Today in 1945, Clement Attlee was elected Britain's new prime minister after Labour won a sweeping victory in the general election. The outgoing prime minister and great wartime leader Winston Churchill tendered his resignation immediately. The landslide victory came as a major shock to the Conservatives following Churchill's successful term as Britain's war-time coalition leader, during which he mobilised and inspired courage in an entire nation. People voted for Attlee, in spite of admiring Churchilll as a hero. Out of 627 seats, Labour increased its seats from 164 to 393, giving the party its first independent majority of 159 seats over all other parties. The Conservatives and their allies secured 213 seats, the Liberals 10 and other parties 11.
Throughout the election campaign Mr Churchill had appealed to the country to give his new National Government - formed after the dissolution of the Coalition government in May - a good majority. But the appeal was rejected by the people of Britain, largely, it is thought, because they believed Labour's promises to implement the Beveridge Report and its plans for creating a welfare state. In a statement issued from 10 Downing Street, Churchill expressed his "profound gratitude for the unflinching, unswerving support" given to him by the people of Britain during the war years. At a news conference this evening, Attlee promised a new world order and an economic policy to raise the standards of life for people all over the world. He said: "We are facing a new era and I believe that the voting at this election has shown that the people of Britain are facing that new era with the same courage as they faced the long years of war."
Despite losing the General Election, Winston Churchill's reputation as one of this country's greatest war-time leaders was left unscathed. He remained leader of the opposition until 1951 when he once again became prime-minister at the age of 77. He resigned in 1955 owing to ill-health and died in January 1965. In 2002 Winston Churchill was named the greatest Briton of all time in a nationwide poll which attracted more than a million votes.
Almost 79 years after this victory, the Labour Party secured victory on 4 July 2024 with a majority of 174 overall other parties. They won 411 seats, while the Conservatives were reduced to 121 seats, their lowest ever tally in history.
