Attlee ministry

Clement Attlee was invited by King George VI to form the Attlee ministry in the United Kingdom in July 1945, succeeding Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Labour Party had won a landslide victory at the 1945 general election, and went on to enact policies of what became known as the post-war consensus, including the establishment of the welfare state and the nationalisation of some industries. The government's spell in office was marked by post-war austerity measures, the violent crushing of pro-independence and communist movements in Malaya, the grant of independence to India, the engagement in the Cold War against Soviet Communism as well as the creation of the country's National Health Service (NHS).

Attlee ministries

Cabinet of the United Kingdom
  • 1945–1950
  • 1950–1951
Attlee (1950)
Date formed
  • First: 26 July 1945 (1945-07-26)
  • Second: 23 February 1950 (1950-02-23)
Date dissolved
  • First: 23 February 1950 (1950-02-23)
  • Second: 26 October 1951 (1951-10-26)
People and organisations
MonarchGeorge VI
Prime MinisterClement Attlee
Prime Minister's history1945–1951
Deputy Prime MinisterHerbert Morrison
Total no. of members243 appointments
Member partyLabour Party
Status in legislatureMajority
393 / 640 (61%)
(1945)
315 / 625 (50%)
(1950)
Opposition partyConservative Party
Opposition leaderWinston Churchill
History
Election(s)
Outgoing election1951 general election
Legislature term(s)
  • 38th UK Parliament
  • 39th UK Parliament
PredecessorChurchill caretaker ministry
SuccessorThird Churchill ministry
This article is part of
a series about
Clement Attlee
Labour Leader
Prime Minister
Post-Prime Minister

Attlee went on to win a narrow majority of five seats at the 1950 general election, forming the second Attlee ministry. Just twenty months after that election, Attlee called a new election for 25 October 1951 in an attempt to gain a larger majority, but was narrowly defeated by the Conservative Party, sending Labour into a 13-year spell in opposition.

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