Huw Thomas 13DT

Reasons why the Conservatives were politically dominant from 1958 to 1964:
The powerful press barons had less political power after 1945. Koss explains that the decline was caused by structural shifts: the major Fleet Street papers became properties of large, diversified capital empires with more interest in profits than politics; the provincial press virtually collapsed, with only the Manchester Guardian playing a national role; growing competition arose from non-political journalism and from other media such as the BBC; and independent press lords emerged who were independent of the party agents and leaders In 1947 the party published its Industrial Charter that marked its acceptance of the "post-war consensus" on the mixed economy and Labour rights. David Maxwell Fyfe chaired a committee into Conservative Party organization that resulted in the Maxwell Fyfe Report (194849). The report shifted the balance of electoral funding from the candidate to the party, with the intention of broadening the diversity of MPs. In practice, it may have had the effect of lending more power to constituency parties and making candidates more uniform. Conservative Prime ministers Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan and Sir Alec Douglas-Home promoted relatively liberal trade regulations and less state involvement throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. They oversaw a period of economic prosperity, with Macmillan proclaiming during the 1959 General Election that Britain had 'never had it so good'. Macmillan believed that trade union votes had contributed towards the 1951 and 1955 victories and thought that it would be inexpedient to adopt any policy involving legislation which would alienate this support The ruse in consumer prosperity was a key reason why Macmillan was able to win a thumping victory in the 1956 election. Labours Party division boiled over, making Hugh Gaitskells job as party leader almost impossible. Macmillan seemed to have the media in the palm of his hand, appeared to always have full control of affairs and used the new political opportunities provided by television with flair. Macmillan and several other notable party members, including Rab Butler were capable