}}

When the results of the election were announced on 26 July, they came as a surprise to most, including Attlee himself. Labour had won power by a huge landslide, winning 47.7 per cent of the vote to the Conservatives' 36 per cent.<ref name="C. Whiting 1967">R. C. Whiting, "Attlee, Clement Richard, first Earl Attlee (1883–1967)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', 2004.</ref> This gave them 393 seats in the House of Commons, a working majority of 146. This was the first time in history that the Labour Party had won a majority in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/in_depth/election_battles/1945_over.stm|work=BBC News|title=VOTE2001 – THE ELECTION BATTLES 1945–1997|access-date=19 December 2011|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103151039/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/in_depth/election_battles/1945_over.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> When Attlee went to see King [[George&nbsp;VI]] at [[Buckingham Palace]] to be appointed Prime Minister, the notoriously [[wikt:laconic|laconic]] Attlee and the famously tongue-tied King stood in silence; Attlee finally volunteered the remark, "I've won the election". The King replied "I know. I heard it on the Six O'Clock News".<ref>{{cite book|author=Kynaston, David|title=Austerity Britain, 1945–1951|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q7zQx0VRTkgC&pg=PT52|year=2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|page=75|isbn=9780802779588}}</ref>