Prime Minister Clement Attlee (right) and Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin photographed at 10 Downing Street at midnight on 14 August 1945.
Perhaps the most studied of all election results, 1945 marked a break in British politics.
After leading a successful war an incumbent Prime Minister usually sees the boost in popularity that will lead their party an impressive victory. This however was not to be the case in 1945. The reasons are complicated, but Labour’s stunning landslide victory was largely due to a change in popular attitudes about the role of government in society. The changes that came after their victory indicate this: the birth of the National Health Service and the role of government in housing provision being the too longest lasting. But changes in the political landscape in the lead up to 1945 also show vast changes were incoming. Small parties such as the Commonwealth Party, a middle class Christian-socialist group, won seats even in Conservative heartlands by opposing the decision of main parties not to stand against each other. Their message was one of jointly building a society for all, one which was to be reflected in the policy decisions of the next Labour government.
London Constituencies Results
Battersea North
The Battersea North election was a straight contest between Conservatives and Labour. As seen from the figures below, Labour won in a landslide and took the best part of three-quarters of the votes.
| Persons Entitled to Vote: | 26,842 | |
| Valid Votes Cast: | 19,039 | 70.93% turnout |
| Conservative Candidate: | 4969 | 26.1% |
| Labour Candidate: | 14,070 | 73.9% |
