Flashcards
Prime Ministers
Cards in this deck (11)
- 1Winston Churchill1951-55
Churchill was a revered wartime leader, but he lost power to Labour in 1945.
Churchill narrowly lost the 1950 general election and returned to office in 1951 aged 77, remaining PM until 1955.
Churchill suffered a minor stroke in 1953 but this was largely kept away from the public's knowledge. - 2Anthony Eden1955-57
He succeeded Churchill in 1855 and was quickly re-endorsed in the 1955 election as Prime Minister in his own right.
Eden had previously served as Deputy PM (1951-5) and Foreign Secretary (1935-8) when he resigned in protest to appeasement of Hitler.
Eden never recovered from the Suez Crisis in late 1956 when Britain was forced to abandon its invasion of Egypt under American and Soviet pressure.
Eden was rumoured to have had a nervous breakdown under the pressure of this incident and was replaced by Macmillan. - 3Harold Macmillan1957-63
Macmillan succeeded Eden in early 1957 in the aftermath of the Suez Crisis.
In 1957 he claimed that Britain was entering a new era of prosperity, proclaiming that 'most people have never had it so good'.
He won the 1959 election, comfortable beating a divided Labour Party.
He retired from office in late 1963 due to ill-health. The Conservatives suffered a number of scandals towards the end of his time as PM, most notably the Profumo Affair (1962-3). - 4Sir Alec Douglas-Home1963-64
Douglas-Home took office in controversial circumstances following Macmillan's resignation in October 1963.
He had previously been Foreign Secretary and was selected to be the new Conservative Leader while a member of the Lords but not an MP.
A hastily arranged by-election saw him elected for a safe Conservative seat in Perthshire, Scotland, as it was felt it would be inappropriate for the PM not to be an elected MP.
Douglas-Home was only PM for a year, and was narrowly defeated by Labour's Harold Wilson in October.
Labour attacked his aristocratic background and claimed he was out of touch with ordinary people. - 5Harold WilsonWilson became Labour's first PM for 13 years after defeating Home and the Conservatives in the 1964 election.
He managed to heal some of the splits in the Labour Party in winning power, although divisions emerged while labour was in office.,
Wilson presided over significant 'liberal' reforms, including the legalisation of abortion, homosexuality and the abolition of the death penalty.
In 1967 his government devalued the pound, leading to spending cuts and economic difficulties.
in 1969 he sent British troops into Northern Ireland to deal with sectarian violence. - 6Edward Heath1970-74
Heath surprisingly defeated Labour's Wilson in the summer of 1970. He was a contrast to the aristocratic Home in that he came from a lower middle-class background.
Heath initially promoted 'free market' economic reforms to end the 'years of consensus'. However with rising unemployment he reverted to 'Keynesian' high public spending.
In 1971-2 he negotiated Britain's entry to the EEC and in 1972 he imposed 'direct rule' on Northern Ireland.
By 1974, a series of strikes and industrial disputes had put him on collision course with trade unions. He called election on the issue 'who governs Britain'. The Conservatives were narrowly beaten, and then again in October 1974. - 7Harold Wilson1974-76
Wilson returned to power in 1974 following the two general elections (Feb+Oct) of that year.
Between February and October 1974, Wilson governed as a minority government with Liberal and minority party support. This was the first hung Parliament since 1929.
With a tiny minority after October 1974, Wilson's government was plagued by economic problems, inflation at 26% and it had to increase taxation.
Wilson held a referendum in 1975 which endorsed Britain's entry to the EEC.
Wilson resigned in due to worsening health. - 8James Callaghan1976-79
Took over as PM after Wilson's retirement in April 1976.
Wilson said he wanted to make way for younger person, but Callaghan was older than him.
Callaghan inherited a dismal economic situation, with high levels of inflation and loans having to be secured from the IMF in 1976.
In 1977 Labour lost its parliamentary majority but was kept in power by a Lib-Lab Pact.
In 1978-79 mass strikes and disruption by trade unions led to the 'Winter of Discontent'. Callaghan lost a parliamentary 'vote of no confidence' (March) and then lost power to the Conservatives. - 9Margaret Thatcher1979-90
Thatcher became Britain's first ever female PM when she defeated Callaghan at the 1979 election.
She vowed to curb excessive trade union power and promised to end the 'years of consensus' by reducing public spending and bringing inflation under control.
Thatcher followed tax-cutting policies and privatization which proved to be popular and which won her two more elections in 1983 and 1987.
She went on to become Britain's longest serving post-war PM but was ousted by her own party. - 10John Major1990-97
Following Thatcher's forced resignation by her own MPs, John Major succeeded her as PM in November 1990.
He steered Britain the first Gulf War of 1991 before winning the Conservatives' fourth successive general election in April 1992, although only with a smal majority of 21.
His term of office was blighted by the events of 'Black Wednesday' (September 1992) when Britain crashed out of the ERM.
In the later years of Major's government, Britain recovered from recession butt the administration was damaged by a series of 'sleaze' scandals.
Major was defeated by Labour's Tony Blair in a landslide defeat- the Tories biggest loss since 1832. - 11Tony Blair1997-2007
Won three successive general elections and was PM for ten years, became the most successful Labour Party leader ever.
Sought to reject the traditional ideological division between left and right as part of his 'New Labour' project.
Blair sought to radically reform the UK's public services, seeking a combination of public and private investment to 'modernise' the country's infrastructure.
Blair was not afraid to take controversial decisions, most notably when he supported the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, despite significant public opposition.
After being re-elected for third term in 2005, Blair stood down in 2007 under pressure from his long-term rival and eventual successor, Gordon Brown.
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- A Levels History Flashcards on Prime Ministers, created by rgav97 on 05/06/2015.
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