Vedilin N.A.

 

On the specifics of the 1945 UK general election campaign. Pp. 77–83.

UDC 94(410)”1945″

DOI 10.37724/RSU.2025.89.4.008

 

Abstract. The relevance of the article lies in indepth study of the experience of conducting an election campaign in difficult socio-economic conditions, which can be used in the 21st century. The purpose of the article is to study the non-obvious motivation of the actions of the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties, which influenced their tactics in the election campaign. The subject of the study is the circumstances of the political struggle for the British parliamentary elections in the summer of 1945, the differences in the election tactics of the Conservatives and the Laboir Party, the socio-economic and political circumstances in which the confrontation unfolded, specific actions of the leaders of the Conservative and Labour parties, W. Churchill and C. Attlee.

As a result of the study, the motives of the actions of the leaders of the Conservative and Labour Parties during the election campaign were established. We point out somewhat illogical behavior of W. Churchill from the point of view of generally accepted tactics of the election campaign and the probable reasons for his actions and statements.

Our analysis of all the circumstances of the 1945 election campaign allows us to conclude that Sir Winston Churchill deliberately provoked his party’s failure, trying under the guise of a political struggle to prevent his party from winning the election, as he did not want his name to be associated with the loss of Britain’s imperial status. The illogicality of his position is explained by the subtle expectation that the Labour Party would solve the socio-economic and political problems accumulated during the war, with an inevitable loss of popularity and loss of elections in the near future.

The scope of application of the materials presented in the article and the conclusions drawn is in the field of interests of historians and students specializing in the history of Great Britain of the period under review. The article may also be of interest to specialists in public relations and political science.

 

Keywords: 20th century, Great Britain, election campaign, Conservative Party, C. Attlee, Labour Party, W. Churchill.

 

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