Winston Churchill (1951-1955)
Successes
Failures
Mines and Quarries Act of 1954. Consolidated legislation dealing with the employment of young persons and women in mines and quarries, together with safety, health, and welfare.
Housing Repairs and Rent Act of 1955. Extended previous housing Acts, and set out details in defining housing units as "unfit for human habitation."
Built 300,000 new homes a year. Macmillan had accepted Churchill's challenge to meet the latter's ambitious public commitment to build 300,000 new homes a year, and achieved the target a year ahead of schedule.
Maintained a close relationship with the United States. Churchill attempted to maintain the ‘Special Relationship’ with the US despite not always agreeing with President Dwight. D. Eisenhower (1953-1961). Churchill made 4 official transatlantic trips during his second term.
Set the wheels in motion for victory in Malaya. In Malaya, a rebellion against British rule had been in progress since 1948. Churchill chose to use direct military action against those in rebellion while attempting to build an alliance with those who were not. While the rebellion was slowly being defeated, it was equally clear that colonial rule from Britain was no longer sustainable.
Reluctant to let go of the empire. Being a strong proponent of Britain as an international power, Churchill would often meet such moments with direct action. One example was his dispatch of British troops to Kenya to deal with the Mau Mau rebellion. Trying to retain what he could of the Empire, he once stated that, "I will not preside over a dismemberment."
Anthony Eden (1955-1957)
Successes
Failures
Oversaw the lowest post-war unemployment figures. Unemployment standing at just over 215,000 in July 1955 – barely 1% of the workforce.
The Suez Crisis 1956. Intervention in Egypt to prevent Colonel Nasser nationalizing the Suez Canal was met with widespread disapproval, especially by the Americans who...