The 1959 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 8 October 1959. The Conservative Party under the leadership of incumbent prime minister Harold Macmillan won a landslide victory with a majority of 100 seats. This was their third election victory in a row.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of Clause IV
Clause IV is part of the Labour Party Rule Book which sets out the aims and values of the British Labour Party. The original clause, adopted in 1918, called for common ownership of industry, and proved controversial in later years; Hugh Gaitskell attempted to remove the clause following Labour's loss in the 1959 general election.
In 1995, under the leadership of Tony Blair, a new Clause IV was adopted. This was seen as a significant moment in Blair's redefinition of the party as New Labour, but has in the years since survived beyond the New Labour branding.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: 1959 United Kingdom general election
- 👉 1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of Clause IV
- 1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of Margaret Thatcher
- 1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of 1951 United Kingdom general election
- 1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election
1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (née Roberts; 13 October 1925 – 8 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position. As prime minister, she implemented policies that came to be known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.
Thatcher studied chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, and worked briefly as a research chemist before becoming a barrister. She was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her secretary of state for education and science in his 1970–1974 government. In 1975, she defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become leader of the opposition, the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK.
1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of 1951 United Kingdom general election
The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 25 October 1951, just twenty months after the previous general election in 1950; the Labour government called the election in hopes of increasing its parliamentary majority. However, this backfired, as even though Labour won the most votes, it was the Conservatives who won a majority, with the collapse of the Liberal vote allowing the Conservatives to gain seats by default.
Up to that point, the Labour Party achieved the most votes cast for a party; however, this would be surpassed several times, with the Conservatives breaking the record in 1992 and 2019. (13,948,385 is also the highest number of votes Labour ever won in a general election.) The Conservatives would also exceed the popular vote percentage (48.8%) achieved by Labour, in 1955 and 1959, winning over 49% in both cases. Turnout in this election declined slightly.
1959 United Kingdom general election in the context of List of MPs elected in the 1959 United Kingdom general election
This is a list of members of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom at the 1959 general election, held on 8 October 1959.
Notable newcomers to the House of Commons included Margaret Thatcher, Nicholas Ridley, Jim Prior, Peter Tapsell, John Morris and Jeremy Thorpe. It was also the final election in which Winston Churchill, then aged 84, stood as a candidate. Tapsell retired from Parliament 56 years later, at the 2015 general election.