United Kingdom General election in 1945

Held less than two months after VE Day , it was the first general election since 1935 , as general elections had been suspended

The 10.7% 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 the

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.

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 wa...

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 f...

The polls for some seats were delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July because of local wakes weeks .

The election's campaigning was focused on leadership of the country and its 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 ...