Churchill Wins in 1945

[westvirginiarebel]

WI Churchill and his Conservatives had won the general election in 1945? What happens to the welfare state, etc?

[orvillethird]

I can imagine no NHS, or at least NHS waiting until later. I could see a bigger push for NATO.
Of course, with the UK in NATO, we might wind up seeing the US out. Lest we forget, the phrase "evil empire" was first used (TBMK) by the right-wing Chicago Tribune, in response to Churchill's "Sinews of Peace/Iron Curtain" speech... in a reference to the BRITISH empire. Wallace and many oon the left opposed the push towards a Cold War...but so did Robert Taft and old-line Republicans (At least, the latter were willing to build up American arms...but not fans of foreign entanglements).

[punkrockbowler805]

Britain might try to retain its colonies longer. Churchill was a big imperialist and did not want to let India leave for example. He might try to stop them from leaving the Empire and make them settle for a Dominion or something.

[fjihr]

The only way I can see the Conservatives win in 1945 is if Oswald Mosley doesn't make his own party and is leader of Labour in 1945. His radical rhetoric scares everyone and the Conservatives narrowly win.

[eDGT]

Mar 12, 2016 16:18:11 GMT fjihr said:

The only way I can see the Conservatives win in 1945 is if Oswald Mosley doesn't make his own party and is leader of Labour in 1945. His radical rhetoric scares everyone and the Conservatives narrowly win.

I think something like that may have a rather serious affect on Britain's effort during the Second World War.  For one no Black Shirt's might make the British population slightly more favourable to appeasement.  It could also mean that there is not War Coalition, though I don't know enough about British politics during the period to make a guess as to how the cabinet would be made up or what decisions could be traced to non-Conservative ministers. 

I think one of the reasons for Churchill not winning in the '45 election was his being a war leader.  He made a good speech and he did really embody a spirit of defiance that had gotten Britain through the war, but in 1945 the people wanted peace and prosperity that the Labour party were offering.

For Churchill to lead the Conservative government to victory in that case then you'd need either A)  The war in '45 is still not a sure thing, possibly going off of an earlier Operation Downfall perhaps?  Or negotiations for peace are still a bit hairy, either coming from the Americans or Russians, and Churchill is making it clear that he has the necessary experience and will to save Britain's interests.  Option B) The Conservatives offer the whole package, massive social reform as a reward to Britain for going through hell.  Smart reforms towards the social-democratic aren't unknown in conservative European politics, though getting Winnie behind it is another matter entirely.

As for Churchill being returned in '45 then I see a larger British presence in Germany, and greater cooperation with France towards European unity, but only to the extent that Britain would observe any future organisation rather than participate.  Churchill supported European unity but he was still a British patriot above all else.  Britain and France leaning on each other in colonial conflicts is also a strong possibility, as is rearming Germans in their occupation zones in order to act as both a deterrent to Russia (and possibly even the USA) and as an arsenal of Imperialism.

[Epic History]

With Churchill still in as PM, I wonder if he could get the US to forgive the loans made to the British by them.  That would certainly help the UK's economy.