Enough of War
He could have stepped down, rather than face a general election, secure in his legacy as Britain's savior. He chose instead to stay at the head of his party. On July 26, 1945, Britain's Labour Party turned the Conservatives out of office, and with them went Churchill. That very afternoon Churchill tendered his resignation to the King.
In post-war Britain, the bread-and-butter issues of work and housing failed to inspire Churchill. His warnings of the growing Communist threat were ignored by a people who, after six years, had had enough of war. Rightly or wrongly, the people of Britain held the Conservative Party, if not Churchill himself, responsible for the harsh experiences of the inter-war years. Norman Rose, in his biography Churchill: The Unruly Giant, describes the temporary setback of one of the most important figures of the 20th century (temporary, as he later became leader of the opposition party, and regained the prime ministership in 1951).
(This article is reprinted with permission from National Review Online.)
This New, Disgusting Year
“I never think of after the war,” Clementine (Churchill's wife) reflected in the winter of 1944. “You see, I think Winston will die when it's over.” In one sense she was right. As nothing could match his wartime triumphs, everything that came after was “all anticlimax,” as Churchill put it.
Somewhat depressed at “the prospect of the end of the war and the problems it will bring,” Churchill greeted 1945 as “this new, disgusting year.” His spirits soon picked up. At the Conservative Party conference in March he delivered a “good fighting speech” to a tumultuous reception. But in mid-March Labour decided against renewing the coalition and polling day was set for 5 July.
This is Your Victory
No doubt, Churchill believed that he could take the country by storm, as Lloyd George had done in 1918. After all, he was the “Bulldog of Battle” who had secured the peace. “This is your victory,” he told a vast throng gathered in Whitehall, “No,” the crowd roared back, “it is yours.” He was still an inspiring phrase-maker. To the gasps of the crowd he cried: “Advance, Britannia!”
But what lay behind these thrilling words? A few months earlier he had confessed the sad truth to Lord Moran. “I have a very strong feeling that my work is done. I have no message. I had a message. Now I only say, 'fight the damned socialists.' I do not believe in this brave new world.”
